“All that,yetyou all still live here,” Lauren emphasized. Because logic.
“This town is dying Ms. Lauren,” Derry said, nearly convincing, but he looked to Mrs. Audrey and there was something coded in the look.
Was this thelet’s get one over on Laurenphase of her life?
From one coast to the other, people trying to fuck with her mind.
“We’re here because we are the blood of this town. This isourhome, good and bad. The sheriff, the mayor, they’re trying to bring life back here, but I believe there’s a curse on this land that won’t be lifted until…actually I don’t know what it will take, but like the sheriff, I’m going to continue to fight for the good of Shrouded Lake.”
Lauren thought of Saige and her shop and swallowed her anger. Whether the folklore was true or not, she’d seen the boarded up and vacant buildings. She also saw the charm and potential.
“I’ll be talking to Saige and her wife about their business plan later tonight, because business can’t prosper if the vision, the implementation, and the numbers don’t make sense.”
“Maybe you can talk to Lina, Draya, Diedre, who owns the bakery where Roan got the beignets, and Miya as well. Except for Miya, they are business owners in here and I know for a fact that Draya and her father are talking about moving to Memphis within the year if things don’t turn around. Folks are tired of working hard but barely scraping by.”
“Wait, the barbeque owners? The beignet bakery lady?” She snatched the box of beignets and cradled them against her chest.
“If you don’t have a lot of folks to feed, doesn’t matter how good your food is,” Derry shrugged.
Lauren stood and began to pace.
Until two weeks ago, she had spent the last ten years of her career as CFO of a multi-million-dollar company in San Francisco. It hadn’t turned into a multi-million-dollar company until she stepped into the role.
She was damn good at her job because to her, money was freedom. It was an energy that magnified or destroyed based on how you wielded it, and how you wielded it exposed who you were and what you valued in this world.
She wasn’t going to abandon a career that felt like her calling. She and Derrick agreed that she would take a sabbatical from the company and later determine what felt best for them. She hadn’t shared her musings about starting her own consultation business; he wanted them to take time and start their new life without thedistractionof her job.
Walking back to her cell, she plunked down on her cot and dropped her head, throat constricting around a resurgence of sadness.
She’d been ready to shift her life for a man who didn’t have the courage nor the moral integrity he purported to value oh so much. He’d betrayed her in the most emotionally cruel way; would’ve let her walk down the aisle; bind herself to his bullshit knowing full well he’d made a baby with her sister.
I never would’ve believed he’d turn out to be such a fucking coward.And Lahn…
She crumpled the box against her chest. She’d been such an obliviousfool.
“Lauren…sweetie, you okay?” Ms. Audrey asked, concerned.
Lauren blinked and looked up.
“You mentioned an initiative for Shrouded Lake businesses,” Lauren said.
“Called the Revitalization Initiative,” Ms. Audrey provided.
“Do you think the city controller would be willing to work with me?”
Maybe she could consult with him about building a new plan for the city. In normal circumstances one would take that kind of proposal to a city’s mayor first, but she had a feeling that if the mayor of Shrouded Lake was anything like his mother, they’d come to blows, and she’d end up right back here. With actual charges this time.
“I don’t see why this place couldn’t be as popular as a Gatlinburg, a Pigeon Forge, or an Asheville,” she told Ms. Audrey.
Maybe all the revitalization plan needed was another pair of eyes to reassess the areas of weakness. Maybe she could review methodology and implementation. Discover who the investors were, what andhowthey were investing. Did they need a more diversified portfolio? She needed to see the checks and balances before she…
Grabbing her purse, she stepped out of her cell and handed Derry the crushed box.
“Tell your grim fucking neanderthal of a sheriff that if he even thinks about laying his grubby hands on me again, I will break his fucking face.”
“No ma’am,” Derry said, as she walked to the exit. “I promise you I won’t be telling him that. I like you Ms. Lauren, but you ain’t getting me fired.”
“I most certainly will relay your message,” Ms. Audrey called out as the door closed.
