“Now what’s been broken? I swear…” Elwood shot up from his chair and stormed into the next room to check the damage to his inventory. He scowled at the man seated at the foot of the table. Everyone else watched agape, which was fair. Elwoodrarely got angry enough to storm anywhere. He was much more of a make-love-not-war kind of guy.
“Let’s all introduce ourselves,” Elwood suggested again after he’d returned. He still appeared flustered, but he pasted on a smile that almost appeared genuine. “So that Declan can meet everyone. Why don’t you go first, Rue?” Elwood said. I sat on his right, and he motioned to the person on his left to begin.
Leon looked apoplectic as he squeezed his fountain pen.
“We’ve met, but I’m Rue Bell. I own the Twinkling Thistle Café,” Rue said with an enchanting smile. “And, now that I know you do PR, I’d love to chat with you while you’re in town.”
Oh. A potential client already?Huh. Elwood might be on to something.
The woman beside Rue leaned forward to see me around the others and nodded at me. Her dark hair was styled in a bob haircut and had a streak of silver in it, which was striking. “I’m Mei Li. I own the local craft store. I’d like to meet with you, too. I still haven’t figured out how to make one of those reel things. Now I heard I shouldn’t bother with that. Something about demographics? I have no idea what to do.” She held up her hands as if surrendering and laughed.
“Of course. I’d love to chat with you. And it’s nice to meet you,” I said.Wow. Two potential clients. My day was looking up.
“Yes, yes, yes,” the next person, who sat at the foot of the table, muttered impatiently. Based on the way he sneered at everyone else, I suspected this guy thought this meeting was beneath him, which made me wonder why he’d come. Weren’t organizations like this run by volunteers? He wasn’t obliged to attend. He tapped his manicured fingers on the table. “Can we move this along? I don’t have time to listen to everyone’s marketing woes. Let’s cut to the chase. What’s your problem now, Leon?”
“If we’d started the meeting properly, you’d know by now.” Leon cast a jaundiced eye at Elwood.
Several people snickered.
“Enough!” Leon’s nostrils flared as he slammed his hand on the table. The table wasn’t the most stable structure in the world. Coffees and teas sloshed in cups all around the table. Leon cleared his throat. “Apologies, everyone.” He sucked in a deep breath and unclenched his hand. It appeared to take considerable effort. “As much as it pains me to admit it, I agree with Winston. Please, just say your name and move on. We have a lot to cover tonight. And, while I have everyone’s attention, I would like to officially start the meeting now, too. Mason, please record the time.” He glanced around the room. “Wait, where’s our secretary?”
“I’ll take the meeting minutes,” the woman dressed in green on Leon’s other side said. She waved at me. “I’m Avery, by the way. Florist.”
“But… but… where’s Mason? I realize Arthur couldn’t attend tonight because of the problem at the library, but that doesn’t explain Mason’s absence.”
“He said he wouldn’t come back until you apologized. Have you apologized?” Avery spoke, as if she knew exactly how he’d answer and wasn’t shy about calling him out for his bad behavior. Oh, I liked her. She was fun.
Who knew a committee meeting would be so entertaining? I should’ve made popcorn instead of buying pastries.
“I’m Winston Wilcox,” Mr. I’m-better-than-everyone-else with his fancy manicure announced from the foot of the table, as if he hadn’t tried to disrupt the introductions. He brushed his hand over his slicked-back hair.
Oh, right. The guy doing renovations next door. The one who’d dated Tulip. My first impression of the guy told me Tulip was lucky to be rid of him.
The woman from The Witch’s Brew was next. She was still dressed in the same cheap business suit as earlier, which had struck me as an odd clothing choice for a barista, but she’d dialed up her makeup. She batted her fake eyelashes at Winston as she took a sip of her coffee. She immediately spat it back into her cup. “What’s this crap? Where’s the coffee you bought from me?”
“Sorry! That’s my fault,” I said, trying not to look at Gideon. “I had an accident on the way back from your coffee shop.”
Her scowl told me she wouldn’t be calling me for a consultation anytime soon.
“Don’t forget to say your name,” Elwood reminded her.
“Lily,” she muttered as she pushed her coffee cup away.
“I’m Azar. Most people call me Az. I own Brimstone Books,” the next man said. He was attractive, but I couldn’t figure out why I found him attractive. Some people were naturally charismatic, I guessed.
When it was Gideon’s turn, the heat of my earlier embarrassment rushed through me again. I waved awkwardly after he stated his name. I opened my mouth to say something charming and delightful about his new shirt. Yeah, I had no idea what that would’ve been, but it didn’t matter because Leon was already talking.
“Then there’s Henry and Avery, who’ve already introduced themselves, and me, Leon. I own and operate the antique store,” Leon said.
“More like a thrift store,” Winston muttered to Lily at the end of the table. She tittered and batted her eyelashes at him again.
Leon ignored them. “Now let’sfinallyaddress the reason I’ve invited all of you here tonight.”
Avery’s hand was poised over her coiled notebook, ready to record what happened next.
Leon stood and cast his gaze slowly around the room. He cleared his throat and brushed his hands down his sweater vest. It was all ridiculously dramatic. “This emergency meeting is necessary because Winston is destroying everything we’ve been working for.”
“Hey, now,” Winston said, straightening from his nonchalant slouch, but Leon talked over him.
