“I’m sorry?” I said, shocked by this. His comment was so farfetched that I almost had to have him repeat himself.
“Do you trust your men to leave her be or has there been…excitement… since she’s been here?” asked the mayor, and this time I could have sworn that I heard things.
“Excitement?” I forced a small, tense laugh, feeling anything but amused. “The most exciting thing to happen here between Paisley and my men is the cake they made her last night for saving the life of one of our own. What she did on the scene the other day was noble. She did exactly what any true firefighter would do to help the family. She’s one of us, Mayor Jensen, and I’m not sure what your problem is with that.”
“I see,” Mayor Jensen said again, but I had a feeling he didn’t.
“Can I ask what this is about?” Annoyance rippled under my skin as I sat under his scrutiny. Mayor Jensen had always been an outspoken man of Christian values and conservative beliefs, and it was no secret he didn’t look kindly upon Paisley’s acceptance onto the crew. However, I’d assumed that once the details had been set in stone, he’d move on from his grudge and focus on more important things than a female firefighter paving the way for many women in the field.
“I’m getting concerned phone calls to my office,” the mayor said, clearing his throat. “Men in this town are still making complaints about her city employment.”
“What kind of complaints?” I asked. “Jealousy because she’s doing a job they can’t do?”
“Of course not, Mr. Hansen,” Jensen said. “I think the main concern lies with Ms. Hill’s liability to eventually sue our city for some false sexual harassment case.”
I leaned back in the chair, trying to comprehend the wild ideas coming from Mayor Jensen’s mouth. “This is the 2000’s, Mayor. We’re not living in the eighteenth century. You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wish I was,” he said. “But I’m not.” He leaned forward, hands still clasped in front of him, and lowered his voice a bit. “But can you really blame them? One female on an entirely male crew is a sexual harassment case waiting to happen.”
“I don’t mean to be blunt here, Mayor, but do you know what you’re saying?” I asked, still trying to grasp the simple ridiculousness of this conversation.
“I’ve seen it before, Mr. Hansen,” he said, brushing me off like a piece of lint. “I’ve seen entire departments go down because of a single claim. You see, these women become power-hungry…evenbitter, over a bad day at work. Maybe she gets one wrong look from a fellow employee. Or someone pisses her off. That’s all she needs, you know, a simple accusation, and she’ll bring this department down in flames.”
We stared at each other for a moment, the mayor and me, as I tried to sort through his words. He didn’t even know Paisley, yet he was accusing her of being a traitor. She’d been on our crew for less than three weeks, and he was still rolling this around as some socially justified feminist problem. I couldn’t believe I was hearing this.
“I’m sorry you’re getting complaints, Mayor, but there’s nothing I can do to help you,” I said, wrestling with the anger in my voice. “Paisley does her job, and she does it well. I don’t believe she’d cry false claims about her crew for a second. If you do, you should reevaluate who you listen to and who you don’t.”
Just then, Jake Finn came down the stairs, his hair still damp from the shower, the freckles on his face prominent against the kitchen lights.
“Morning, Cap,” he said. His eyes landed on the mayor, and an expression of surprise came over him, but it was gone as quickly as it came. “Mayor Jensen,” he said, offering his hand awkwardly. “My name’s Jake Finn. I’m a new recruit.”
“Jake,” the mayor said. “Welcome to Station One.” Looking awestruck, Jake shook the mayor’s hand and then turned away, ears burning red with giddy embarrassment. Mayor Jensen turned back to me. “It was good to see you again, Hansen. Thank you for speaking with me.”
“Sure,” I replied. “But, please let me know if you plan to drop-in next time. Maybe your concerns about how we do things here would be best directed to our chief, Preston Davis.”
“Indeed,” the mayor said. “It’s always quite the adventure to talk to Preston.” With a curt nod, he buttoned up his jacket and made a sweeping exit, leaving Finn and me staring after him, dumbstruck.
“Is it just me, or did I walk in on something awkward as hell?” Jake asked, frowning after the closed door.
“No,” I said. “It wasn’t just you. That whole thing was weird as hell.”
“What did he want?”
“He wanted to know if Paisley was still showing up to work.”
“Why wouldn’t she?”
“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug, turning to clap Finn on the back. “But it doesn’t matter. Help me make brunch?”
Chapter25
Paisley
Hansen had made us all a grand breakfast by the time I went downstairs with Korbin. There were eggs and bacon and toast, even waffles. I was already finished with my 24-hour shift but having breakfast with the crew sounded such a better idea than rushing home to get the cold shoulder from Jeremy, so I grabbed a plate and a glass of orange juice and sat down next to Finn.
“What’s up, Cap?” Korbin asked around a mouthful of scrambled eggs. “You’re awful quiet this morning.”
“It’s nothing,” Hansen said. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.” He didn’t look up when answered, let alone at me, and I had a feeling in the pit of my gut that whatever he was pondering so deeply had to do with me; the good, the bad, or the ugly. I desperately wanted to poke him further, to get him to talk, but I wasn’t about to do that in front of the guys. I’d barely been accepted onto this crew, and I wasn’t about to test the barrier by throwing a lit match at it.
