“Or you could ask for clarification instead of assuming you know everything—” She abandons the roll of her eyes as she looks up at me, lips parted.
“I don’t assume. I doknow.”
She slants her head. “Right. Because you’re Patton Cross, and you play or work or whatever alone, and you don’t need anyone.”
The way she throws back my comment from trivia night in such a cutting way makes me feel naked, like she sees right through me.
We’re so close, I see the strata in her mocha eyes.
“Speaking of working together …” Mayor Barbie peers into the office, wearing a hot pink two-piece suit.
As she dangles that teaser, it’s like Vincenza and I are on opposite ends of a fuse, burning toward the center. But all at once, we burst apart.
“Congratulations, Lieutenant Cross. You’ve been selected to plan the Fireman’s Ball.”
Anticipating what’s coming because there are always two people who share the responsibility each year, I run my hand down my face. “With whom?”
“With the Parks & Rec director.” Mayor Barbie makes a cheering sound.
Vincenza’s face falls before she quickly slides a smile back into place. “That would be me.”
“You.” My pulse accelerates.
Her chest heaves. “Me.”
“You and me.”
“Is there an echo in here?” She tilts her head.
Nope. I got the message loud and clear. I’m on duty with the one woman in this building who loves to hate me. She’s all smiles, but they’re just for show. However, given Mayor Barbie’s hopeful expression, maybe we should clear the air before we blow this place to bits.
Vincenza turns to the mayor. “Well, isn’t that?—”
“Wonderful news!” Mayor Barbie finishes. “You two are the perfect pair. Winnie, with your dedication to community events and our lieutenant’s proximity to the inner workings of what makes our fire department so special, I have no doubt you’ll create a celebration to remember.”
“Of course,” Vincenza says, infusing her voice with false cheer.
I close my eyes briefly because I already have enough on my plate and the Parks & Rec director is a handful, especially with the way her skirt clings to her hips.
Mayor Barbie’s phone jingles and she excuses herself, leaving Vincenza and me alone again.
Last year, she and I only met one time before I left for my summer assignment. She’d just started and immediately took charge instead of reading the room, taking the pulse of how things work around here.
Last I checked, everyone had their place and we didn’t need a winsome, go-getter charging in and declaring herself queen. While giving a presentation about interdepartmental collaboration, all sugary smiles and color-coded handouts, someone mentioned she had been Miss Nevada, representing our state in a beauty pageant. I made a crack about “The Parks & Rec Princess” wanting to plan trust falls for firefighters. When I came back in September, the temperature dropped twenty degrees every time she saw me.
“Look, about last June, we got off on the wrong foot?—”
Vincenza locks eyes with me and then lightly kicks my boot with the toe of her shoe.
I shuffle back. Did she really just kick me?
Nostrils flaring, she says, “You got off on the wrong foot. I was perfectly pleasant.”
“You were aggressively pleasant.”
“You mean when you called me ‘The Parks & Rec Princess’ to your entire crew?” Her smile is jagged. “Don’t worry, I received the message loud and clear that day.”
My jaw tightens. “It was a joke … one I didn’t intend for you to overhear.”
