She had to admit she’d considered the project a long shot when Miriam first became mayor and set her sights on bringing the old mall back to life. But after she’d turned around the downtown area, there wasn’t much Miriam couldn’t do when it came to making Peachtree Cove prosper again.
The meeting went as expected. They quickly outlined what handouts and exhibits they’d need for the public meeting, which council members to invite and how to handle recording the meeting to post online for those who couldn’t attend. Once they were done, the four chatted about other projects happening around town.
“Tamara, how are things going with the mall project?” Miriam asked. “Have they started construction yet?”
“They were starting on the interior renovations this week. Demo of some walls that weren’t needed.”
Steve, the town’s manager, sat up. “Andre Kemp is the contractor, right?”
She nodded. “He is. Do you know him?” Steve had been town manager for the past two years. A transplant from a town outside Atlanta who’d been excited about the opportunity to work with Miriam and revamp Peachtree Cove.
Steve shook his head. “I haven’t, but the street committee is keeping me in the loop. They say he was a troublemaker.”
Tamara barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. The “street committee” was the nickname the people who worked for the town had given to the local gossips. The Peachtree Cove gossip mill was always in the know and typically could give you news on something faster than you could blink. Mostly they didn’t base decisions based on rumors spread by the “street committee,” but they always stayed up-to-date on what the citizens were saying just in case it could affect a project.
Miriam held up a hand. “I knew Andre in high school. Did he get in some trouble, yes, but none that he initiated. Not only that, but I know Kevin from college. He wouldn’t have hired Andre as his contractor if he was a hothead who couldn’t do the job.”
“I believe most of us wish we could go back and change some of the decisions we made in high school,” Tamara added.
Miriam nodded. “I won’t hold any of that against him. Especially when he’s working on this project. I don’t want any hiccups on this. Understand?”
Steve cleared his throat. “Now, before we get ahead of ourselves, I don’t think we should be too hasty with showing our enthusiasm for this project outside of this room.”
Miriam frowned. “What do you mean? The entire town knows I’m enthusiastic about this project.”
“I mean I’ve already heard grumblings from some of the local architects and builders that they believe we’ll give Andre expedited service,” Steve said. “Even though we want the mall refurbished, we can’t give the impression that we’re giving preferential treatment. We have to show them we’re being fair in all of our decisions. As town manager, I have to make sure all of the town’s departments are running efficiently and with integrity.”
Tamara sat up straighter. “Excuse me, but there has been no preferential treatment. Andre reached out to find out exactly what he needed to submit for his permits and got everything to us on time. If anything, that’s why their permits went through easily. That’s the same service we offer everyone else. If they chose to follow the instructions we give.”
Steve nodded. “Good. I’ll be sure to pass that word along. It’s settled then.”
Steve followed Tamara back to her office after the meeting. “I know the mayor wants this project to finish ASAP, but the home builders are chewing my ass off about not being treated the same as this project. They’re going to start complaining to the other council members.”
“I promise you, Steve, my group is treating everyone the same. And I can guess which home builder is giving you the biggest headache. We shut down Rudy Gumbee’s project last week for a ton of deficiencies.”
Rudy Gumbee was also a friend of the council member who wasn’t a fan of Tamara. She’d already had to deal with the blowback of shutting down Rudy’s project. The man was too clueless to realize that if he actually followed the regulations, his projects would go quicker.
Steve rubbed his temple as if the mention of Rudy’s name brought on a headache. “You’ve got it. He’s been around longer, and his pockets run deep. If he gets at least three council members to believe we’re giving the mall retrofit preferential treatment, then they’ll start giving the mayor hell and we all know which way shit runs.”
Tamara sighed. Three votes against Steve could result in him losing his job. Leading to instability in the town’s government and the possibility of bringing in a new manager who might ultimately try to get rid of Tamara. Balancing the needs of the town and the shifting sands of the local politicians was the one part of the job she hated the most.
“Downhill,” Tamara said. “I’ll reiterate to my team to watch the mall project with just as much thoroughness as they would any other project. I’ll also remind them to keep immaculate records. If it does get hot, then I’ll have the paperwork to back up what we say.”
Steve nodded. “Good. I knew you had things under control, Tamara. Let me know if anything happens that has the potential to blow up.” His phone vibrated and he pulled it out.
Like sleeping with the contractor. That was something she should disclose immediately. With threats of favoritism, if word got out about what had happened with her and Andre, then Rudy’s claims would be considered valid no matter how much of a shoddy operation he ran.
She opened her mouth. “There is something.”
Steve frowned. “What? Please don’t throw another fire to put out on my day. I’ve got two more emails with problems in animal control and public works.”
It was a one-night stand,a voice whispered in her head. No promises had been made. No plans to repeat. In fact, they’d staunchly avoided talking about anything the night before. She hadn’t pressed because she knew what to expect from a guy like Andre. He wasn’t astick around, let’s start a family and have a life togetherkind of guy. Andre hadn’t brought up their future because...well, he probably just wanted to keep things casual.
She waved a hand. “Never mind. I’ve got it.”
“You sure? I’m here to help.” Steve always made the offer, and he was a great boss, but the lines around his eyes deepened with whatever emails he’d scanned.
“I know you are, but my job is to put out small fires before they become big ones. This one is barely smoking. Handle animal control and public works, and I’ll call you at the end of the day if I need backup.”
