We watched her zoom away.
“I don’t think I can handle any more pop in your sock,” Sadie said after a moment. “Though, maybe if the cake works, your company could start selling it as a miracle enhancement drug.”
I frowned. “I don’t think I can get FDA approval for any of that.”
54
Sadie
After a long night of planning, emailing, and late-night phone calls, I was up way too early to meet with Meghan. I pulled up in front of the Grey Dove Bistro promptly at seven o’clock, yawning. At least there was coffee. I ordered am extra-large caramel mocha latte with whipped cream and topped with drizzles of salted caramel and dark chocolate.
“Would you like a donut Danish with that?” Hazel asked cheerfully. “I have a raspberry chocolate one that’s to die for.”
“I will take two,” I said, collecting my drink and finding a table next to the window to wait for the deputy mayor.
As much as I was glad to have a job and loved being able to make a difference doing nonprofit work, it was still early, still drizzly, and still cold. I wished I was waking up next to Parker, safe in bed with his arms around me.
“It’s an affair,” I said to myself. “Parker Svensson does not care. He’s just doing this for fun. You are having an affair. He does not think this is serious.”
“Where have I heard those lines before?” Meghan asked.
“Deputy Mayor!” I clambered up and held out my hand to shake hers. “I was just—” I flailed.
“Complaining about a Svensson male? Welcome to my life.”
Hazel brought her sister a coffee.
“Can I have one of those?” Meg said, pointing to the donut Danishes in front of me.
“Be my guest.” The donut Danishes were donuts with a creamy fruit filling that was held in by brûléedsugar. It crackled delightfully when I bit into it.
“Is this where you give me a list of demands about the maker space?”
“No, I think it’s fine. You’ll have my approval. I just wanted to know what your goals were.”
“The Rural Trust should concentrate on economic improvement. The problem with a lot of these nonprofits is that they get so focused on raising money and the big splash that they lose sight of the mission of helping people.”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to handle all of that,” Meghan said, waving her hand. “I meant your career in general. If this thing with Parker goes to shit—and it may—”
“Your sister seems pretty happy with Archer,” I said, looking over to Hazel. Archer had come downstairs from the apartment on the third floor. Hazel was killing it. She had her own business, a freshly renovated apartment, and a great boyfriend.
“Archer’s not like the rest of the Svenssons,” Meg said, pursing her mouth. “Look, I’m not trying to harsh your vibe. I just wanted to let you know that we could use people like you in the city. Though Harrogate has improved a lot in the past few years, it’s not what it could be. You can’t trust the Svenssons to improve the town—they’re running a business. It’s the government’s job to help the residents. I think you could have a role in the City if things don’t work out with the Svenssons. I don’t want their stupidity to drive you away. Harrogate always needs people who are smart, well connected, and make addictive food.”
I toasted a fellow carb addict.
“The town really can’t afford to lose you,” Meg said.
* * *
“Doeseveryone think this thing with Parker isn’t going to work out?” I said, chewing on my lip.
Jasmine and I were overseeing the decorating and setup in the convention center. Tomorrow was the gala. We might have some time to work the next morning, but the restaurant vendors would want to start setting up early in the day, since the gala started in the early evening. We had to finish tonight.
We were in one of the large former factory buildings with two-story windows. The building was part of the Greyson Hotel Group, which owned and operated the convention center. Erika worked there, so she was present as the owner representative.
“I talked to the contractors working on phase one of the development,” she told us, tapping at her phone screen. They’re going to make sure their construction equipment is out of the way and the site is cleaned up.
“We don’t want anyone’s Lamborghini to have a flat in it,” I said with a shudder. “They’ll badmouth our nonprofit all over the Northeast.”
