“I’m not very exciting!” I protested. I turned to Susie for help.
She jerked awake. “Sorry, what was the question?”
I glared at her.
“Hey, I work long hours!”
“You know what Hunter’s answer is going to be?” Kate asked.
I shrugged.
“He’s going to say something like ‘if you vote for me, I’m going to throw a big party and give everyone free alcohol and a coupon to eat free at any restaurant in town.’”
I slumped over my desk with my head in my hands. “I can’t compete with that.”
“Maybe you just run as an incumbent,” Susie suggested. “Remind everyone that you’ve been de facto mayor for years. Things are running smoothly. Harrogate is a small town, not Manhattan, and we don’t need lots of flash.”
“I guess we’ll have to go with that.” Kate sighed. “You can run on your track record. But,” she added, “we have to play up the fact that you’re a woman, and you’re running for mayor for the good of the community while Hunter is a sociopathic male looking out for his own interests.”
“Yep, I like this!” Allie said. “We’ll paint you as the safe choice and the typical small-town girl just trying to do right by the people.”
“One thing you need, though,” Kate said, tapping her cheek with her pen. “A significant other.”
“Why? How? They don’t just grow on trees.”
“You have to show people that you aren’t a weird cat lady.”
“I take care of my sisters,” I protested.
“People like women who have, you know, a boyfriend at least. You need a Prince William to your Princess Catherine.”
“Where am I going to find someone like that?” I wailed.Do not think of Hunter. He’s charming, but he is no prince.
Kate smiled. “I already have a date booked for you.”
“You booked it for me?” I made a face. “Like an escort?”
“No, he’s a normal male,” Kate retorted. “He’s employed. He’s a software engineer at Svensson PharmaTech.”
“This all seems really soon,” I said nervously, digging in my purse for some snacks.
“Think of your poll numbers!” Kate said as Susie handed me a small bag of mini Oreos.
“I can’t—” I began to protest.
“You overthink things. That’s why I already organized it for you,” Kate said, checking her watch. “He should be here… oh, right now!”
Someone honked outside.
“He can’t even step out of his car and say hello? That’s a great start to the evening,” Allie said dryly.
“Meg’s lowering her standards,” Kate said, pressing her hands together.
Allie snorted.
“It’s just for the election,” Kate assured me as she fixed my hair. “After you win, you can dump him.”
My date was waiting outside. He had a generic car and a generic face along with a generic name.
