Winning Over Skylar

“Chet, I’m not—”

“You’ll have a chance to vote on the motion, Skylar.”

“But—”

“I move that Mrs. Gibson handle the matter before us, regarding the approval or rejection of plans to expand Cooper Industries,” interrupted one of the other men.

“I second the motion,” another councilman said hastily.

“Being moved and seconded, all in favor say ‘aye,’” announced the mayor.

A chorus of “ayes” followed, accompanied by an emphatic “no” from Skylar.

“The motion has passed. Mr. Hollister, Mrs. Gibson will be contacting you to discuss your proposal. All business now concluded, I adjourn this meeting.” The mayor rapidly gathered the papers in front of him and smiled genially at the assembled citizens. “Thank you to everyone for coming. It is important for the civic process to have the participation of its citizens.”

A weak round of applause went through the room.

Skylar looked as if she was in shock, and Aaron wasn’t far behind. This was even worse than having an elected council making the decision rather than a professional city planner—Skylar was that “wild Naples girl,” a high-school dropout. She didn’t have the education or background to make such a decision, and she was already pissed at him for telling Melanie he didn’t approve of her going to the hamburger stand. Granted, Skylar was running a successful business now, but that didn’t mean he wanted her having the say over his plans to restore Cooper Industries.

* * *

SKYLAR BOLTED FROM her chair and caught up with Chet and the other councilmen before they’d gotten to the exit.

“Oh, no. You’re not going anywhere,” she warned.

“It’s late, Skylar,” Hector protested. “My dog needs to be walked.”

“And I have a kid at home. Move,” she ordered, pointing toward the back chamber, a windowless room that was mostly used for storing the building’s holiday decorations.

Dragging their feet, they trudged through the door. She flipped the light switch and planted her hands on her hips, staring them down the way she’d stare down a troop of Girl Scouts who’d eaten too much sugar. “All right, I should have known something was up when you put your heads together during the break, but I never suspected this. I don’t have time to deal with Hollister’s expansion plans, or whatever they might be.”

“Whatever they might be? Then you don’t think expanding is what he really wants?” Doug asked uneasily.

“I have no idea, and I have no idea why you threw it in my lap,” Skylar snapped.

“Come on, Skylar, don’t be that way,” Chet placated. “You know him. Besides, you’re the only council member who doesn’t care about getting reelected. You saw how many people showed up to hear Hollister’s presentation—nobody attends our meetings, and look at tonight’s turnout.”

“That’s because you had Micki Jo call around with the news that Aaron Hollister was coming and what he wanted. You were trying to see if it was a political hot potato.”

Chet gave her a duh look he must have learned from his three children. “He’s really unpopular. If we give him what he wants and the town is mad about it, we’ll never get reelected.”

“And if I do it, nobody will eat at the Nibble Nook any longer,” Skylar said furiously. She didn’t actually think it was true, though she might lose a few customers.

“Nobody will stop going to the Nook,” Hector assured. “Your business largely depends on Cooper Industries, so everyone will understand what you decide is based on keeping the company healthy. The town will respect that, but they’ll think the rest of us are getting paid off, especially if jobs are lost. Come on, Skylar, everybody knows you’re not a politician.”

“Guys, surely you don’t believe anyone else will run against you?” she asked as a last-ditch effort. Aside from everything else, she believed the town’s big decisions should be made by more than one person. “Jimmie ran unopposed for his position in both elections. Nobody wants to be on the city council.”

Doug looked at her, shocked. “That isn’t true. Our families have always been on the council. It’s a...a civic duty, but we want voter support. It was when the population increased and we needed another member under the town charter that we added a slot. You have to handle Hollister for us, Skylar. Things are getting tense with what he’s been doing.”

“Yeah, city hall gets daily calls,” Chet muttered. “Everyone thinks he’s violated labor laws or some other regulation with his new policies. They don’t like it when we say another government office handles those questions or suggest they talk to the union.”

A shiver ran up Skylar’s spine. It wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t concerned about Karin. She might... Oh, who was she kidding? Anything to do with Aaron would be a pain. He’d gone from being a cocksure high-school jackass to an arrogant CEO jackass.

“Anyway, it’s been voted on and passed,” Chet said. “Maybe we should have spoken to you before making the motion, but it’s kind of... Well, it was something we all, that is...”

“You mean I would have been outnumbered, even if you’d talked to me ahead of time, so why talk to me?” Skylar said flatly. “The way you didn’t ask when you appointed me to Jimmie’s job?”

Chet at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

“You owe me a large Vittorino’s Italian pizza with the works,” she told him. “Bread sticks, garlic sauce, the whole thing. And that’s just to start.”

“Sure, sure. Absolutely. I’ll even deliver it myself, whenever you want.”

She eyed the rest of them. “And I’ll be thinking of how each of you can make it up to me, as well.”

With a chorus of agreement, they practically ran from the room. Skylar would have thought it was funny if she hadn’t been so annoyed. She stepped into the main room and saw Aaron. Aside from the security guard who was probably in the lobby waiting to lock the front door, he must be the only one left in the building.

“I’ll let you know when I can meet with you, Mr. Hollister,” she said. It wouldn’t hurt to be more formal with him.

“How about right now?”

“How about remembering it’s after nine o’clock and we both have teenagers at home?”

Aaron looked startled. “Oh, yes, of course.”

“I’ll have to arrange a time when I can get an extra employee to cover for me at the stand. Or we can meet after I close. Just not tomorrow.”

“What’s wrong with tomorrow?”

“It’s Friday and I have plans.” Those plans involved getting together with Grace Gibson and finalizing the arrangements for Karin’s birthday party, but Skylar didn’t want Aaron to start thinking about Karin’s birthday. She especially didn’t want him to start counting back and remember when Karin had been conceived.

“Fine,” Aaron said. His teeth were gritted. “Let me know when and where.”

“I will. But don’t expect to show me a slick PowerPoint program and get an instant approval. I’m sure we’ll have several meetings.”

If Aaron was dismayed, he hid it well. “My presentation is more than a slick PowerPoint—it has important information.”

“Oh, I’ll watch it, but even in Cooperton we’ve heard of computers—bells and whistles won’t impress me.” She smiled sweetly. “You’re going to get lots of questions.”

“Uh...yes. I’ll be at your disposal.”

Skylar found that doubtful, but she didn’t have time to think about it. Ever since Jimmie’s accident it had been emotionally challenging to leave her daughter alone for long periods. And it was worse now with Karin being so moody over the baseball play-offs.

“Fine. I’ll contact your office in a few days with a date for our first meeting. Have a good weekend.” She had almost escaped through the door when Aaron cleared his throat.

“Cooperton used to try to accommodate my grandfather,” he said. “But it seems as if everyone is opposed to the idea of Cooper Industries expanding, even though they haven’t heard my ideas. It’s the sort of thing that’s good for a town, so why is it a problem?”

She hesitated, debating what to tell him, then chose cautious honesty. “Your grandfather was concerned about both his company and Cooperton. But no one knows what your priorities are...or what you’d do to protect them.”