Ambition: A Dark Billionaire Romance Anthology (8 page)

M
onday through Wednesday
were pretty routine for me, as I dealt with the paperwork of getting the community centers off the ground. The only notable thing was Wednesday afternoon, when I went by City Hall to have a meeting with the Mayor. Joseph Williams and I may have shared the same last name, but that was where our similarities ended.

The stress of the past few months had trimmed close to thirty pounds off his frame, and he looked cadaverous as I stepped into his office. He had survived the scandals that had taken down his Deputy Mayor with his own job intact, but that was about it. I honestly thought that if he wasn't constrained by the term limit law the city had in place, he would have been taken down as well. Instead, the voters were willing to let him serve out the last two years of his term before retiring into obscurity. I felt for him, since according to Mark he was a man who had been caught up in circumstances beyond his control more than actually being evil himself.

"Good afternoon, Your Honor," I greeted him. I was dressed to impress, but had toned the sexiness down just a touch. There was a time to be drop dead distracting, but I didn't have to always, so the suit coat and skirt was just a bit looser than normal. "I'm thankful you asked me to come by."

"When a company agrees to spend millions of its own dollars for community outreach, I'd be a fool not to," the Mayor replied. "But, like I told your boss the last time he and I had a private conversation, can the Your Honor and Mister Mayor stuff. My name is Joe, except to my wife when she's mad at me, when I become Joseph. Lately, I've been called Joseph a lot."

His fatalistic humor made me smile, and I reached out to shake his hand. "All right Joe, then please, just call me Tabby. Nobody calls me Tabitha, thankfully. So I'm guessing you've been catching a lot of flack the past couple of months."

I sat down in the chair Joe offered to me, which was in front of a small coffee table. It was a similar arrangement to my office, but much nicer. The table was already arranged with light snacks and teas, which were perfect for the time of day. Joe sat down in the chair next to mine, and reached for a small tuna salad sandwich. "As you can tell, I've lost a bit of weight recently, and my doctor has advised me to up my caloric intake, but only of healthy foods. So out with the burgers, sadly enough, and in with the tuna and salmon."

"I understand," I said, pouring myself a cup of tea. "Excuse me if I don't join you too much, these suits I wear leave very little wiggle room for indulgences."

Joe laughed. "Yes, you did continue Miss Warbird's habit quite well. I actually have had two groups complain to me about you. Apparently the University Association of Wymyn Against Patriarchal Oppression think you are, what was it they said? Oh yes, encouraging the misogynistic patriarchy to continue the oppression of female executives."

I laughed, remembering their letter to me at the office. "Yes, their direct letter to me had that and a few more gems. When I scanned the letter and forwarded it to Marcus, he replied that he and Sophie both had quite a few good laughs over that." That was more or less the truth, although I didn't have to scan it to send it to them. They’d read the original.

"I still don't know exactly what they wanted me to do, as you aren't a city employee," Joe commented. He tucked half the sandwich away with a single bite, and set the plate aside. "I'd eat more, but I have a disturbing case of indigestion recently. It's part of the reason I invited you over for this chat."

"Oh? No offense Joe, but I'm not a doctor," I said. "In fact, I don't even have any doctors under the MJT investment banner. About the best I could do for you would be to recommend a couple of our restaurants, I know one of them has a macrobiotic menu that says it is good for overall body health. I can't say anything about that, but their hummus wraps are yummy."

Joe shook his head. "I wish it were that easy. Actually, I had a visit from a certain influential Bishop in town on Monday, which of course left my stomach roiling. In case you didn't know, my wife is an active attendant of his services."

The groan that came out of my mouth was obviously amusing, since Joe nodded his head in commiseration. "Exactly. Now, I personally have no problem with what you did. I think the man's a snake myself, although I've more or less given up on my wife listening to his poisonous crap cloaked in the word. I figure your boss has more in line with what the word says than any so-called bishop who wants us to buy him a private jet. However, the reality is, he swings a lot of influence in the city, especially among the people who live in The Playground and Filmore Heights. By the way, what are the other areas you're looking at opening your community centers?"

"We were going to open one near Spartan Field, and another on the border of the warehouse district. Both are in areas that, while not exactly as bad as Filmore or The Playground, do need their fair share of assistance. Also, not to put too fine a point on it, it makes for good press for the Spartans to have a center close to their practice facilities. They can send over players almost weekly, which I'm sure looks great when it comes to those spots they put on TV."

"Nice selections. You'll also get a good mix of kids there. I hate to spin everything politically, but you'll be able to get a center in a lot of the different ethnic groups there. I hope you have a plan in place to prevent them from becoming racialized gang centers?"

"We're working on it. I'm following Marcus' advice, and am going to hire some very good center directors, and trust their voice. I feel like we're digressing from what is causing you trouble though. What does the Bishop want?" I asked, sipping my tea.

Joe took a moment to finish his tuna salad before answering. "He wants me to more or less throw every challenge I can in your way, starting with your building permits. He figures if I frustrate you long enough, he might be able to position himself as someone who can step in and smooth things over, providing of course that he gets lots of publicity and his own stamp on things. I suspect he isn't the only one who might be wanting this, as I've heard that Francine Berkowitz also is not exactly happy with the way you've decided to hand out the contracts on this."

"I've decided to not put up with her corrupt bid rigging bullshit," I said bluntly. Joe half choked on his tea, and coughed a few times before he got his cup set down. "Come on Joe, you and I can speak honestly here. The Union has had a stranglehold on this city's finances for decades. You oppose the Union, then you've got building inspectors finding excuses to shut you down. I've spent the past week driving two miles below the speed limit or taking the RIST to work simply because I don't want a Union cop pulling me over and giving me a four point ticket on my license. Who knows what the hell I'll do if Mount Zion blows a water main in the next few weeks.

"But it doesn't matter. What these guys have to realize is that I'm not against the unions. Hell, if a union shop gives me a fair estimate for the labor on the centers, then I'll hire a union shop. They've got the exact same chance and opportunity as a non-union shop. But what I'm not going to allow is the sort of bid-rigging and sloughing off that the Union has allowed for far too damn long."

Joe brushed a few crumbs off his shirt and folded his hand on his lap. "I support you, privately. In public, I'm not going to make any major announcements one way or another. I did want to just warn you, and to offer my private support. And, if you ever do get those centers open, I'm going to be right there congratulating you. If I'm still in office I'll even give you the key to the city. But you've got a fight on your hands."

"Thank you, Joe," I said honestly. "But I think I know just how to handle at least one of those issues."

Heading back to the office, I waited until I was there to call up Mark on his cell phone. "Hello Marcus," I said, just to be safe in case anyone heard me.

"What's up, Tabs?" he asked me. I could hear a burring noise in the background which quickly shut off, and I knew he'd been riding his new favorite toy, the riding tractor he used to maintain the lawn. And yes, in true Mark style he'd had the thing supercharged. He could cover the entire property in an hour if he wanted, which considering the size of Mount Zion, was saying a lot.

"You think you still have some pull with your friend Bennie?" I asked, careful not to use his full name. Bennie Fernandez had technically never met Marcus Smiley, nor did he know for certain that we had been the source of his information that led to the arrest of Owen Lynch. But still, we could use him.

"I might. Why?"

"Seems our friend Bishop Traylor made a visit to the Mayor, and might be trying to work an alliance with our favorite Union leader," I replied. "Think we might need a hand?"

"That could work. Also, I've got a few anonymous connections with the media as well. Let me see what I can do this afternoon and tomorrow. So, how was the rest of the meeting?"

"Just fine. Joe says hello by the way." I took off my coat and sat down in my chair, closing my eyes and massaging my temples as the long day started to hit me. "He also says if we can get these centers open, he'll give me the key to the city. He knows we're in for a fight."

"Glad to know it. And did you stop by to see your new favorite member of the city council?" he asked, a clear joking edge to his voice.

"No, Dad," I joked back. "We're seeing each other tomorrow night. Besides, he was interviewing potential assistants today, and I’m sure we’ll talk on the phone later tonight."

"Okay. That'll give me and Sophie some free time at least. Anything else?"

"Nah, just wanted to keep you updated. Thanks."

"No problem Tabs. See you later."

I
was more
nervous than ever the next night as I waited outside the theater for Patrick. We'd both decided that the sort of casual, non-dressy dates we'd been on so far were ideal for both of us. Despite our jobs, both of us were laid back casual types, and didn't feel the need to get dressed up
all
the time.

I'd even taken the RIST downtown to meet Patrick, forgoing any of the cars in the garage. I was wearing a casual, flirty sort of baby blue skirt with a white top and light jacket, since the evenings were starting to get a bit cooler. I also had one of my favorite little purses, a shoulder bag that was bigger than what I'd take to a club, but nowhere near huge. I've never understood women who carried a purse larger than some people's backpacks. It just wasn’t my style.

I didn't have to wait long. Materializing through the foot traffic around the theater, a smile lit up his face as he saw me waving for him. I'm sure I was doing the same as he came closer, jogging the last few feet before swinging me around in an embrace like we hadn't seen or spoken to each other in years.

"Whoa tiger," I joked, giggling with delight. "Are you going to greet me that way for every date we go on?"

"Depends," he replied. “Did you like it?"

"It was fun, but we can't do that after a meal," I joked in reply. I joked because the reality was, I was thrilled by the feeling. Patrick was strong and solid, his arms sturdy enough to carry me around like a little girl if he wanted to. Yes, I was enjoying it, and yes there was a bit of fluttering in my belly, the sort that usually meant I was feeling more than just fun.

We stood outside, looking at the marquee for a few minutes, and another warm chill went through me when Patrick put his arm around my shoulders. Instead of saying anything, I leaned into him, putting an arm around his waist. "You know, I really should get out more," he said after a bit. "I have no idea about any of these movies."

"Me either," I admitted. "I've been so busy with MJT, most of the entertainment I've gotten has consisted of stuff watched on the home theater."

"Really? Sounds like fun," Patrick replied. I could tell he was more comfortable with our respective socio-economic situations, for which I was grateful. After all, just a year prior I hadn't been making much more money than he was. I still wasn’t quite used to the money I was making these days. For me, the stuff at Mount Zion was mostly toys that didn't matter compared to the important things, the people inside.

It was that importance that made my next decision easy. "Well, how about we skip this then and head back to Mount Zion? I promise, the home theater Marcus installed is equal to anything short of IMAX, and the seats are going to be a lot more comfortable."

Patrick considered it for a minute, then nodded. "Sure. Uhm, is your staff going to be there?"

"Yes, but I can ask them to give us our privacy," I said. "They do have their own wing of the house they can stay in."

"Okay," Patrick said, "with one request.”

"What's that?" I asked as we turned and walked towards the RIST station.

"If you don't have popcorn at home, we stop and pick up some."

Pulling out my cell phone, I typed a quick message to Sophie, who responded within minutes.

No problem. Mark's even gone to the store to get you guys some popcorn, he said he'll make kettle corn for you when you get back.

I think he's happy he'll be in the area,
I texted back. Sophie's reply was a series of hearts, LOL's, and a laughing emoticon.

I put the phone back in my purse and looked up at Patrick. “Shall we?”

It took us nearly forty five minutes to get back to Mount Zion, but as soon as we walked in, we were greeted with the most heartwarming site I'd ever seen. Sophie and Mark had dressed up, putting on their best suits (that weren't from the wardrobe of Marcus Smiley and Sophie Warbird), playing the perfect house staff couple. The lights were dimmed, and Sophie had dug out a lantern from somewhere to light the entryway. The candle inside flickered in a welcome, old fashioned light, casting us all in a beautiful orange-yellow light.

"Welcome home, Miss Williams," Sophie greeted me with a small smile, her eyes twinkling in the candlelight. "If you’d follow me."

Mark, for his part, looked elegant in the twin tail tuxedo that he had put on, taking our jackets and disappearing into the gym area, probably to hang them up somewhere. We didn't exactly have a formal coat check room, after all.