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“Feel like being my assistant today instead of sitting around?” I asked.
Instead of scowling and insisting she didn’t just sit around when she was alone here, her eyes lit up. “Sure. I mean, it is my job, after all.”
“School comes first,” I reminded her. “If you need to study for your Econ class…”
“I’d rather staple papers together for all eternity,” she said, figuring out I was teasing her.
“How about a trip to Councilman Hardy’s office instead. His actual office, not campaign headquarters.”
He wasn’t expecting me, but that was the point. I needed to keep him on his toes and let him know I wasn’t someone to ignore. Jenna brightened at the mention of her beloved councilman, and I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. She agreed and jumped up to get ready, the cobwebs clearing from her eyes.
We stopped for bagels on the way since I wanted to make sure Hardy was in his office. It would be just like him strolling in late, or having his secretary try to make that excuse. I had someone with eyes on both his office and campaign headquarters, so knew when he rolled in for the day. As soon as Jenna was done with her cinnamon raisin bagel, with peanut butter of all things, we headed over to surprise my wayward ally.
As much as it put me in a sour mood, I needed his cooperation if things would continue at a fast clip up here. It was always good to have as many politicians and important local business people in your pocket as possible, and most of the time, it was as annoying as herding cats.
“Good morning,” I chirped to Hardy’s secretary, noticing the way her face went pale at the unexpected sight of me.
It was clear she’d been told to keep me from accessing her boss, but I made it equally clear I knew he was there and I wouldn’t be put off. All with a soft tone and a smile, so Jenna was completely unaware of the threatening undertones.
I left Jenna with the secretary while I smoothly barreled my way back to Hardy’s office. Witnessing the aftermath of the attack at the bar had been a lot for her, and I didn’t want to overwhelm her too much at once by making a shady deal in front of her. Especially not with her hero. For some reason, Hardy was pulling away from me, whereas when I first arrived in SanFrancisco, he’d been eager to team up. I had to figure out why he was suddenly being such a pain in the ass.
The man had always had his eye on running for mayor and even moving higher in the political sphere, and up until recently, he’d always been a major yes man since I assured him I’d use my resources to get him there. If he stayed in line.
“What’s this about?” he asked by way of greeting, acting irritated that I dropped in without an appointment.
I hid my bad mood to find the reason for his change of heart. It was imperative that I knew where all the players stood on the gameboard of my life. Max had been able to get a little bit of information out of the guy we caught at the scene last night and it seemed like things were only going to get worse if we couldn’t find out who was ordering the hits.
Hardy’s new attitude put me on high alert since it coincided with the most recent attack.
“I hadn’t heard from you about the new proposition,” I said, keeping my face and tone coldly neutral.
He waved for me to have a seat, but I remained standing, forcing him to either look up at me or jump out of his own seat. He was thrown off, and his irritation turned to confusion, his already florid face turning a brighter shade of red.
“Everything is going along according to plan. I feel confident I have the votes necessary to pass it,” he said, rubbing his hand across the strands of hair still clinging to his balding head.
“That’s great,” I said. “And could have been sent in an email.” I let my lip curl into a half smile. I wasn’t joking, and he knew it, growing more restless to be called out.
“I’ve been busy,” he said. “I’m busy now.”
I raised a brow at the apparent attempt to dismiss me. “Your secretary offered to give my assistant a tour,” I told him, leaning against the closed door and continuing to stare him down.
A bead of sweat rose on his brow, and he nodded. “Certainly. She’s more than welcome.”
He really wanted me gone, though. I gave him a dark glare, not moving an inch as he put his hand on his phone then slapped it down on some papers on his desk. I finally let him off the hook.
“I’ll wait for them outside and let you get back to your important work,” I said, freeing him to slump with relief.
I could have caused a scene, but I preferred to bide my time until I had more information. So far, there was no evidence that Hardy was involved in the recent attacks, and if he was involved at all, he was most likely just a pawn. Easy to knock out of the game if he made the wrong move. Which he would have done if he had been stupid enough to try to move against me.
In the outer office, I met up with Jenna and the secretary coming out of the break room, heads together in deep conversation as if they’d been friends for years. I smiled broadly at my wife, no longer trying to hide my emotions, as if I could have when it came to her.
They didn’t notice me, and the secretary moved on to show her the meeting room. Seeing Jenna’s enthusiasm blotted out my bad mood, like the sun finally burning through the clouds outside the windows. I’d scheduled a meeting with Vera after this impromptu visit, but I took out my phone and canceled it. I wouldn’t have heard a word she said anyway, not with Jenna waiting patiently in the corner, taking notes.
No, it was turning out to be a beautiful day, bright and clear and not one to waste in an office. The thought of going home to the rather bleak apartment didn’t thrill me, and it hit me that it was well past time to start looking for a proper home. One that Jenna could fill up with memories and keepsakes and decorate to her heart’s content.
She didn’t think I noticed where her eyes went as we walked along the city streets together. I noticed every longing glance into shop windows. When I asked why she didn’t start decorating the apartment, she always claimed she was too busy with schoolwork. But I thought it was because she knew it was just a temporary abode for us, and her frugal ways wouldn’t allow her to spend money freely yet.
Calling up my real estate agent, she agreed to drop everything to show us some places that afternoon. She rightly saw a huge commission on the horizon and assured us she’d only show us the best houses on her roster.
