Page 38 of The Dreidl Disaster

“Wait,” she managed, the thoughts running through her head as she tried to corral the words and understand what he was saying. “What happened?”

He put his coffee down on her desk and looked up at her; she tried not to faint. “What do you mean what happened?”

“I mean,” she began, trying not to sigh, “what happened to make you think they’re concerned about where your interests lie?”

“Aaaaah,” he said. “Right. So. My friend was yelling at the guy from the Pasta Station when he introduced me. He…Maricelli, I think his name is?”

She could picture Frank Maricelli yelling at someone on the sidewalk. He wasn’t a bad guy, but he was protective. “Yeah. That’s him.”

“The reason why there was yelling, was that Maricelli had seen…us with my jacket when we were outside.”

And they must have seen something at the meeting, which made her realize that she’d been right. The chamber was, in fact, acting like a governmental chaperone.

Great.

But just to make sure, she continued the conversation. “Why was your friend yelling at Maricelli?”

Was he blushing? Was there color suddenly on his cheeks. “Maricelli was accusing me of behavior unbecoming,” he managed. “Leo, my friend, was taking exception to it.”

“Leo…?”

“Fratelli,” he replied. “I’ve known him since I moved to Rivertown.”

Better and better, she thought to herself.

Not. “I think the chamber is going to test you and me about what your actual purpose is being here,” she finally said.

“Right,” he said. “We have our postgame as part of the meeting? Set the agenda with them?”

“Or at least,” she said, “send your notes to the chamber, let them know that we’re going to be discussing the agenda you put together.”

“I’ll be prepared,” he said.

And if she hadn’t lost her mind already, she was a goner.

Chapter Fourteen

Walking into Levitan’swith Liv…Mayor Nachman was completely different than walking into Levitan’s with Abe. Or even different from the time he’d come in looking for advice and information.

This was business. He wasn’t on the job searching for help or an ally; this was the job.

Having Liv with him was another story, and he already knew he was on shaky ground.

Somewhat shaky ground.

Making complex a situation that he wished was very easy. Of course the first time there were feelings like what he was feeling, he was in the middle of a job he couldn’t mess up.

“Mayor, Mr. Rabinovitch?”

Paul Levitan looked different, nervous as he stood in front of them.

“Yes,” Artur said.

“This way,” he said, leading the way toward the back of the restaurant area he’d been in with Abe.

But instead of going into the kitchen area, Levitan turned and led them past bathrooms to an office.

Jennifer Cohen, Carol and a few others were waiting. “Please sit down,” Levitan said as he closed the door.

---