Page 51 of 40 and (Tired of) Faking It
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lily stepped forward to grasp the sides of the stand, squaring off with the panel with a confidence that made JD’s pride swell—among other things. She let the silence lengthen as she stared down each member before finally addressing Prescott directly.
“I believe, Mr. Prescott, that there have been some hints at impropriety I can no longer ignore. Nor should you,” she said firmly. “And so I’ve come prepared to do just that. Let me see…” She glanced down the room. “‘Wining and dining,’ Mr. Corley?”
Corley cleared his throat nervously.
“I believe you’ll see that every meal Mr. Lane and I have shared during business hours was paid for by me, on my professional accounts, with records fully available.” She held up a piece of paper. “In fact, I have those records here should you need to see them. Did I attend dinner last night with Mr. Lane in Gatlinburg, not on professional accounts?”
Corley opened his mouth to speak, but Lily cut him off.
“Yes, I did. I hardly think one dinner at the Carousel is enough to buy my support.”
A few members of the crowd shared a muffled laugh.
“As to your mention of money…” She again held up records. “My private accounts have been held up to enough public scrutiny since my campaign, including the annual release of my tax returns, despite no requirement to do so under Tennessee law.”
“No one said you had to put any money received into the bank,” Corley pointed out testily.
“True,” Lily conceded. “However, as I have lived well within my means for the past three years, I’m uncertain what basis you have for now accusing me of trying to make money off a deal I wouldn’t profit from in any other way. It isn’t as if a proposal to change my salary—a salary which is far below many of yours as private individuals, I might point out—is under consideration here.”
As Corley sputtered, Lily turned her attention on Daniels. “I believe the final ‘benefit’ mentioned was attention, was it not, Mr. Daniels?”
JD scanned the panel, his eye catching on Iris’s intense expression. If the admiration he read there as she watched Lily was any indication, Daniels’s wife wasn’t leaning in the man’s favor.
“I am very aware that, as a woman, I appear to be held to a standard in my private life that many male leaders, past and present, do not seem to be subject to.”
Oh boy. JD carefully schooled his expression.
“As you know, more than one past mayor engendered scandal by being discovered in affairs.” She eyed a couple of panel members, though at his angle, JD couldn’t tell exactly who she was targeting. “Even one or two members of this committee have weathered the storm of rumors.”
Prescott squirmed in his seat. “Mayor Easton—”
She raised a hand, cutting him off. “I do not intend to bring up the details of any such rumors. However, I do find it curious that I am now being accused of the opposite—a woman who has shown nothing but personal integrity since she was voted into office is now being accused of favoritism because shehasn’thad a relationship during her mayoral term.”
Murmurs, mostly feminine, rose from the crowd. An unfair standard was never popular, he knew, but particularly when one gender was targeted over another.
“Let me be clear,” Lily continued. “I have never and would never use personal bias to ram through a deal that would be detrimental to Black Wolf’s Bluff. I’ve worked too hard for this town and its people, and I believe my record speaks loud and clear. However…” Lily zeroed in again on Prescott, dead center. “I believe the rules of this committee are clear as well. I, as mayor, can give you my research and my recommendation, but only the members of the planning commission can decide whether or not to move forward with this proposal. Am I wrong?”
Prescott cleared his throat. “You are not wrong, Mayor Easton,” he admitted reluctantly.
“As I thought.” Lily let a pause push her point home. “Then I believe we can put these unprofessional comments behind us, can’t we?” She stepped back, allowing him to once more share the podium with her.
“Yeah, can we stop talking about this crap and get on to the important stuff?” a lady with wild purple hair and a cat—yes, a cat—on her lap yelled. “What about our town? We don’t want no higher taxes or a bunch of people mucking up our town!”
JD half turned to address the crowd behind him. Before he could speak, Lily also turned toward the audience.
“Lou,” she said directly to the woman who had spoken, “I understand your concerns. I had many of the same issues when Mr. Lane first presented this proposal. I’ve talked to many of you and heard what you have to say. We do want opportunity here, the chance for revenue to flow, but what we don’t want is to become crowded out like the folks in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Working together, I think we can find a balance.”
“Because of Mayor Easton’s input,” JD added, “I revised the proposal, as I mentioned before. I’ve added an increased infrastructure percentage to assist the town in creating the public services and structures it needs to support any additional population the resort brings in. This will help offset a major increase in taxes. And that percentage will stay in place for, at minimum, the next three years, giving us time to observe impact upon the opening of the resort and revise expectations as needed.”
“This will supplement what is available through the state,” Lily pointed out, “though state funds have to be matched through our local budget. That could very well entail a tax hike, which we’d like to avoid. Mr. Lane’s proposal through his company does not have such requirements.”
JD was surprised to see Prescott nodding. A couple of other panel members appeared thoughtful. JD decided to push his advantage.
“I’ve also included, directly because of Mayor Easton, an agreement to provide a certain percentage of job equity directly to members of the Black Wolf’s Bluff community rather than bringing in outside workers. Additional help from other towns might be necessary, but Black Wolf’s Bluff deserves both the support and the additional income that the resort can provide. We want to do all we can to encourage your community to thrive, and I believe this is a big part of doing exactly that.”
Murmurs rose from the crowd, but JD sensed that there were more positive than negative. When he turned back to the panel, their faces were a mix. Now it was time to turn the tide with them. “I’m more than happy to answer any questions you might have.”
