Page 83 of Just a Plot Twist
“Bens.” I break apart at the newness of it all. His gaze, with pupils rimmed in the color of hot tar, takes all of me in. He’s full of need and careand tenderness. I wrap my other leg around his waist and now he’s holding me here and I’m weightless. I’m not just floating, I’m flying.
And I don’t ever want to land.
Chapter 26
Claire
My mind is busy hating on Rich at our meeting this morning.
Hey, it’s either that or I allow myself to be flooded with gut-toppling memories from the other night with Benson.
Or “Bens” as I started calling him.
Ilovecalling him “Bens.”
We kissed in the lake and it was glorious. Calling him “Bens” felt almost more intimate than anything else.
Almost.
For that moment, I wasn’t cold, and my goosebumps and shivers faded away into nothingness. I was only aware of him. Kissing him became my favorite lifeblood.
It’s changed everything for me.
And he’s been the kindest, most attentive man to me since.
ButI cannot sit here and reminisce during this update on the state of the water table in the town of Longdale, Colorado.
“No one knows how to do anything!” Rich’s voice grates through my head-in-the-clouds feelings. He’s on one today, slicing his arms through the air like he’s about to take flight. What’s got his panties in a bunch?
Maybe he remembers that he’s an idiot?
No matter what, he is pushing the envelope here. He even does the thing he always does: He says “irregardless” when he’s trying to sound smart. I’ve told him it’s not a real word, but he doesn’t believe me.
I dash out of the meeting as soon as it’s over, willing myself to move on from the storm cloud that is Rich and focus on positive things. I have my interview with Mayor Whitten and a couple of the council members in half an hour, so positivity is a must right now.
In my office, I do a decent job at expunging from my mind Rich and my worries about him getting the job over me.
But I simply cannot get over the memories of Benson’s lips on mine.
I’m sure I still have a dopey grin when I go upstairs and am ushered into the mayor’s office, smoothing my hands down my white midi-length skirt. I look the part in my thin, black sweater, Burberry-esque tan cotton jacket, and my camel loafers. My hair is brushed smooth, my makeup on point. IknowI exude the vibe thatthis job is mine.
As things start out, the whole situation is less like a job interview and more like a chat with people I’ve known half my life.
Because I actually have.
I barely flinch when Shirley Donahue and Ellis Salisbury begin with their questions. I know the answers like the back of my hand. I’ve lived andbreathed resource allocations and city development issues for so long, it’s almost second nature.
But then Mayor Whitten starts in. “What’s your budgeting philosophy?”
I was in the meeting last week when Rich spouted off his beliefs on our budgeting style as a city. And I remember the mayor agreeing with him on every point he made.
But I have a different approach in mind. “I’ll start with a data-driven assessment, and I’ll be thorough about it. We can’t see where we’re going until we know where we’ve been.” I expound on that opener, and the council members and mayor seem satisfied with my answer—maybe even impressed.
We discuss the trailways project, but then, the mayor concludes the interview with: “It’s no secret that, if we stick with the internal candidates only, there’s just you and one other person who are viable options.”
We all know he means Rich and me.
I give a small smile. “I’d like to humbly say that there’s really onlyoneviable option and that’s me. Mr. Mayor and council members,” I look at each of them in turn. “Inez Gregory has served faithfully in her job for years, but, due to her high-risk pregnancy, she asked me several months ago to fill a bigger role. I’ve acted on her behalf in many capacities. I’m well-versed in what it takes to keep this city thriving because I’ve been doing it, in one way or another, for nine years. I’m ready and willing to continue on in this vein for many years to come.”
