Monday 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?"