"This is a warning from me. I know what you did wasn’t intentional, and you meant well, but if you intentionally fuck around on Tabby, you won't make me happy. Don't make me unhappy with you, okay? She can’t take much more.”
I saw in his eyes the ruthless man he could be, and I nodded. I knew the story of Scott Pressman, even if Mark didn't know that I knew.
Scott deserved everything he’d gotten, but he got off lucky.
* * *
The next morning, Gwen brought me a coffee as I sat at my desk. I still wasn't wearing suit coats in the office most of the time, but I was at least wearing shoes that needed to be polished and not cleaned with an old toothbrush like I did with high tops.
"You look distracted boss," she said. Gwen had called me boss from the moment I hired her, a term that I took as a positive. At her interview, I was 'Councilman McCaffery.' Now I was 'boss.' It was a definite improvement. "Anything you want to talk about?"
"No, just personal life," I told Gwen. "What's the schedule look like for the rest of the day?"
"You've got a meeting with the Mayor at one o'clock, and then a local Boy Scout troop is coming by at four. They've got a bunch of kids who want to interview you, it's part of their promotion requirements. Oh, and don't forget that tomorrow you've got the city engineers coming by. They're bringing you the updates on their building inspections in your district."
"That sounds like fun," I muttered under my breath. "Thanks, Gwen. By the way, any calls from Bishop Traylor or Ms. Berkowitz?"
"Not today boss. Are we expecting a call from them?” Gwen's little smile told me that she was familiar with my feelings towards those two particular scoundrels. She was much bubblier than the few times I met Tabby's assistant Vanessa, but so far had been a great help. I could actually see getting on top of things around the office. "Also, before I go, any idea on if or when you want to hire another assistant? You've got the space in your budget."
"Not yet. If you want to look at what would be best, I'll be happy to talk about it later. Maybe in between the Mayor and the Boy Scouts you can give me some ideas. You've got some political experience."
It was the biggest reason I'd hired Gwen. While not an active campaigner, she had worked as an admin assistant for a PAC in college, according to her resume. She was also very insightful so far in the time she'd been working for me, and had handled things well the time I was out after being shot.
"Of course boss."
Gwen left, and I felt my mood dampen again. I had left my phone near me all day, hoping that Tabby would call or text me. Instead, my phone sat silent, and with every passing minute, I knew I was getting more and more in a funk.
Telling myself I was acting like an idiot didn't help. I'd been doing that ever since the words 'I love you' came out of my mouth. I knew that Tabby was busy, perhaps even busier than I was. In our city, being a councilman wasn't as difficult a job as you’d think. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor held most of the power, and the various city departments were more or less self contained. The Police and Fire Commissioners were elected positions, so while I and the rest of the Council could drag them into a meeting and yell at them, there really wasn't a lot we could do. Most of our work was to look over different department reports from our districts, voice our opinions on matters to the Mayor or Deputy Mayor, and then finagle budget ideas. We did have that much power, over about half of the total city budget, the rest locked up through various other means.
All in all, I had a rather cushy job, with most of it being answering gripes and complaints from citizens in The Playground and Filmore Heights. It was one of my secret weapons against the gangs, in that many times I got lots of information from the very people they lived among because I was seen as a powerless politician rather than the police.
I was just about to run across the street from City Hall to grab a quick lunch when my phone rang. I looked at the number, and saw it was from Mount Zion. "Tabby?"
"Sorry to disappoint, but it's just me," Sophie answered. "No call from her so far?"
"Not yet," I replied. "Although I'm feeling a bit more confident. You called me at least, and you two are closer than twins."
"Mark came in and talked to us. I’ll be honest, I was ready to give you a good sock in the face last night," Sophie said. There was still a hint of anger in her voice, but behind it I heard a lot of forgiveness too. "All things considered, I've forgiven my husband for more. Don't worry about Tabby, she just needs to get her mind calmed down, you shocked her and gave her a little scare. I was calling about you."
"What can I do for you?" I asked. "I hope you don't want to ask how my legs are doing, because I could barely walk up the steps of City Hall this morning."
"Good," Sophie said gleefully, "then you can get here tonight for your next step. That back of yours isn't ready for heavy back work, but I can start you on something else. When are you done with work?"