Two of a Kind (Fool's Gold #11)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

FELICIA SAT AT the long table, feeling more than a little out of place. She was used to meetings that involved moving a six-man team into enemy territory with two tons of equipment and then extricating them with less than three hours’ notice. That she could handle. A city council meeting was more than a little frightening.

She recognized the mayor, of course, and Charity Golden, the city planner. There were a few other people she’d seen at various functions. She was pretty sure the two old ladies sitting in chairs by the wall were Eddie Carberry and her friend Gladys.

“We have a revised agenda,” Mayor Marsha said, standing with several sheets of paper in her hand. Slowly she put on her glasses and studied the sheet on top. When she raised her head, there was a slight tightness in her jaw. Almost as if she were grinding her teeth.

“Someone made changes,” she said sternly. “Was that you, Gladys?”

One of the old ladies grinned. “Yup. We have a few things to discuss.”

“We, in fact, do not,” the mayor told her.

Eddie stood. She had on a bright fuchsia tracksuit that flattered her coloring. With her short, white hair, she looked like a cheerful, rowdy grandmother. Which she probably was, Felicia thought.

“The calendar last year made a lot of money,” Eddie said. “We need to do something like that again. We could become known for our sexy calendar.”

Felicia leaned toward Charity. “There was a sexy calendar?”

“Clay Stryker used to be a butt model. He brought in several model friends to pose for a calendar to raise money for the fire department. It was a big hit.”

“This is a town,” Mayor Marsha said slowly. “Not a club or a bar. We will not be known for anything but a civically focused calendar.”

“I say we do butts,” Gladys announced. “Naked male butts. You there. New girl.”

Felicia realized they meant her. “Ma’am?”

“Those men you had moving the boxes. They’re the bodyguards, right?”

“Yes.”

“Use them. Don’t they have nice butts? You’ve seen them, haven’t you?”

“Don’t answer that,” the mayor instructed. “Either question.”

“I’d like to know,” Eddie said. “I’d like to judge for myself. Why should she get all the fun?”

“I’m so sorry,” Charity whispered with a grin. “But now I have to know. Have you seen their butts?”

“Yes,” Felicia said primly. “But only in a professional capacity.”

Charity blinked at her. “That sounds interesting.”

“I didn’t mean it to. Sometimes they needed to get cleaned up, and we were still having a discussion. I went into the locker room. It wasn’t romantic or sexual, if that’s what you’re curious about.”

Charity fanned herself. “Oh, my. You had the most interesting job.”

“They’re whispering,” Eddie complained. “She’s sharing secrets, and I’m the one who deserves to know. This is my idea.”

“Mine, too,” Gladys said.

“Her, too.”

Mayor Marsha groaned softly. “Stop, I beg you. There isn’t going to be a calendar. Stop asking about it or talking about it.”

Eddie and Gladys both sat down. They weren’t smiling now, and although Felicia couldn’t explain it, she was sure they looked smaller somehow.

The mayor looked at them for several seconds, then sighed. “All right,” she said. “I was going to save this information for later, but I’ll share it now. We’re going to have another new business coming to Fool’s Gold.”

Gladys and Eddie perked up. “Are there good-looking men?”

“Several. Three former football players have a PR firm called Score. Raoul Moreno knows them. They came to visit him and liked the town.”

“Football players work,” Eddie said. “Maybe we can see their butts.”

“If we ask nicely,” Gladys said.

“One of the principles is a woman,” the mayor added. “Will you want to see her butt, as well?”

“Probably not,” Eddie said.

Felicia turned to Charity. “Are they always like this?”

“Pretty much. You get used to it.”

The mayor passed out the agenda. “We’ll ignore the added items,” she said.

There was a fifteen-minute discussion on a parking garage for the local community college, a report by Police Chief Alice Barns on how the usual summer tourist season was affecting crime, followed by an overview of the year-to-date budget.

Finally the council turned to the matter of the festivals.

“I see attendance was up,” the mayor said, smiling at Felicia. “The lines were very long at the book festival.”

Felicia stood and prepared to give her report. She mentioned the changes she’d made, along with some of the complaints she’d received. She talked briefly about the increased revenues and how next year they could support more vendors if that was what the city wanted.