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“Mrs. Woodrow had a few ideas about the presentation that I would like you to hear.” Lara gestures to the office, and Kathleen and I can’t help but give each other a look.

This is going to be hell.

Sure enough, our impromptu meeting at nine in the morning has everything to do with Friday’s proposal. As one of the council leaders, Mrs. Woodrow wants to ensure we know what to expect and what we should do to prepare. I can handle that. Kathleen’s twitching, her dominant personality at complete odds with this woman. So is mine, but I’m better at covering it up. Kathleen looks like she’s about to slap the woman.

I’m not sure I would stop her.

The rub comes about twenty minutes into this farce of a meeting. A farce because it’s keeping us from getting to our real work.

“As it is, Ms. Allen and Ms. Mathison…” Colleen primps as if we’re her mirror. “The double proposition is a good one, but I’m afraid both the community and the council will not be in the mood to approve both ventures at the same time.” When she’s met with our bemusement, she explains, “Either the museum or the functioning remodeled hotel will have to come first. I’m afraid that asking for both at the same time will put people… on edge. As it is, we think both are fantastic ideas if done tastefully, and we look forward to seeing both of your presentations.”

“But?”

“But only one will be selected if either of them is to be at all.”

“So let me get this straight,” I interject, putting my hand in the middle of the table. “You want us to continue with our presentations… but only one of us will be ‘selected’ to continue forward as planned?”

“If either is selected at all.”

“Oh, well then.”

This is bullshit, and we all know it. I don’t know whose rad idea this is, but either Kathleen or I are going to be in big, big trouble with our fathers. Either my father is going to come down hard on me for not securing us the money-making hotel, or Kathleen will be further humiliated because her family doesn’t get their museum.

It’s not fair, and we all know it.

This business isn’t fair. We all make our peace with it, but sometimes you come up against something so stupid and arbitrary that even this hardened heart is amazed by it. This is one of those instances. Does she seriously expect me to believe that the community is too sensitive to accept a renovated hotel and a new museum at the same time?

“We know that neither of you wants to hear something like this,” Lara says, patting Colleen’s shoulder. They look like bosom buddies, all right. “But I’m afraid it’s how it has to be. If the community decides to accept a renovation, it can only be one or the other for now. The other can come later once it’s been proven that the first is a success.”

Kathleen shakes her head as if she’s ridding her brain of an evil spirit. “So Ira and I are essentially competing against each other.”

“Don’t think of it that way,” Lara says with that ridiculous air of superiority. “Unless of course it makes you work harder!”

Her laugh is enough to make me curl my fist and for Kathleen to sneer into the back of her hand.

Long after they leave, we’re left sitting here in the office, our spirits fucked. Not even our bubbly assistants can bring us back from the dead. There isn’t even time or energy to think about what happened Friday night. The only good to come out of this is that I no longer want to think about anything but having sex with Kathleen.

Apparently, she’s my rival now.

We’ve gone from being partners in this endeavor to vying for different things. Kathleen wants to prove herself, and I want to not fuck up my father’s investment. Before, that fueled our teamwork. It probably fueled the whole sex thing too, but that’s neither here nor there.

Now we’re competing. I don’t care how they spin it. We’ve gone from all in to only one can survive.

This is going to be great for our relationship.

Chapter 14

Kathleen

Do you know what it’s like to be grounded? Because that’s how I feel right now. Trapped in a shitty situation where there is no real winner.

I am so fucked. My level of “fucked” is that of a porn star’s. Minus a good lay and getting paid for it.

You see, I cannot win in this farce of a situation. No matter what happens, I am boned.

Let’s look at the first possible outcome. Ira gets the initial deal for remodeling The Ace. Great. That shuts me out, and once again I look like a dumb girl who can’t keep her shit together. Sure, I may have held my own and was able to overcome my previous mistake, but I still fucked up! Yay!

Now, let’s consider the second possible outcome. I “win.” Except not really, because what good does it do everyone if we’re only building a museum? Will the Mathisons even want to buy the hotel if that happens? Sure, they can make revenue off admission and a gift shop, but their bread and butter is going to come from the hotel itself. That is their main line of business.