Page 81 of Inside Out
“I’ll see you at lunch,” Jules said, looking as hesitant as I was to part ways. “Walking tacos today. I’ll grab extra napkins for you to tuck into your collar so you don’t ruin your lucky tie. I know how enthusiastic you get on taco day.”
“Good call, love.”
Once inside the building, I found Priscilla at her desk in front of my office. She was looking extra dragon-ish while pulling guard duty which meant she’d already heard the news. “You’re looking pretty damn chipper for a man who’s about to be interviewed by Charles Zimmerman. That guy is a real ballbuster.”
“I’m wearing my lucky tie, Pris,” I said cheerfully. “What’s not to be chipper about?”
“The Hammer is coming. That’s why.” I got a kick out of the nickname the news station had given their investigative reporter.
“What have I done to earn his anger?” I asked. “I haven’t cheated senior citizens out of their money, and I’m not a corrupt contractor. The man doesn’t scare me.”
“That’s true, but still. He’s—”
“Don’t you worry about me, Pris. I need to focus all my energy on the looming budget meeting later this week. Will you hold my calls until after I meet with The Hammer?”
“You got it. No one gets to you without going through me. They don’t call me The Dragon for nothing.”
I winked at her before heading into my office. Once alone, I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. Everything would be all right, and I refused to entertain any other thoughts. Cait called my cell phone as soon as I sat down.
“Good morning, Cait. I’m surprised it took you this long to call me,” I teased.
“Anything earlier would’ve been indecent. I’m sorry to call your personal phone. I knew better than to try to reach you on your office phone since all your calls are routed through Priscilla and not the voicemail system the rest of the district uses. I just want to wish you good luck.”
“You won’t be here?” I asked.
“No. I have a court hearing in fifteen minutes. It shouldn’t take long, but I won’t make it back to Blissville in time. You don’t need me there anyway. You’ve got this, Rome. I know you’ll handle that bruiser just fine and make our district proud. You were the right man for this job in the spring, and you’re the right man now. Nothing has changed. I just needed you to know it.”
“Your support means a lot to me, Cait. Thank you.”
“I gotta run. I’ll see you later this morning.”
“Good luck!”
The Hammer arrived with his cameraman at seven fifty. His voice was as big as he was, and I heard him greet Priscilla politely and ask to speak with me. I rose from my chair and crossed the room to open my door. Priscilla scowled at the man and looked like she was about to give him a piece of her mind.
“Gentlemen,” I said cheerfully. “Come in.” I stepped aside to let them pass before I poked my head out the doorway and mouthed “behave” to Priscilla. “I would say it’s an honor to meet you, but I’m afraid I’d be lying under these circumstances.”
Charles Zimmerman guffawed and shook my hand before dropping down in the chair in front of my desk. It squeaked in protest under his bulk. The investigative reporter wasn’t overweight, but he was carrying a lot of muscle on his broad frame. “I’m not here for the reason you think, Mr. Bradley.”
“Dr. Bradley,” I said, but softened my correction with a good-natured smile. “You’re not here to investigate my conduct as superintendent or talk about the play our schoolwillperform in January?”
“No.” He chuckled at my raised brow. “I want to hear about your encounters with a hate group that’s operating illegally as a 501c3 nonprofit organization.”
“They were granted nonprofit organization status?” I asked.
Charles nodded. “Religious groups can apply for a 501c3, but they have to follow the same rules as all other nonprofits.”
“Can I ask which rules you suspect they’ve broken?”
“I don’t suspect, Dr. Bradley. I have hard evidence to back up my claim. Normally, I would tell you to watch the show because of ratings and such, but I’ll make an exception since you were clearly targeted by this POS”—a wry grin spread across his face—“organization. And, I would hate for the supportive crowd outside to turn into an angry mob.”
“Crowd?”
“You didn’t know there are at least fifty people gathered in front of the school with signs showing their support for you and the play?”
“No,” I said. “I hadn’t been informed.” I had to swallow hard to dislodge the lump of emotion in my throat. “How long ago did POS start flooding your email asking for help?”
“The week after they were shut down by the school board. I had other investigations going on and didn’t have the time to dedicate to digging into their background. I reached out to your school board president first and she sent me a copy of the play for me to read. I’m sure she thought that would be the end of it. That’s what I thought too when I sent an email to Mr. Halifax telling him I wouldn’t be investigating his allegations after reading the school play. There was no agenda being pushed on the kids except encouragement to be decent human beings. He didn’t like my answer and turned his ire on you instead.”