Page 46 of November

“I know. I’m trying to hold on to that, but the reality is that, yeah, if the city needs a new freeway on-ramp, they cantake my property. They’ll buy it first, but only pay the value of the land because that’s what they do sometimes, and I’ll be out the profit, my land, and most importantly, hundreds of years of my family’s work. I’d be the one who lost this place. I can’t be the person who lets my entire family down.”

“So, you’re going to drop out?” India asked.

“What? No. I don’t know.” Maisie sighed. “He told me he’d give me a couple of days to think about it, but I can’t just drop out, right? That guy’s a tool. I need to win this for the city, not just forChapter & Verse.”

“I don’t know,” India said. “Maybe it makes more sense to protect this place and run again in the future. I… read up on that guy after you and I talked about him, and he seems to have ambition. He mentioned in an article I found online that he wants to be governor one day.”

“He does. But that’s no guarantee that he won’t run for city council in the next cycle. I think he wants to run for mayor next, which would give him even more power. I just wish that there was something I could do about it. He’ll win. Men like him always seem to, don’t they?”

“They do, yes,” India replied.

“Hello,” the old woman, who’s been there this whole time, said.

India turned to see her standing behind her now, so she moved out of the way.

“Can I help you find anything?” Maisie asked.

“Yes, please,” the woman replied.

“I can come back later,” India said.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll just be a second.”

“I have that meeting,” India lied.

“We close at five, but I’m working on campaign stuff. Want to maybe stop by to help? I know it’s not exactly a date, but I could use the extra fingers to dial. I’m out of money and need to make a last push.”

“Oh,” India said. “Yeah, sure. I can do that. I’ll swing by after my last meeting.”

“Great. Thank you,” Maisie replied.

“You know what would be lovely here?” the old woman said.

“What’s that?” Maisie asked.

“A place where you can get some tea or a coffee. I see your cup there, and it makes me crave a mint tea or one of those way-too-sweet coffee drinks.”

“Oh, yeah,” Maisie replied. “No café in here. Sorry. Just books. What can I help you find?”

India took that as her cue. She turned to go but turned back once more to see Maisie smiling at her. India gave her a smile back and then noticed that there was a gap in the stacks to the left on the same wall as the bathroom. She wondered what was there because the rest of the side walls were all covered in shelves, but that gap looked to be just wide enough for her to get an idea.

“Can I talk to you?” she asked her boss, whom she managed to catch in the Southern office lobby seconds later.

“You can talk to me as we are going up. Then, I have a meeting. What’s up?”

India walked with him to the elevator bank and said, “You wanted to expand.”

“The office? Yes. And you’ve given us a solid plan to pursue.”

“What if we did something else, too?”

“Like what?” he asked, pressing the button to go up on the wall.

“The bookstore next door that you wanted to be torn down.”

“You were against that the other day. What–”

“No, I don’t want to tear it down. I want to support it,” she said as the elevator doors opened.