Page 9 of That Conflicted Feeling

“It’snot that.Someonefrom theWarmSpringsplanning board wants a word.”

“Christ.”Ifling my arms out. “Whatis it with these petty small town council people?Ialready dealt with this once today. “

“I’llput him through to your cell.”

Sheducks back around the door.Myphone rings two seconds later.

“Hi,MaxDashwood.”

“Ah, yes.Mr.Dashwood.Helloagain.ThisisCouncilmanStevens.Wemet this morning.”

“Yes, it seems like only moments ago.”Ilet my sarcasm hang in the air for a second, but he doesn’t respond. “What’sthe problem?IthoughtIsolved the issue with the paperwork earlier.”

“Yes.Yes, you did,Mr.Dashwood.Thatwas great.Butthere’s something else.”

Irest my hand on the window and lean forward.Acruise boat inches along the glittering water.Thedeck looks packed with tourists.

“Imust have already filled out every form in your building,Councilman.”

“Oh, it’s not about the forms.”Hetakes a deep breath and expels it loudly. “Thingis, somehow, news of your application has leaked out.Wecertainly haven’t released it yet.Butwe’ve had a flurry of objections in the three hours since you left.”

“Objections?Whatkind of objections?”

“Oh.”Helets out an awkward half laugh. “Allkinds.Fromcalls for a ban on all large corporations moving into town, to the dearly deceased owner ofThePictureHousereturning to haunt any chain store built in its spot, to a kid who says he hates the color yellow.”

Well, if that’s the best they’ve got, no problem. “That’sall just petty local nonsense.I’msure we can ignore it.”

“Hmmm, well,I’mnotso sure.WarmSpringsresidents aren’t really the type you can ignore.Wejust convened a quick emergency session of the planning board, and voted to put your application on hold until we’ve spoken with you formally again.”

JesusChrist.Iquietly thump the window with the side of my fist.I’mdoing the bestIcan to keep a lid on my frustration becauseIneed this infuriating man on our side.Buthe’s turning getting on my nerves into a fine art.

“There’snothing moreIcan tell you,CouncilmanStevens.I’vegiven you every detail of the projectIhave.Unlessyou need my blood type, and the name of our apple supplier’s pet ferret, what more can you possibly want?”

I’mabsolutely certainPollywould know the name of any ferret owned by one of her apple suppliers.Andwhy has she popped into my head again?

“Obviously,Mr.Dashwood, we absolutely supportYellowBarn’sinvestment in our town.”Hisnose whistles as he inhales deeply. “Butwe are going to need some assurances from you.”

Ido not have the patience for a small-town guy on a power trip. “Tellme what they are.”Igrit my teeth. “AndI’lldo my best to give them.”

“Excellent.We’lldo that at our next meeting.Weneed you to attend and take questions from the board.”

Oh, what a waste of fucking time. “Behappy to.Byvideo chat.”

“Weneed you here in person,Mr.Dashwood.We’rean in-person kind of town.”

Isqueeze my eyes tightly shut and dig my nails into my palm. “When’sthe next meeting?”

“Theday after tomorrow.Wednesday.Sixp.m.”

“I’llbe there.”

Ihang up. “Fuck.”

Thereare two more quick knocks behind me, andCharlottestrolls in with my coffee. “Thatdoesn’t sound good.”

Ishake my head. “Haveto go back toWarmSpringsto clean up another mess.”

Meand my bright business expansion ideas.Spotthe growing communities,Isaid.GetYellowBarninto them before any other supermarket chains,Isaid.Thenonce the communities are bigger and other grocery stores want to move in, we’ll already have the customer loyalty,Isaid.