Winning Her Love. Harmony Evans

wait to get rid of the town’s “legacy,” which held nothing but bad memories for him.

      Besides, politics always trumped preservation. Everybody knew that, he told himself, and promptly dismissed the guilt that suddenly bubbled within him from out of nowhere. The carousel would be replaced with a beautiful garden, a contemporary fountain and green spaces that would be free of insurance liability issues and high maintenance costs.

      “Everyone’s going to love it, including Vanessa!” he muttered to himself. With or without her, somehow he’d have to convince the citizens of Bay Point that his plan was the right thing to do.

      He turned away and entered the building through the revolving doors. The cool air engulfed him, and he shivered a little as he nodded at the security guard. Then he took the elevator to the fourth floor, where his office was located.

      “Good morning, Mariella.”

      “Morning, Mayor.” She jerked a thumb toward his open door. “Mr. Stodwell is here to see you, and he’s in your office.” She dropped her voice low. “I’m sorry. I told him that you prefer visitors to wait out here, but he ignored me and barged right in.”

      “It’s okay,” he assured her. “How was soccer practice?”

      Mariella’s face beamed with surprise. “Great. It was only a scrimmage match, but Josh scored his first goal of the season!”

      “That’s great. Maybe he’s another Beckham in the works, and we’ll finally have a winning team in Bay Point.” He put his fingers to his lips. “But don’t tell Coach Perkins I said so, because he thinks the only ball that should be in play in this town is a football.”

      Mariella giggled. “Your secret is safe with me. There’s fresh coffee. Want some?”

      “How many cups has Mr. Stodwell had?”

      Mariella held up two fingers, and he shook his head. “Then I’d better ace this one alone—without the help of caffeine.”

      Gregory opened his office door. Mr. Stodwell gestured toward the window with his coffee cup. “Those kids out there. Where do they get their energy?”

      Gregory laid his briefcase on his desk and snapped it open, revealing the rose from Vanessa’s shop. He’d forgotten he’d put it there, and he quickly closed the briefcase before Stodwell spotted it. He still didn’t know why he’d kept the now-wilted bud, other than the fact that the petals had once touched her skin. He wished it had been his fingers instead.

      “I’m sure the sugar fixes don’t help,” Gregory offered.

      Ruby’s Tasty Pastries, located on the other side of Ocean Avenue and across from the carousel, was known for its doughnuts that were shaped like lions, tigers and bears for kids, and other rich, butter-laden delights for adults. The organic coffee and beverages were also quite popular among the townspeople.

      Mr. Stodwell grunted and patted his belly. “Ruby’s doughnuts just make me even fatter. But I love them and eat them anyway.”

      He took a handkerchief out of his front pocket. Like a cold glass of water in the hot sun, the man always seemed to be perspiring. He wiped his brow before plopping his large frame down on the wooden chair in front of Gregory’s desk.

      Gregory sat down, and as usual, his chair squeaked noisily. He couldn’t wait until the new city hall was built. The first thing he was going to do was buy a new chair. Until then, to save costs, he put up with the old one.

      “I don’t think we had a meeting scheduled, but now that you’re here, I have to tell you how disappointed I and the rest of the planning commission were to see the news about the redevelopment project in the Bay Point Courier yesterday.”

      Mr. Stodwell shrugged. “I called in a few favors—so what?” he replied, sounding quite pleased with himself. “Besides, it’s not like folks didn’t know that this was coming. Small towns run on rumors like these.”

      Gregory wrinkled his brow in annoyance. “I thought we’d talked about waiting to announce the redevelopment plan until I’d had a chance to discuss the proposal with the stakeholders.”

      Stodwell coughed, and a bit of coffee sloshed on his shirt, but he didn’t seem to notice.

      “What’s the big deal? Now the news is out and in the open. Folks that have businesses downtown know that their time is almost up. Bay Point, as we know it now, will be forever changed.”

      Gregory abruptly stood and leaned over his desk. “The big deal,” he replied curtly, “is that you blindsided me. And now the town thinks I blindsided them.”

       Including Vanessa.

      “I grew up with some of the people affected. Need I remind you that I am up for reelection in a few months?”

      Stodwell shrugged. “I don’t see the problem. You own the land. You have all the cards here.”

      “The city owns the land,” Gregory corrected. “Not me.”

      “Minor detail,” Stodwell said, waving two fingers. “Anyway, I’ve got some good news.”

      He paused and swabbed his handkerchief over his cheeks. “I’m ready to sell the buildings I own downtown to you—I mean the city of Bay Point.”

      Gregory raised his eyebrows in surprise. Stodwell had been on the fence for months about releasing his properties, even though Gregory had hinted that the city might be interested in purchasing them. Now it looked as though they would get the chance.

      “That’s good to hear. You own most of the buildings alongside Ocean Avenue, except for a few owned by Mrs. Barnell. Why did you decide to sell now?”

      Although his buildings were old, they were still valuable. If the downtown redevelopment plan was as successful as Gregory hoped it would be, the buildings and the land they sat on would eventually be worth tens of millions of dollars.

      Stodwell edged his body forward. “It’s the right time for me, and for the city.”

      Gregory nodded. The man was right. If the city owned the buildings outright, it would make the redevelopment process a whole lot easier.

      Stodwell leaned back in his chair. “Besides, some of my tenants haven’t paid rent on time, or at all, in months. Because of that, I can’t make repairs or upgrade the buildings or the apartments upstairs.”

      “Why didn’t you ever sue the tenants for the money?”

      “Are you kidding?” Stodwell widened his eyes in mock horror. “I gotta live here, too, Mayor. I could have shook ’em down for the money, but that’s not my style.”

      Gregory barely held back a smirk. “So now you want us to do it, is that right?”

      Stodwell opened both palms, his grin like a swath of grease on his tanned face. “I have to assume if they’re not paying me, they’re not paying the city, either. Am I right?”

      Gregory frowned and didn’t respond. As in most cities, businesses had to pay a yearly tax to operate in Bay Point, although some exemptions did apply.

      Six months ago, he’d had an independent audit conducted of Bay Point’s finances. The third-party firm had discovered that there was nearly a quarter of a million dollars in unpaid business taxes that were not in the city’s coffers, which was one reason why the city was in a financial mess.

      “Once the city owns all the properties, you can call a lien on each one of them.” Stodwell clapped his hands. “Problem solved.”

      Gregory immediately thought of Vanessa. “I can’t do that. There has to be a better solution.”

      Stodwell shrugged. “Threaten eviction, and people suddenly get very creative about paying up.”

      Gregory held back a gasp. Throw his fellow residents out on the streets? He could never live with himself. He’d grown