So, did I.
***
I left my car at the shelter the night before, but luckily it wasn’t too long of a walk from my house to work.
And it gave me a chance to walk by the pit.
At this time in the morning, people were out for the early jogs, or crammed in carpool, ready to head onto the freeway.
Like a beacon, the sun glinted off the rusted fence as if it was trying to show the world it’s untapped potential.
Those moms with their strollers could stop under a nice shade tree, take a break to let their kids run around the sandbox.
The early morning dog walkers could have a place to let their dogs run out some energy and do their business, instead of leaving it next to a palm tree for an unsuspecting runner to come along later.
It really was the perfect, quaint spot for a park.
Now I just had to convince everyone else of that.
Straightening my bag over my shoulder, I nodded to myself.
So, I was passionate? Sometimes overly so.
It’s what this project needed.
And with Aubrey to help guide me, we could do it.
I just had to get to work and pray that this headache still pounding in my temples would go away in a few hours.
Hopefully.
Instead of the suit, I did as Aubrey suggested and wore a pair of jeans, some sneakers, and one of the nicer tops I had. I didn’t want to be dressed too down, but I also wondered if I’d have to take another hike to walk a dog down to another park...or clean out goat poop. Again.
I breezed past Emma at the front desk, offering a quick wave since she had her phone pressed to her ear, her long, lime green nails tapping on the computer.
Aubrey’s office door was open and even before I got to the glass wall, I could hear her talking.
“Hey, don’t be greedy. We can share.”
I raised an eyebrow, slowly approaching, unsure of what the hell I was about to walk into.
I definitely didn’t expect her to be perched on her desk, a bag of sunflower seeds on her lap as she took one, then tossed another to Pixy, both of them spitting out the seeds in a black trash can between them.
“Um, am I interrupting something?” I cautiously stepped over the threshold, dropping my purse on one of the folding chairs.
“Just a little late breakfast. Chance and the kids had to be out early for soccer, so he didn’t get to make anything. We stopped at the bodega and Sammy was already out of croissants, so figured this would be a good substitute. Want one?” She held the bag out, Pixy bleating in response.
“Oh, you can share,” she reprimanded, puffing her lips out at the little goat.
“I’m good, thanks. I already had breakfast.”
“You did? Someone make it for you?” She raised her eyebrows, leaning back on her desk.
“Um, yeah, my mom?”
She blinked hard. “Oh. So, she picked you up last night and you didn’t go home with someone?”
“What?” I shook my head, swallowing hard as my throat dried up. “No. Why...no...I didn’t go home with anyone.”
She nodded past me. “I just saw your car in the parking lot and when I left, you and Adrian were pretty chummy. I’m not judging, I was young like you once, and I just wanted to make sure everything was going to be okay when we meet with city council this week.”
I shook my head so hard that I swore my ponytail was going to come out.
I dug in my purse, pulling out a stack of print outs. “Definitely not. I even did some research this morning.”
I handed the papers to Aubrey as she used her not-covered-in-sunflower-seeds-hand to thumb through them. “Real Estate listings?”
“Those are homes in the area that have sold in the last five years, all single-family homes. All with fenced in yards. All with demographics of people who would want a park space for kids and dogs. I figured I could start with going to those homes, maybe getting a petition together or just gauging interest who would want a park in that area.”
She nodded slowly as a smile crossed her lips. “Wow. That’s actually something I didn’t think of, I guess I owe you an apology for thinking Adrian Chase might cloud your judgement.”
Before I could open my mouth to respond, a knock came at the glass.
I turned around, coming face-to-floral with a large bouquet of yellow roses, Emma’s highlighted curls not even visible over them.
“These just came to the front,” she said, placing them on the opposite corner of Aubrey’s desk from where she was sitting.
“Aw, Chance still sends you flowers? That’s so sweet,” I said honestly, trying not to make my voice come out bitter.
It really was sweet.
I still remember him trying to woo her when she was dating that dipshit from her office who always complained about his coffee order, no matter what it was.
Thank God she ended up with the guy who tipped and knew her coffee order.
Emma shook her head, putting her hands on her hips so her bangles clanked against the hot pink belt holding back her cheetah print dress. “Nuh uh, these had your name on the tag, Melanie.”
“My name?” I choked out the words, my feet stuck to the ground like they’d been superglued there.
Aubrey had some cat-like reflexes as she reached for the card, buried among what had to be at least three dozen yellow perfectly bloomed roses.
“Well, let’s see who your admirer is.”
Before my brain could catch up to my feet and I lurched forward, Aubrey already had the card torn open, her forehead crinkling as she wrapped her fingers around the small sheet of pink paper.
“Melanie can’t wait to see you again Thursday. Looking forward to hearing more of your sass, just maybe not over limoncellos this time. – AC”
All of the heat that once gathered to my face from embarrassment now drained as a cold chill gathered through my body. “Aubrey, I swear nothing happened. This...this must be some kind of tactic to throw me off.”
“A pretty damn expensive one with that many flowers,” Emma quipped.
Gripping the vase, I held it over my head before slamming it in the trash can, causing Pixy to jump back, bleating fiercely.
Turning toward a wide-eyed Aubrey, I grabbed my stack of papers where she set them on the desk. “This is a game to him. A ploy he thinks he can win with his charm and flowers. But we’re not backing down. Okay? I’m not backing down.”
Aubrey’s throat bobbed as she nodded. “If you say so, then I’m one-hundred percent behind you.”
I nodded. “Good. Then let’s get to work before the city council meeting this week.”
Chapter 7
I poured every free minute I had at the office.
When I got home from work, I still spent time on my computer, looking up whatever research I could.
I knocked on doors, getting signatures from people in the neighborhood, requested quotes from landscaping services, and in between all of that managed to take just about every dog in the shelter for a walk, all the way to the nearest park.
Avoiding city hall or any path near it the entire time.
Until I couldn’t anymore.
Thursday morning started with a dark cloud hanging over the horizon. The ominous foreboding on what was to come for the rest of the day.
I dressed in a button-down shirt and a pencil skirt, putting my hair in a low bun before sliding on a pair of heels. I needed to look the professional part.