A Certain Level of Respect

Sam sat at his desk, piles of paperwork that needed his attention scattered around the room. He hoped taking the week off to be out in the community was worth all the extra headache. If I hadn’t, I would never have met Katie. Sam forced the thought out as soon as it appeared. Katie had made it clear how she felt about working for the mayor. The way she had run away from the prospect of having to share the same space as him—he couldn’t rid himself of the image. Did she think so poorly of him that she would go so far as to turn down a much-needed paycheck? Sure, he had misrepresented himself, but it wasn’t like he had planned on it. Not correcting a mistake wasn’t the same thing as lying. That was another thing he had learned when he became a politician.

“Knock knock.”

Sam glanced up and smiled when he saw his sister. Ruby held a giant card that was nearly as tall as she was, and it was covered in dozens of tiny hand prints. Written in big, pink, glittery letters were the words “Thank you Mayor Freedman.”

“The kids wanted to say thank you for spending the day with us,” Ruby said.

“I can see that. Are you sure it was the kids who were grateful, though? They seemed more excited to see me leave.”

Ruby laughed and leaned the card against the desk. “They keep asking when you are going to come back. That was the most excitement they’ve seen in months.”

“I hate to disappoint my adoring public, but I don’t think I’ll be able to return until glitter is outlawed,” Sam said.

“Good thing you’re the mayor then,” Ruby said. “That can be the next thing on your agenda.”

Sam offered his sister a wry smile. “I’ll have to get right on that. The three hundred other things on my list can wait.”

“Speaking of to-do lists, I have one thing on mine that I’m hoping to take care of while I’m here.”

“You renewing your business license or something? I can help push it through, if you’d like.”

Ruby shook her head. “No, nothing like that.” She bent down, her voice low. “I hear there is someone I should meet. A new employee.”

Heat crept into Sam’s cheeks. This was Zoe’s doing, no doubt. “As of this moment I don’t have any new employees.”

Ruby smiled and her eyes danced. She looked downright devious. “That’s not what I heard.”

Sam loosened his tie, his gaze wavering under her scrutiny. “It’s true that I did offer a young woman a position as our new event coordinator for the holiday festival, but she turned it down.” Sam’s eyes flickered toward movement in the doorway, and his breath caught in his chest.

Katie stood there, listening to them talk about her. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks flushed—the look of someone who had just enjoyed a brisk walk on a cool day.

“Actually, I didn’t. I believe my exact words were, ‘I need time to think,’” she said.

Sam stood up and hastily tucked in his shirt, embarrassed that he had let his appearance become so disheveled during his afternoon of desk work. “I’m sorry, Katie, that was an assumption on my part.”

Ruby elbowed Sam in the side, looking pointedly at Katie.

“Ruby, this is the newest member of my team, Miss—” Sam paused, realizing he had no idea what Katie’s last name was.

Katie hesitated a moment before stepping into the room. “I’m Katie Andersen.”

“Katie Andersen, huh?” Ruby said. “Congratulations, you were blessed with the most common name in existence.”

A blush crept up Katie’s neck and into her cheeks but Ruby just laughed and shook her head. “Welcome to the mayor’s office, Katie. I’m Mayor Freedman’s sister, Ruby.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Katie said. She turned to Sam. “When you have a moment, I’m a little unclear as to what my pay will be, and the specific requirements for the job.”

Sam sat back down at his desk. “Right.” He knew he should ask Ruby to leave for this. She didn’t work for the mayor and Katie’s compensation was none of Ruby’s business. But the thought of being alone with Katie made his pulse quicken. The problem? He liked the idea much more than he should.

Before he could ask Katie if it was all right if his sister stayed, Ruby said, “I’ll let you two talk business, but I hope to see you around, Katie.”

“Same here,” Katie said with a nod.

Ruby backed out of the office, giving Sam two thumbs up on her way out. He hoped Katie hadn’t seen.

Sam cleared his throat while mindlessly shuffling papers around on his desk, his version of a nervous tic. Katie patiently watched and waited for him to finish. Finally, Sam allowed himself to look Katie in the eyes. That was what politicians were trained to do, after all—firm handshakes and looking people in the eyes when they spoke. Except Katie wasn’t just another face at a political rally or city council meeting. When his gaze met hers, her emerald eyes held laughter, and yet so much pain. Sam wanted to figure out what made this girl tick. What had brought her to his small town, and would she really leave when the week was up and she had been paid? Why couldn’t Sam get her out of his mind? Maybe it was because he didn’t want to.

But as much as he longed to get closer to Katie and ask the questions only she knew the answers to, Sam needed to settle for diplomacy. “As mayor of Amor, I would like to officially welcome you to my team, as well as to our town.”

A smile played on Katie’s lips, like she was inwardly laughing at him. “Why thank you, dear mayor,” she said. “The honor is all mine.”

Sam cleared his throat again and shuffled some papers before continuing. “As for the job requirements, you will plan, organize, and execute the town’s annual holiday festival. Normally this would have all been completed by now, but unfortunately, our event coordinator had some distractions that prevented her from doing the job we hired her to do.”

Katie’s smiled faded. “I knew I’d be helping out with your festival—I didn’t realize I would be planning the whole thing. I’m not sure I’m the right girl for the job.”

Sam wasn’t sure either, but he didn’t have any other options. Zoe had seen to that. “The town is prepared to offer you twelve hundred for the week, plus a food allowance, considering your circumstances. You can also stay with Zoe in her spare room for the week.”

Katie stood up, her eyebrows scrunched together.

Sam panicked. Was it something he had said? He watched as she took off her leather jacket and hung it on the coat tree.

“What circumstances are you referring to, exactly?” Katie said.

Sam couldn’t figure out why she was being so defensive. Katie had made it clear she needed help, hadn’t she? “Being stranded in a town with no job or possessions,” he said.

Katie seemed to relax and nodded. She walked back over to the desk. “Make it fifteen hundred and you have yourself a deal.”

Now that Katie had taken off her jacket, he saw how tight-fitting her shirt was. It accentuated her ab muscles and Sam had to tear his gaze away from her stomach. Focus. “But that’s more than twice what we were offering our other event coordinator,” he protested.

“Yes, but there is also the fact that these are extraordinary circumstances. I am starting from scratch with nothing to go on, and you expect me to produce the most amazing festival the town has ever seen, all in one week, correct?”

Sam stared, now more struck by her confidence than by her beauty. Where was the timid woman who had run from him just a few hours ago? “Well—yes. I mean, I never said anything about it needing to be the most amazing festival. At this point, I would settle for a good festival. Even a mediocre one.”

“But that would reflect poorly on you as mayor, something that you would like to avoid,” Katie pointed out.

“Th-that’s true.”

“So, we are in agreement?” Katie asked.

Sam didn’t know how Katie had done it, but she had somehow hogtied him without him ever realizing she held a rope. “I suppose we are.” Though he doubted the city council would approve of him spending beyond the budgeted amount, he felt there was little he could do about it at this point.

                                                                          * * * * *

Katie beamed, impressed with her own skills. She had always been amazed when she managed to hide her intense anxiety when making demands, especially because it had been a few months since she had played the part of negotiator. Teddy had sent Katie out on assignment and she had managed to convince a wealthy CEO that it was more advantageous to pay blackmail money than have his drugs confiscated with some prison time thrown in as a bonus.

But this time was different. Katie could finally use her talents in a way that was savvy, without feeling guilt or remorse after. Maybe she really could make it on her own, and in an honest way. “Great. When do I start?”

Sam looked a little dizzy, like he wasn’t sure what had just happened. “There’s a matter of paperwork. Zoe is running an errand for me, but she should be back any minute.”

Katie wrinkled her nose. “Why don’t you do your own errands? Isn’t Zoe busy enough without doing your stuff too?”

“It’s her job,” Sam said, looking a little offended that she would accuse him of taking advantage of his assistant. “Everything she does is for me, whether it’s paperwork or running out to pick up my dry cleaning. It doesn’t matter, as long as I’m paying her for it.” He turned back to the documents lying on the desk in front of him. “I shouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

Sam’s discomfort gave Katie a sense of satisfaction. When she got under someone’s skin it meant they weren’t as careful with their decisions. It made people easier to manipulate.

Katie shoved the unwanted emotions back. What was she thinking? That wasn’t who she was anymore. It had never brought her joy, only a moment of brief approval from Teddy and enough money to last until the next job.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, that was out of line,” she said. The apology didn’t feel as genuine as she would have liked, but she had to begin somewhere. And an apology, genuine or not, was a good start.

Sam eyed Katie cautiously, but then said, “Thank you. I appreciate that. I expect a certain level of respect from my employees.”

Katie felt a twinge of disappointment. For the last couple of days she had seen herself as Sam’s equal. Allies, almost. But women like her didn’t exist on the same plane as mayors. If she was going to make it through the next week, she would need to try to remember that.

Because when it came down to it, Katie needed that fifteen hundred dollars.