Page 30 of Need You
“Cutting it kind of close,” Carrie Jo said as they passed each other on her way to the kitchen. “His secretary called; he’s on his way over.”
“Great,” Colt said with the enthusiasm of a dead man.
“Just don’t get fired,” she shot back. “The town needs you.”
He went inside his office. Pond showed up a few minutes later, dressed in khaki shorts and a polo shirt. He looked like he’d just gotten off the links rather than coming from city hall. Probably playing golf all day. Other than hobnobbing with the town’s elite, the mayor wasn’t from the hard workers. At least Colt’s parents hadn’t been sucked in by Pond’s phoniness. They’d voted for the other candidate.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Mayor?” He really had to learn to curb his sarcasm. Then again, he’d never been good with authority.
One look at Pond and Colt could tell he was fuming. Mottled red face and a jaw clenched tighter than a sealed lid. Pond took a seat, pulled a laptop from his briefcase, fiddled around with it for a second, and shoved it in front of Colt.
One look at the screen and Colt knew he was toast. It was the picture of him with the topless bachelorette party chicks. A lot of bare breasts and nipples filled the shot. One of the girls had posted it on her Facebook page and had tagged Glory Junction, meaning the picture had automatically shown up on the wall of the city’s page. Not good. Not good at all.
“It was my day off,” Colt said, and then wanted to shoot himself for acting so cavalier. But anyone familiar with his work ethic would know that he’d never do anything intentionally to embarrass the town.
“I don’t care if you were on vacation in the Bahamas. This reflects piss poorly on Glory Junction, the police department. . . the uniform.” He pointed at Colt’s blue police shirt to make his point. “Are these girls even legal?”
“Of course they are.” At least he hoped they were. “It was a bachelorette party. I was their white-water rafting guide. After the trip, they goofed around for the picture. It’s not like we were having an orgy.” The raft, the river, and all their equipment sat in plain view in the background. Hardly a site for a wild sex party.
“Well, that’s what it looks like here.” Pond turned the computer so he could examine the picture closer. He stared at it so hard Colt wondered if the mayor was trying to memorize the women’s cup sizes. “How am I supposed to explain this to the council?”
Most of the council members had known Colt since he was a kid. They knew what kind of man he was. Cavorting publicly with naked women was Win’s MO, not Colt’s.
“If you want, I’ll go to tomorrow night’s council meeting and explain the situation,” Colt said.
“I think you should resign.”
I bet you do, asshole.Colt sucked in a breath. “If the council wants me to resign, I’ll resign.”Over a stupid picture on his day off.
Pond deliberated, clearly infuriated that Colt wouldn’t tender his resignation right here, right now. The mayor had the power to remove him as chief, but Colt knew he didn’t want to make a misstep. The Garners had a lot of friends in this town and it wouldn’t pay to alienate them. No, the mayor would rather Colt go voluntarily or that the council fire him, which Pond knew they wouldn’t do.
Pond got to his feet. “I won’t tolerate you staining the reputation of this town. Be there tomorrow night, but remember that the ultimate decision lies with me.”
Colt didn’t say anything, just watched as the mayor stomped out. As soon as he left the building, Carrie Jo burst in.
“Girls gone wild, huh?”
“You saw the picture?”
“Oh yeah. The minute Pond Scum got here the phone started ringing. You’re quite the celebrity on Facebook.”
Colt frowned. “Glory Junction’s page, huh?”
“Yep, and the police department’s page. Last I looked, it had two-thousand likes.”
“Shit.”
His cell vibrated in his pocket. He looked at the display and rolled his eyes, then answered. “What?”
“Looking good there, lover boy,” Win said, and he heard his other brothers laughing in the background. Great. They had the call on speaker.
“I’m glad you’re all enjoying it. TJ, I can’t do the cave tour tomorrow night because I have to go to the council meeting and apologize. But I may soon have a lot of free time on my hands.”
“What are you talking about?” TJ’s voice came over the line. “The council won’t fire you.”
“No, but the mayor might. He made sure to let me know that he’d have the final say.”
“That’s bullshit,” Josh said.
