Page 99 of My Rock Star Neighbor
Ican’tbreak it off with him.Not when he’s doing his best for us.
I need to meet Ward and get this article published.
I call Nick.
He picks up the phone.“I’ll be back tomorrow morning.I can’t wait to see you.”
I explain about the call I received and that I’m going to meet Ward, hopefully at his office, so I can get his comment on the story.
“Do you have to meet with him?”Nick asks, his voice laced with concern.
“Yes.”I explain why.
“But isn’t he already going to publish the dating contract?”
“I think he will wait to see if I take the deal he is offering,” I say.“I’m going to call him right now and suggest a meeting.He’ll want to keep that dating contract in his back pocket until he meets with me and figures out exactly what I know.”
“Don’t set up a meeting until I’m back and can be your backup.Just in case.Let me also check if Luca is back.”
“Okay,” I say.We talk for a few minutes longer about how the tour is going, and hearing his voice on the other end of the line makes me feel like it will work out.He makes me laugh, and as I imitate Squeaky Voice for him, it suddenly feels less threatening.
I call my boss, Felicity, and we confirm the plan.She has the article ready to go, but it will be held for any final information from this interview.
The next morning, I call Deputy Commissioner Ward’s office number, and he picks up.
“Hi, this is Maddie Hughes fromThe Intelligencer.I’m writing a story about the Infrastructure Department and would like to discuss it with you today.We’re planning to publish this evening.Would you be free to meet at your office today as soon as possible?”
There’s silence on the other end.Good.I’ve taken him by surprise.I don’t want to give him too much time to prepare.
“Just me?What about Commissioner Johnson?”he asks.
“I think you will be particularly interested in what I have to say, but I should discuss it with him too.I want to talk to you in person first.”
“Yes, today, noon.Here.That sounds like a good idea.I’m sure I can help you out and give you some insights you may be lacking.”
“Excellent.I’ll see you soon.”
Chapter thirty
Maddie
Thisisalreadynotgoing according to plan.Ward changed the time to five p.m.and the meeting place to Doyers Street, a street known as the Bloody Angle in history because of the gang warfare centered around its blind angle.But I’m determined to get this article published in tomorrow’s paper.I can’t back down now.We’re meeting at a Chinese restaurant.It has to be safe.
The restaurant light is dim when I enter.Nick’s voice in my earpiece says, “I can barely see anything, but my eyes are adjusting.I’m here for you.”I’m wearing a little camera on my jacket so Nick can see what is going on, and the recorder pen is turned on.
A gold cat, Maneki Neko, is waving its paw at the checkout counter, which somehow makes me feel better.I’m hoping it brings me luck.Red curtains shroud the windows.
Ward is at a table already, and he gestures for me to join him.I order myself a green tea.
“Thanks so much for agreeing to this change of venue.I think I can be more honest outside the office,” Ward says.“You must admit that your call was quite short notice.”
“I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me,” I say.My voice sounds young and high-pitched.Great.Now I’m the one who sounds like a three-foot-tall cartoon character.
“I think we’ve been investigating the same thing, so it makes sense we pool our resources,” he says.“But let’s keep this discussion off the record.”
“I’m writing an article about corruption in the Infrastructure Department.It’s my understanding that certain property managers ask for a kickback in order to assign a repair contract.”
Ward nods.“Off the record, I discovered that as well.It apparently started innocently enough.One contractor offered a bribe to a property manager to get the job, and the property manager couldn’t resist the extra cash and thought it would just be this one time, but the money was too tempting.We’ve been doing an internal investigation into that.I have a sting operation running right now, so I’m going to have to ask you to hold off on writing any articles until we can catch the guilty mastermind behind this.”
