Page 8 of Haunted Hearts
You have got to beshittingme.
“I’ve got the projector all set up for you,” Ethan is saying. “So once you’re settled and everyone’s got a seat, I’ll get us started. Looks like we’re pretty much on time.”
Projector? Once he’ssettled? What the fuck is hedoinghere?
“Good morning!” Nancy chirps as she slides into the seat next to me. She shoots me a chipper smile, then beams across the table at the rest of the board.
The guy from the coffee shop turns toward us with a polite smile, then stops, his eyes landing on me. His smile falters for asecond, and I can tell he’s struggling to piece together why the hell I’m here, but he recovers quickly.
“It’s a lovely morning out there,” he says, deep voice booming through the conference room. “Great weather.”
I sniff. Nancy shoots me a glance, her brow furrowed.
“Lydia,” she says, “Have you met Will Holloway yet? He’s our architect.”
An icy wave of horror floods through my bones. No. No way. This isnothow this meeting was supposed to go. This cannotbe the architect. God fucking help me.
As the guy from the coffee shop fixes me with his blue-eyed gaze and gives me a polite nod, there’s no way the expression on my face is anything but one of abject horror. But I snap my gaping mouth shut and try to pull it together.
“Um,” I say, pasting on what I hope is a smile. “I think we’ve met once, yeah.”
“I think you’re right,” Will says, something like a smirk playing on his lips. As he leans across the conference table and holds out a hand, I catch a whiff of his sweet, spicy cologne, and I hate it. He has no right to smell that good. “Either way—Will Holloway. Nice to officially meet you.”
The last thing I want to do is shake this jerk’s hand, but I’ve got no choice. Standing up from my seat, I pull my lips into a prim smile and return the handshake. His whole fucking hand about swallows mine.
Will’s blue eyes are on me as I pull away. “Yeah,” I say stiffly. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“Alright,” Ethan Wilde booms. He claps his hands together, and everyone settles into their seats. “Let’s get started, shall we? By now, I’m sure you all know Will Holloway, and given that we’re well on our way toward the pre-construction phase of the project, I’d imagine you’re mostly familiar with the design plans, too.”
A murmur of agreement ripples around the table, which I find a little concerning. Nancy’s got her gaze fixed on Ethan, quite conveniently not looking at me.
“So following all that,” Ethan continues,” I’m happy to announce that the board has officially voted to approve the designs Will presented at the last meeting—with a few minor adjustments, which he’ll walk you through in a few minutes.”
Ethan turns to grin at the faces around the table, and it’s only when the room erupts into polite applause that his words fully register. Did he just say the board hasapprovedthe designs? As in, past-tense, done-deal, that’s-itapprovedwhatever changes this Will character came up with?
If I thought I was frozen before when Will walked in, I’m sure as shit frozen now. Like, icicle status.
“I’m sorry,” I hear myself blurt out. “You’ve already approved the designs?”
Every head in the room turns to look at me, including Ethan Wilde, who’s not looking very pleased about being interrupted by the assistant librarian.
“We have,” Ethan says, his voice curt. “The board voted last week.”
“But I didn’t…” I look helplessly at Nancy, but she’s scratching at something on the table, still not looking at me. “I didn’t know that was happening.”
Ethan’s smile is dangerously close to a sneer. “Well, you’re not on the board, are you?”
The room’s quiet. My face burns like he’s slapped me, but I shake my head. He’s right. I’mnoton the board, which is exactly why I’m here at the stakeholder meeting—because as assistant librarian and a resident of Hawthorne Bay, I’m a damn stakeholder.
Will’s eyes land on me, and I swallow hard. He’s in on this shit. The man who just made a joke about mesucking cockisalso the one who’s going to gut the place that served as my only haven, and it makes me want to puke. Or throw my pencil at his stupid, chiseled jawline. He and Ethan Wilde can both suck ten dicks for all I care.
Ethan sits down at the table, his open laptop in front of him, and pulls up a presentation on the projector screen. He hands a clicker to Will. “Here you are. Take it away, Will.”
Opening the sleek black binder he’s placed on the table, Will smooths the pages and clicks his pen. He looks up at the screen, where a bulleted list has appeared.
“Alright. As you know, when the board first met to discuss the objectives of the project, our main aim was to preserve the integrity of the library while updating it to serve modern needs. To that end, our goals are threefold.” Will counts off on his fingers. “Structural reinforcement and safety upgrades. Improved accessibility and space utilization. Expanded technological resources, meaning the new computer lab.”
Everyone at the table nods as Will clicks through to the next slide. A large blueprint fills the screen, and Will gets up from his seat and strides over to it. He taps the screen with a large hand, and I crane my neck to get a look at the proposed layout. This is the first I’m seeing any of this.
