Page 132 of Everything Has Changed
It was nice to hear from Ramona, though, that he did help at least a little bit like he told all of us. At least he wasn’t a complete liar.
She flips another page in our direction, laying them side by side to point out the places she marked with tabs. “Triton on the other hand is almost too good. They picked up on their flaws and the cracks in the foundation, using it to cover their own asses.”
“That doesn’t sound like it bodes well for us.” I slide my teeth over my lower lip, nibbling in anticipation of what Ramona is about to tell us.
“Actually,” she says while placing a new page on top for us to look at. “I found a clause buried deep that I have a feeling Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antonio didn’t even pick up on or could very well be the reason he was so opposed to having this reviewed. Article 3, paragraph 14, subsection c.” She points her pen toward the end of the page. “They made sure to point out that they would break ground on the resort and officially start the process of turning Willow Grove into whatever their vision is for theming during Mr. Spencer’s term as mayor.”
I look up with a furrowed brow, but Piper beats me to my question.
“So we need to have him removed? How do we even do that?”
Ramona smiles at my friend. “Not exactly, though that’s not a bad idea. We can discuss that later.” She underlines a few lines on the page for us to read.
“I don’t want to sound like a small town girl,” I admit sheepishly, “but I’m going to need this in layman’s terms.”
“Triton placed a clause stating if Mr. Spencer causes any trouble, say he comes out with a scandal, is found to be doing dirty dealings while still in office, whatever. Then they have the right to remove themselvesfrom the contract. If he does anything to bring himself into the mud, subsequently dragging their names alongside, they will pull out.”
“We need to start a horrible rumor about Richard Spencer?” Piper asks. “Done, what do we need? How scandalous can we make this?”
Ramona holds her hand up to stop Piper. “I’m going to pretend I did not hear you say that.”
Mitch scratches at his beard. “I’ve been digging for awhile now for any dirt on the man, but no one has anything concrete. Nothing that would cause that much damage for them to pull out, at least.”
“This is your ticket. Otherwise, there’s not much we can do in the short amount of time. They plan on breaking ground in a few weeks.”
Though I don’t want it to grow too much, a flicker of hope sparks in my chest as I think of how we can get information on Mr. Spencer.
Turning toward Mitch, I slap on the best pleading look I can muster.
“What, kid?” he asks.
“You mentioned you have a contact. That’s how you found out about this in the first place. Do you think they would have anything or at least can lead us to someone that does?”
He sighs. “I don’t know if they are willing to talk. When they reached out to me they told me I was under strict orders to never contact them again. That was the only way they would give me the scoop in the first place.”
“Mitch,” Piper leans around me. “Please, we are begging. This could be the ticket to end this nightmare.”
Ramona even joins in the pushing. “Mitchell, the girls are right. This is the only way. I’ll help you navigate anything legally if I need to, but this is your best shot.”
Mitchell squeezes his eyes shut as he drops his head and sighs. I know he’s giving in before he says anything as he lifts his head back up to us.
“Let me contact them to see if they are willing to talk. But I don’t make any promises, so don’t get too hopeful.” He stands from his seat, fishing his cellphone out of his pants pocket and stepping out into the hallway.
Despite his words, the hope flowed through me. Because it was the first time in days that I felt like we had a real chance.
Ramona discusses a few more points in the contract with us, just in case we might need to fight a bigger fight down the road. When Mitch walks back inside the office, however, I know we won’t need it.
“They have agreed to give any information they have to help you.”
“But…” I urge as I can feel it hanging in the air between us.
“They want to meet with you personally first.”
I jump to my feet in excitement. “Yes, absolutely, anything!”
Mitch chuckles. “I thought you would say that, so I already agreed to dinner for you tonight. I’ll text you the address. They requested to meet in the next town over. And it can only be you.”
“Wait. You’re okay with her meeting some random person in another town alone?” Piper gasps in shock. “No, I won’t allow it.”
