Page 61 of Hottie on Her Shelf
“You’re nothing like your uncle.”
The door slammed behind Derek. Well, it tried. The latch didn’t catch, so it rebounded into the wall. The man was all about denting up his office, leaving his mark on the way out.
As long as he was gone, for good, Fitz didn’t care if he’d need to be in here tomorrow with a can of spackle.
Weird parting words, though. Yes, his uncle had been the previous occupant of the office. What was that supposed to mean? Was Fitz a better mayor? Worse? Had Uncle Jeremiah been under his dad’s thumb? Had he forged his own path?
As soon as he got in his car, Fitz turned on Bluetooth and called Everett.
“Life sucks.”
“Heavy the head that wears the crown.” Mocking laughter rumbled through the speakers. “Let’s see—you’re still rich, you’re still mayor, and you’ve still got a solid thirty years ahead of you to work on getting as smart as me. What could suck?”
“My parents showed up at work to, well, the only word is scold me. For embarrassing the family by letting Hallie turn the tables at that event yesterday.”
“You’re still sore about that?”
Fitz swallowed his impatience as Mrs. Fernmueller pulled the red wagon with her obese beagle in it across the street at a solid clip of one step per minute. “No. I’m actually pretty damn proud of her for coming up with it. She found my Achilles and slashed at it. It was a great job.”
“Proud of getting ripped to tiny pieces by a girl.” Everett inhaled a reverse whistle. “Yeah, you’re a goner for her, that’s for sure.”
“I just want a solid, fair race. Not like that last Superbowl that was a fifty-five to ten blowout.”
“Right. Would you feel the same way if your opponent didn’t look great in a dress? And flutter her long lashes at you when you hold her hand?”
Would it be out of the question to get out, drop Mrs. Fernmueller into the wagon too, and drag it across the street? “Cut it out. This has nothing to do with Hallie being a woman.”
“It’s funny how you think you believe that.”
Maybe he burned rubber once the street was finally clear. “Anyway, I’d just kicked ass in a meeting. Felt like a superhero. Then my parents pulled a pop-in to drip their disappointment all over me. I escaped them, but Derek was lying in wait in my office.”
“Derek the dickhead.”
“Derek the done. I fired him.”
A sharp hoot bounced all around the car. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all month. I’m only sorry it took you this long. Good for you. We should celebrate.”
“That’s why I’m calling. Not to celebrate. More along the lines of life sucks so come split a pizza with me once practice is over.”
“You know I’m your guy for any and all pizza needs, but I say you’re wasting energy being miserable.”
“Did you not just listen to the recap of my shitty afternoon? I earned the right to say today sucks.”
“That’s one way to look at it. Or…”
“Or what?”
“Or you could remember how you never wanted to be mayor in the first place. How it got forced on you. You’re working too damn hard on something you don’t even care about. What if you put this much effort into something you do care about?”
And immediately, Fitz thought of Hallie…
He knew Everett was calling back to the nights they’d stayed up late talking in undergrad. When Fitz had confessed that he didn’t want to be mayor, but couldn’t come up with an escape plan. How he’d truly wanted to help people—and didn’t see politics as the way to do it. How much he liked helping kids work up to their potential on the sports field. How he most enjoyed the coaching role he fell into as mayor sometimes, too. That one-on-one connection that really made a difference.
Pipe dreams, though.
His sister’s big brain couldn’t be wasted on politics. Blake had her out from the family business as soon as she skipped a grade and fixated on science. Her work could save lives—or fix ’em—globally.
So, Fitz was the only one to take on the family mayoral mantle, to stand up for the town the way generations of Montgomerys had before him.
He didn’t get the chance to follow his career dreams. But he just might be able to put that untapped energy into getting Hallie…for at least a little while…and then he’d think on what his future held and what he really wanted out of life.
