and enjoy their retirement. That’s why I pitched it to the Klein Group.”
“Hold on a minute. Are you telling me this was completely your idea? That the company didn’t just bring you in because they knew you had ties here?”
The way he said “you had ties here” rankled. She’d grown up here, too. Emerald Lake was her hometown. Her family went back generations.
“Of course, it was my idea,” she said, realizing too late that she was snapping at him. “That carousel is sitting on prime waterfront real estate. If it’s not me coming in here with this company to build, it’s going to be someone else. It might not be for a few years, but I guarantee you it’s going to happen.”
“There are plenty of other towns that would welcome this kind of development. Go there.”
“I can’t. It has to be here.”
“Why?”
She shook her head, knowing she couldn’t tell him how close she’d been to being tossed out on her ass, even after ten years of working it off for Marks & Banks. She couldn’t tell him that failure was so close for once that she could almost taste it. She was only as good as her last deal. She might have been screwing up since her father’s death, but she still knew how to read a client. She’d sold the hell out of Emerald Lake, and now that was what they wanted. Not some substitute lake town down Route 8.
“You won’t understand, Nate. It has to be here. It has to be.”
“You just don’t get it, do you, Andi?”
“Tell me your concerns, Nate, and I’ll address them.”
“I’m not one of your clients that you can wow with a PowerPoint presentation,” he said, his words hard. Bitter. “You want to know what my biggest concern is?”
She didn’t like the tone of his voice and knew she wouldn’t like what was coming any better. But she was the one who’d insisted they talk about the project tonight.
She had to say, “Yes.”
“You’re not from here anymore.” As she worked to process his horrible words, he hit her with, “Coming to me with this crap makes me think you were never from here.”
Andi felt as if he’d slapped her across the face and couldn’t stop herself from lashing back at him.
“Well, you’re so stuck here that you don’t see what could happen to this town. But I do. So if you don’t mind my being just as blunt, if you’re not careful, your antiquated rules and policies will drive companies out of Emerald Lake. Businesses won’t be able to survive here, not without a chance to make some money.”
His face was stubborn. But still heartbreakingly beautiful.
Why did they have to be having this conversation? Why did they have to be at each other’s throats?
It wasn’t what she wanted. Not at all.
“People who want to stay, stay,” he insisted. “If you’re tough enough, you find a way to make it work. And you know you’ve earned the right to be here.”
There was a subtext here, she was sure of it, that went something like, If you’d really loved me, you would have stayed.
Working to keep her focus on their debate over the condos rather than the emotions whipping around them, Andi said, “Are you even listening to yourself? Saying how tough you have to be to stay. Instead of celebrating how hard it is to stay afloat in Emerald Lake, why don’t you try a little harder to make it easier for the people who elected you mayor?”
“One building leads to more, leads to problems you can’t even begin to foresee. What I know for sure is that the people who stay are the ones who really love Emerald Lake, just the way it is. They want to be able to swim in the lake, to know that it’s clean and that too many boats and too many tourists haven’t polluted it. They want to be able to hike in these mountains without facing bald hills logged to make a couple bucks.”
“Do you really think I’d bring in a company that would pollute the water or destroy the forests?”
“Everything we do has consequences, Andi. Even if they’re
“Hold on a minute. Are you telling me this was completely your idea? That the company didn’t just bring you in because they knew you had ties here?”
The way he said “you had ties here” rankled. She’d grown up here, too. Emerald Lake was her hometown. Her family went back generations.
“Of course, it was my idea,” she said, realizing too late that she was snapping at him. “That carousel is sitting on prime waterfront real estate. If it’s not me coming in here with this company to build, it’s going to be someone else. It might not be for a few years, but I guarantee you it’s going to happen.”
“There are plenty of other towns that would welcome this kind of development. Go there.”
“I can’t. It has to be here.”
“Why?”
She shook her head, knowing she couldn’t tell him how close she’d been to being tossed out on her ass, even after ten years of working it off for Marks & Banks. She couldn’t tell him that failure was so close for once that she could almost taste it. She was only as good as her last deal. She might have been screwing up since her father’s death, but she still knew how to read a client. She’d sold the hell out of Emerald Lake, and now that was what they wanted. Not some substitute lake town down Route 8.
“You won’t understand, Nate. It has to be here. It has to be.”
“You just don’t get it, do you, Andi?”
“Tell me your concerns, Nate, and I’ll address them.”
“I’m not one of your clients that you can wow with a PowerPoint presentation,” he said, his words hard. Bitter. “You want to know what my biggest concern is?”
She didn’t like the tone of his voice and knew she wouldn’t like what was coming any better. But she was the one who’d insisted they talk about the project tonight.
She had to say, “Yes.”
“You’re not from here anymore.” As she worked to process his horrible words, he hit her with, “Coming to me with this crap makes me think you were never from here.”
Andi felt as if he’d slapped her across the face and couldn’t stop herself from lashing back at him.
“Well, you’re so stuck here that you don’t see what could happen to this town. But I do. So if you don’t mind my being just as blunt, if you’re not careful, your antiquated rules and policies will drive companies out of Emerald Lake. Businesses won’t be able to survive here, not without a chance to make some money.”
His face was stubborn. But still heartbreakingly beautiful.
Why did they have to be having this conversation? Why did they have to be at each other’s throats?
It wasn’t what she wanted. Not at all.
“People who want to stay, stay,” he insisted. “If you’re tough enough, you find a way to make it work. And you know you’ve earned the right to be here.”
There was a subtext here, she was sure of it, that went something like, If you’d really loved me, you would have stayed.
Working to keep her focus on their debate over the condos rather than the emotions whipping around them, Andi said, “Are you even listening to yourself? Saying how tough you have to be to stay. Instead of celebrating how hard it is to stay afloat in Emerald Lake, why don’t you try a little harder to make it easier for the people who elected you mayor?”
“One building leads to more, leads to problems you can’t even begin to foresee. What I know for sure is that the people who stay are the ones who really love Emerald Lake, just the way it is. They want to be able to swim in the lake, to know that it’s clean and that too many boats and too many tourists haven’t polluted it. They want to be able to hike in these mountains without facing bald hills logged to make a couple bucks.”
“Do you really think I’d bring in a company that would pollute the water or destroy the forests?”
“Everything we do has consequences, Andi. Even if they’re
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