with
Savannah so they would not get separated. With help from friends
who had gathered early, Savannah and Antoine were able to find
standing room along the wall near the microphone set up for members
of the public to speak. At the front of the hearing room, three
large tables formed a semi-circle of sorts where the twelve members
of the local police jury sat. Two men wearing white shirts and ties
were seated with them. Savannah glanced around the room and saw
him. She waved a return greeting to a group of their neighbors who
were directly across from where she stood. Paul smiled and nodded.
He spoke briefly to the man seated to his left before heading
toward her. Savannah watched his progress, admiring the way he
moved in spite of herself. He wore khaki slacks, a white shirt and
a navy jacket. The jacket was open, revealing a wine colored
leather belt around his narrow waist. He stood taller than most of
the other men in the room. Several women ogled him as he passed.
When he turned his head to return their greetings, she noticed the
way hair curled ever so slightly over his collar. His dark brown
skin against the white shirt made a striking, and very appealing
contrast.
"Ms. St. Julien. Hello again." He smiled, a
bit tentatively. "Uh, how have you been?"
"Fine. And you?" Savannah shifted from one
foot to another, a little suspicious of this new, low key approach
of his.
"You look very nice today." He admired the
cornflower blue summer dress. The scoop neck was not revealing, but
the gentle rise and fall of her breathing was suggestive of a
hidden bounty. A strong urge to touch the soft mound struck him so
forcefully he blinked. Sure his thoughts could be read on his face,
he pried his gaze away from her. Paul willed himself to tame such
lustful ruminations.
"Thanks." She looked away, embarrassed that
he had caught her staring. "Are you scheduled to testify?"
"Yeah, my report is almost finished. Just
need a few finishing touches, but the work is done." He paused and
stuck his hands in his pockets. Looking back at her, he found she
was still gazing straight ahead at a blank wall. "I don't guess
we'll be here but maybe two hours at most."
"Oh, they limit speakers to about five
minutes each. Except experts. I suppose that includes you." She
looked down at her dress and smoothed wrinkles that weren't
there.
"I'm going for something to eat after, would
you--"
The sound of loud tapping on a microphone cut
him off. Paul tried to finish, but was drowned out. Seeing his
partner beckoning to him impatiently, he started back to his
seat.
"I'll talk to you later, okay?" Her answer
was just a smile and nod. "Okay, alright. Sorry, excuse me."He
bumped into several people, not surprising since he was walking
backwards, unable to look away from that smile. That smile was for
him, only for him. Without remembering how he got there, he was
back in his seat.
"Testing. It's working, suh." A city hall
employee passed the microphone to a balding portly man to his
right.
"Thank you, Leland. Evenin' everybody. I'm
Shelby Leblanc, Police Jury president. Most of y'all know me." He
bobbed his head to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, this will be
an informal hearing for public comment on the new facility operated
by Batton Chemical Corporation. We have Jim Garrett and Frank
Mouton from the Department of Environmental Quality. Thank you for
coming. We will have a presentation from Mr. Kyle Singleton,
president of Batton Chemical. But first Mr. Garrett will say a few
words."
"Thank you Mr. Leblanc. The Department of
Environmental Quality, as part of its procedures to issues licenses
to businesses that receive and handle toxic substances take many
factors into consideration. Of course, we consider environmental
impact. We have standards that any proposed facility must meet and
those standards are based on the type of substances the facility
will be dealing with. We also consider the impact on the
surrounding community. We at DEQ are very
Savannah so they would not get separated. With help from friends
who had gathered early, Savannah and Antoine were able to find
standing room along the wall near the microphone set up for members
of the public to speak. At the front of the hearing room, three
large tables formed a semi-circle of sorts where the twelve members
of the local police jury sat. Two men wearing white shirts and ties
were seated with them. Savannah glanced around the room and saw
him. She waved a return greeting to a group of their neighbors who
were directly across from where she stood. Paul smiled and nodded.
He spoke briefly to the man seated to his left before heading
toward her. Savannah watched his progress, admiring the way he
moved in spite of herself. He wore khaki slacks, a white shirt and
a navy jacket. The jacket was open, revealing a wine colored
leather belt around his narrow waist. He stood taller than most of
the other men in the room. Several women ogled him as he passed.
When he turned his head to return their greetings, she noticed the
way hair curled ever so slightly over his collar. His dark brown
skin against the white shirt made a striking, and very appealing
contrast.
"Ms. St. Julien. Hello again." He smiled, a
bit tentatively. "Uh, how have you been?"
"Fine. And you?" Savannah shifted from one
foot to another, a little suspicious of this new, low key approach
of his.
"You look very nice today." He admired the
cornflower blue summer dress. The scoop neck was not revealing, but
the gentle rise and fall of her breathing was suggestive of a
hidden bounty. A strong urge to touch the soft mound struck him so
forcefully he blinked. Sure his thoughts could be read on his face,
he pried his gaze away from her. Paul willed himself to tame such
lustful ruminations.
"Thanks." She looked away, embarrassed that
he had caught her staring. "Are you scheduled to testify?"
"Yeah, my report is almost finished. Just
need a few finishing touches, but the work is done." He paused and
stuck his hands in his pockets. Looking back at her, he found she
was still gazing straight ahead at a blank wall. "I don't guess
we'll be here but maybe two hours at most."
"Oh, they limit speakers to about five
minutes each. Except experts. I suppose that includes you." She
looked down at her dress and smoothed wrinkles that weren't
there.
"I'm going for something to eat after, would
you--"
The sound of loud tapping on a microphone cut
him off. Paul tried to finish, but was drowned out. Seeing his
partner beckoning to him impatiently, he started back to his
seat.
"I'll talk to you later, okay?" Her answer
was just a smile and nod. "Okay, alright. Sorry, excuse me."He
bumped into several people, not surprising since he was walking
backwards, unable to look away from that smile. That smile was for
him, only for him. Without remembering how he got there, he was
back in his seat.
"Testing. It's working, suh." A city hall
employee passed the microphone to a balding portly man to his
right.
"Thank you, Leland. Evenin' everybody. I'm
Shelby Leblanc, Police Jury president. Most of y'all know me." He
bobbed his head to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, this will be
an informal hearing for public comment on the new facility operated
by Batton Chemical Corporation. We have Jim Garrett and Frank
Mouton from the Department of Environmental Quality. Thank you for
coming. We will have a presentation from Mr. Kyle Singleton,
president of Batton Chemical. But first Mr. Garrett will say a few
words."
"Thank you Mr. Leblanc. The Department of
Environmental Quality, as part of its procedures to issues licenses
to businesses that receive and handle toxic substances take many
factors into consideration. Of course, we consider environmental
impact. We have standards that any proposed facility must meet and
those standards are based on the type of substances the facility
will be dealing with. We also consider the impact on the
surrounding community. We at DEQ are very
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