As her words sank in, the yoke landed squarely on his shoulders once more. Except now the weight had doubled.
Chapter 5
A Bartender to Cry on
Hailey snagged her thirdfancy shrimp hors d’oeuvre off the cute waiter’s tray. She’d keep up her flirty smiles as long as he kept her fed, but as sparse as the eats were, he had a challenge on his hands.
A slight, dark-haired woman wearing a glittery silver dress and glasses approached. “Hey, Hailey. You look great! Love the red on you.” She leaned in for a stiff hug. “I was afraid you might not come.”
Hailey flashed her a grin, unaffected by the awkward display that suited the holiday party’s stuffy atmosphere. “And miss the extravaganza being footed by Mesa County for a change? No way! This is my only shot at gorging myself on all these yummy appetizers this entire holiday season.” She hadn’t meant for the remark to make her sound so … pathetic. Fortunately, Ashley didn’t seem to register Hailey’s self-inflicted insult.
“Well, itwasour turn,” Ashley demurred as though she’d had a hand in the party planning. Ashley worked in Mesa County’s Public Health Department, and as Hailey’s counterpart in the larger neighboringcounty—with a larger budget to match—Ashley’s only involvement had been reading the when and where to show up.
Ashley took a dainty sip of her seltzer. “Are you driving back to Montrose after the party? The weatherman said we’re in for more snow.”
“No, I need to tackle my Christmas shopping, so I booked a room at the Holiday Inn for tonight.” A splurge to be sure, especially since Hailey only had Kaylee to shop for. But lolling in a fluffy bed she didn’t have to make had appealed, and now she didn’t have to brave a snowstorm, at night, to return to her dreary apartment.
Ashley nodded, and Hailey rushed to fill the dead air. “How are things in the luxury of the Grand Junction department?” Oops! Hailey had let her workspace envy show.
Ashley snorted in response. “Luxury? Hardly. More like crowded and chaotic. Believe me, you’re better off where you are. Fewer people equals fewer headaches.”
Fewer people also meant fewer dollars in the budget, which resulted in the dinky, drafty space Hailey shared with one half-time admin and Cliff Meissner—her pseudo part-time assistant. The Grand Junction office was akin to staying at the Four Seasons instead of Motel One.
Hailey pressed her lips together to keep from adding, “And are you quitting anytime soon so I can take your place?” Sure, she’d be a smaller fish in a bigger pond there, but a bigger pond meant more opportunity to swim—definitely a stepupthe ladder.
Instead, she said, “At least you guys have the staff to help out the smaller counties. We’re so backed up it makes me wish I was hourly.”
Ashley leaned in conspiratorially. “From what I hear, you’re not suffering pay-wiseandyou’ve got a hot new assistant to divvy up the workload.” She roved excited eyes over the Double Tree ballroom. “Is he coming tonight?”
Hailey wasn’t sure which of Ashley’s suppositions surprised her more.
“He didn’t mention it.”Because I didn’t ask.She pretended not to notice Ashley’s crestfallen expression.
Cliff hadn’t been Hailey’s hire, nor would he have been. He’d been chosen by Dan Williams, the director at the top of the county’s public health hierarchy, for reasons that Hailey didn’t get. In the last seven months, she had learned to avoid talking to Cliff about anything beyond work, and she kept even those conversations curt—mostly because he didwhatever he damn well pleased while giving her a smarmy smile that triggered her retching reflex. She couldn’t tell if he was leering or trying to disarm her to keep her from noticing the knife he had poised to plunge into her back. Not that she had evidence of conniving—only an intuition flashing caution signs at her. But soon none of it would be her problem because she’d laid plans to foist him onto some other department. Maybe then she could hire an assistant who actually assisted.
Ashley’s attention snagged on a commotion at the ballroom’s entrance. “He’s here,” she squeaked.
Hailey turned her head in time to see Cliff Meissner sweep in, drawing sycophants to him—including Dan Williams—like a king holding court or a politician on a campaign trail. Tall, tan, and crisp, he cut a striking figure, with thick black hair slicked back from his face. He reminded her of a fresh-out-of-college, rugged Tom Brady, with a brilliant smile as quick and as white as that belonging to the former quarterback. If Cliff was looking for fans, she was pretty sure ninety percent of the room would line up.
Ashley darted off, leaving Hailey to watch Cliff stupefy his audience and ponder why—and how—this schmoozer had wormed his way into a position obviously beneath his talents. It didn’t add up. Clearly, he had ambition and no qualms about bulldozing anyone in his path. But exactlywhatdid that path look like? More importantly, was she one of the obstructions he wouldn’t hesitate to mow down?
Her intuition roared “Oh hell yes!” in her head.
Hailey tipped her wristto check her vintage Mickey Mouse watch, one of the few meager possessions her mom had left behind and her dad hadn’t pawned. An hour had dragged by as she’d made the obligatory rounds. The shrimp was gone, as was the cute waiter, and they had been her top reasons for sticking around. Besides, she could use a cocktail to smooth her sawtooth edges, and there were none to be had at this shindig. The Holiday Inn, however, had a lovely bar perfect for reading her book and sipping a chocolate martini … or two.
Before she could escape, though, she had one more person to spend fifteen minutes on: Dan Williams. She hadn’t approached him yet because, while she liked the director, she didn’t like the company he’d been keeping all night. He and Cliff had been chummy throughout the event, practically sewn together at the shoulders, but if she wanted to enjoy the comfy hotel room she’d paid for, she would pull up her big-girl pants and talk to both of them.
Steeling her spine, she lifted her chin a few inches and strolled toward them. When Dan spotted her, his flushed face lit up. With his crooked glasses, mop of disheveled gray hair, and shapeless blob of a body, he reminded her of an unmade bed. She wasn’t tall at five foot five, but her two-inch heels brought her to his eye level. Ignoring Dan’s rangier sidekick staring down his nose at her, she extended her hand, which Dan cradled between his two clammy ones.
“Hailey! Now the two most important thirds of the department are here.” He glanced up at Cliff. “Isn’t this nice?”
One side of Cliff’s mouth curled in an oily half-smile. “Yes,verynice.” Hailey’s suddenly greasy insides slid over each other as Cliff scanned her from her red pumps to her side-swept do, pausing in between on the spaghetti straps tied in bows on her bare shoulders. Where had she left her wrap?
Dan released her hand, the smile fading from his face. “I’m so glad you’re both here. Hailey, Cliff and I have been talking …” He paused to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I realize this isn’t the best time, but I don’t know how soon we’ll all be together again in person, and we have a few things to discuss.” He let out a braying sound that could have been a nervous laugh. “Why don’t we step out for a moment?”
Now her slippery insides coiled into a tight knot.
With Dan at his side, Cliff led the way to a corner where the vending machines were housed, leaving her to trail behind.
