“Can we count on you?” Lanie asked in a bright voice. “I promise, it’s a blast. And it’s for such a good cause.”
She continued her sales pitch while Nick slowly came-to. “I…um…do you need an answer right now?” He’d be done with HBTV segments by then. But would it be fun or humiliating? A promo stunt to kick off summer? Could he work in some publicity for the shop? He could see how people would love that sort of thing. And itwasfor a good cause.
“We’re hoping to get commitments by the end of this week. I could–”
“How many do you have so far?”
“Three. We’re hoping for five or six.”
Hmm. He was a bachelor, but he wasn’t exactly unattached. Probably didn’t matter. It wasn’t a real date. Still, he couldn’t help wondering what Kat would think of the idea. He thought of her volunteer project and remembered her enthusiasm. She got a lot of satisfaction from that. She’d probably think it was cool. He imagined her bright smile. Nick shook his head. He might regret this, but…
“Sure. Count me in. Can you send an email with all the details?”
“Of course. I’ve got your member profile. If you could just confirm this information.”
Seemed she had everything she needed. “All good,” he said.
“Thank yousomuch,” Lanie gushed. “We aresograteful. We’ll be in touch.”
Still shaking his head, Nick replaced the receiver and laughed out loud. What had he gotten himself into? He couldn’t wait to tell Kat.
Nick added the event to his calendar then turned his attention back to the stack of mail on his desk. He opened an envelope from the city. A moment later, he drummed his pencil against the desk and re-read the letter.What the heck?All of a sudden, an idea that had been bounced around last summer had apparently grown roots and taken hold. And now there was an official proposal to create an improvement district and levy a special sales tax for the retail area around the shop.
Where did this come from, and why did the meeting for business owners have to happen during the one week he might’ve been able to get to New York to see Kat? Something on the calendar prevented him from going every week. Didn’t make sense to go the following week because then it was only another week until her show opened.
Not for the first time, he wondered if he had too much on his plate—if something was in danger of falling through the cracks. And he’d just added a charity event. There wasn’t a single thing he wanted to back off from, but each day he didn’t show up in New York City was another day Kat might decide the distance was too great a barrier and dump him.
He ran a hand across his jaw, debating the pros and cons of the proposal. Upgrades to the neighborhood could make it more appealing to tourists, but those costs would have to be passed on to the consumers. His artists couldn’t absorb the increase, and neither could Nick.
Animated voices from the showroom drew his attention. He stretched his legs then stood and peeked out the office door. Trena walked toward him with a couple of business owners close behind. He guessed they’d received the same letter. Marcy owned a women’s clothing store not far from Nick’s shop, and Wayne operated a popular coffee shop and mercantile across the street.
“Uh-oh, this looks like trouble,” Nick said with a chuckle.
Marcy waved a paper in front of her. “You’ve got that right.Thisis trouble.”
“About the improvement district?”
“Yeah. Have you seen the preliminary plan?” Wayne made quotation marks in the air with his fingers.
“No. Just got the letter.”
The two visitors exchanged glances. “I got mine last week,” Marcy said.
“Same.”
“Sorry, guys. I’ve got a lot going on, so I’m just getting to it. What else do you know about the proposal?”
“They’ve scheduled this hearing, but it feels like a lot has already happened behind the scenes,” Marcy said.
“These two guys pushing for this just don’t get it,” Wayne chimed in. “They think bigger is better. Bigger venue, bigger crowds, more money…”
“But it doesn’t mean more money for us. If they build this big pavilion and a parking structure, not only does it not fit the community, it lets people go to concerts and events without ever walking into the shopping district at all.”
“That’s bad for business,” Nick agreed. The status quo was to pepper musicians and pop-ups throughout the business district, which encouraged meandering through the area to hear and see all the entertainment and special exhibits. A completely different feel. Looked like another battle loomed in their future—one he didn’t have time for.
“Seems like every time we get new people on the Council, we have to go through an education process,” Wayne said.
“It’s ridiculous,” Marcy snapped, hands on her hips.
