Based on how tight the muscle in his jaw looked, Wes was pretty sure Ryan was suppressing the urge to punch the mayor.
“I’d love to join,” he said. “Send me the details.”
Wes Fallon, small-town rec-league guy. Fabi would have a field day if she knew.
Ryan stepped around the mayor and said to the woman, “Can I help you?”
“I’m Posy Jones. I have an appointment with Mr. Fallon.”
Posy Jones. Her voice was rich and throaty in a way that made Wes think of late nights in dark bars. He tried not to notice how long her dark eyelashes were or the way her eyes seemed lit with humor.
“Posy,” Jay said. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Did you come with your mother?”
“My mother isn’t available today.” But she didn’t offer any additional details.
Not available? Where exactly was Trish Jones and the Fallon Foundation’s sixty-eight thousand dollars?
An awkward silence fell over the room. Everyone seemed to be waiting for someone else to ask that exact question.
A weak person would have leaped to fill the silence, but Posy kept her mouth shut and her expression blank. As if she’d just informed them that the special of the day was apple pie but she really didn’t care one way or the other if they ordered it.
If something was up with the money, he would find out, but he didn’t want the mayor, or worse yet, his eager and überprofessional assistant to hear.
His brother had built the next phase of plans for his Fallon Foundation Centers around the Hand-to-Hand programs. Nothing mattered more to him than this venture. If there was something fishy with Trish’s unofficial fundraiser, it had the potential to ruin the goodwill of the town of Kirkland.
He owed Deacon a debt he could never repay, but he would keep trying. Whatever was going on with Posy Jones, her mom and this fundraiser, he’d put it straight.
* * *
P OSY WAS AT an enormous disadvantage and she knew it even before she walked into that office and got her first glimpse of Wes Fallon in the flesh. As it were.
Seeing the mayor suck up to Wes made her sweat. There’d be no hometown advantage here for her mother.
Her only option was to bluff...hard...until her mom came back with the cash.
She knew Jay Meacham mostly by reputation, but she had met him a few times at downtown business-booster events she’d attended with her mom. He wasn’t exactly a thought leader, but he got the job done and kept people happy. In a town like Kirkland where the citizens were involved and motivated, the mayor needed to be better at making friends than he was at making policy.
It had been bad enough that Chloe Chastain would be thrilled to expose Trish as a swindler. On top of that, her mom had stolen from a charity that actually seemed to do good work. Watching Wes sign a hat for the mayor brought it home that he and his brother were both minor celebrities. Her mom didn’t stand a chance if she got caught.
“I think Posy and I should head to my office,” Wes said. “Nice to meet you, guys. See you on the courts.”
He seemed to remember the T-shirt in his hand. “I brought you a shirt, Jay. Almost forgot to give it to you.”
Jay thanked him much more sincerely than was necessary for a white T-shirt that wasn’t even autographed.
Then Wes was right up close to her and she registered just how tall he was. At least six-six. She’d known the number, feet and inches, from her internet...research...but pictures and a few statistics had done a terrible job of preparing her for Wes in real life. His shoulders alone, broad and straight, deserved their own section in Google. She was used to looking down at people or looking even tall men in the eye, but Wes was a good six inches taller than her and built on a large scale. The dark stubble on his jaw and a military-style buzz cut made him look older and more commanding than the long, thick dark hair he’d had in his photos.
She swallowed.
Puppy Pete would have dropped to his belly if Wes loomed over him like this, but Posy straightened her shoulders, happy for once that they made her look even bigger.
Bluff. Hard. Game time.
“I don’t mean to interrupt. If you and the mayor want to talk about basketball, I can wait in your office.” She smiled her professional helpless-lady smile, all teeth and bright eyes with a deferential tilt to her head. When she went incognito on quality control visits for her job, that smile came in handy for assessing concierge service. Some men fell right into that particular smile and never noticed that she was grading them on everything from their attitude to their knowledge of the local hot spots.
“I think we’re about finished,” Wes said easily. “But thanks.”
He had not fallen for the clueless smile.
He motioned for her to go first and then followed her out and down the hall.
“I’m sorry I didn’t bring a hat,” she said, switching tactics on the chance his ego was big enough to let her distract him. “I didn’t realize you’d be signing merchandise.”
He glanced down at her. “It’s probably better you didn’t have one.”
“Really?”
He stopped in front of a door and opened it. “Yup. I charge five bucks for an autograph. I only did the mayor’s for free because he’s an old friend.”
Her eyes widened. His ego was that big he charged for his autograph?
“Somebody has to keep me in solid-gold sneakers.”
When she’d seen him sign the hat, she’d actually hoped he might be a dumb jock. It would have made her job so much easier. But, true to form, she could not catch a break. Wes was sharp. And funny. And capable of laughing at himself.
“Good to know. I’ll bring a five when I bring my hat.”
“Until then, maybe you’d like a shirt or a sticker.” He bent toward a box near his desk, and shallow, objectifying creature that she was, she admired the view. Wes knew how to wear a pair of jeans.
He handed her the promo items and she thanked him.
There was only one chair in the room and it was behind the desk. She didn’t know quite what to do so she stood near the window, pretending to look at the park while she gathered her thoughts.
Wes leaned on the desk at the front of the office, his long legs stretched in front of him and arms crossed on his chest. “My brother and I wanted to thank your mom for her efforts on behalf of the Fallon Foundation.” Apparently they were finished joking around. “The money she raised is going to make a difference to a lot of kids.”
She felt as if she was being lectured, but she reminded herself that he didn’t know anything. He might be suspicious—in fact, she was now fairly certain he was suspicious—but he didn’t know anything. Posy forced herself not to look at him. She was an innocent woman, admiring the view of the parking lot.
“My mom is a very kind person. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to meet you. Unfortunately, she’s been called out of town.”
“So you brought the check?”
CHAPTER FOUR
S HE PULLED HERSELFtogether. He was good-looking, but she’d known that going in. If he was also sharp, that only meant she had to be even more on her game. What she cared about was keeping him distracted and semisatisfied until her mom returned.
“She wants to give you the money in person. She’s very eager to meet you and your brother.”
“In person, huh?” He straightened his back. “My brother said your mom’s been out of touch for a couple days. Is everything okay?”
“With my mother?” Posy pulled the strap of her bag tighter across her shoulder, praying her voice would hold steady. “She’s fine.”
“Oh, good to know. I thought she might be sick or having some other kind of trouble.”
“No.” She needed to give him the file she’d brought and get out of here. “She was called out of town unexpectedly to visit my aunt. She asked me to watch her store and dog-sit—and keep this appointment with you. She’ll be back in a few days and she really wants to meet you both.”
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