Misadventures at City Hall Read online

  Misadventures at City Hall

  Victoria Blue

  This book is an original publication of Waterhouse Press.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

  Copyright © 2019 Waterhouse Press, LLC

  Cover Design by Waterhouse Press

  Cover photographs: Shutterstock

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  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic format without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  For David — I can’t remember an adventure without you!

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Don’t miss any Misadventures!

  Excerpt from Misadventures with a Twin

  More Misadventures

  About Victoria Blue

  Chapter One

  The first day back to the office after a major upheaval is a lot like the first day of freshman year in high school. Stick close to your friends and keep your head down in the hallway.

  Most importantly, wear your best outfit because you never know whom you might sit next to in biology.

  “Skye, have you read this?” said Tara, my stall mate, as we liked to call each other. She came around the corner of our semiprivate office, holding a memo in her hand like it was a viper rather than a piece of paper.

  “Who’s it from?” I hadn’t checked my mailbox this morning, so I hadn’t seen the memo, and I was logging in to my computer when she came around the corner, so I hadn’t read my email either.

  “It’s from Bailey Hardin. She’s resigning,” Tara said, staring at the paper in disbelief.

  I shrugged while waiting for Tara to glance up. “Well, no one expected her to stay on, did they? I mean, think about it. She came from finance, she has no experience, and the only reason Mayor Roberts appointed her city manager when her husband passed was because he thought she was in on all his crooked bullshit. She played along so she could fry everyone—including the mayor.”

  The fact that I still had to explain the situation to my coworkers was the reason I would rise above them. They all heard and saw the exact same press conference I did yesterday. Hell, we had front-row seats for the three-ring circus. The fallout should not have come as a surprise.

  Of course, what my coworkers hadn’t been privy to happened after the press conference, when all the arrests had been made. When the dust settled and everyone went home, I went to Bailey Hardin’s office to hand in my resignation, because as far as I could tell, my career at the Los Angeles City Manager’s Office was over.

  Yes, me, the go-getter. I had my eye on the prize—focused and determined. I was so driven, I’d even put up with William Hardin, the former city manager of Los Angeles, a true asshole of a boss. My career plan was set. I would work my butt off for Hardin, get noticed by the people who mattered in city hall, and when the election cycle turned, I would score an appointment higher in the ranks. Eventually I’d run for an elected position and continue my way up to the state legislature.

  One day, if I kept my nose clean and my ducks in a row, I’d have a Georgetown address.

  It was a great plan. Flawless.

  Until that bastard Hardin up and died with a tartelette honey riding his dick in a seedy motel somewhere in West Hollywood. The two had a few too many hits of some concoction of MDMA, and old Willy’s heart threw in the towel.

  That should have been good news—for my career, obviously, not for him. I thought I might be the obvious choice to fill Hardin’s shoes. Except his wife, Bailey, swooped in—from the finance department, of all places—and took the position, accepting the appointment from the former mayor.

  I could have coped with that. But Bailey took the position so she could clean house, from top to bottom. This place was as dirty as the city dump. After she’d done her due diligence, she’d held a press conference, and voila! Half of city hall was led out in handcuffs.

  Which was great for Los Angeles, don’t get me wrong, but now that Bailey was resigning, my position as assistant to the city manager was in jeopardy. New boss, new team.

  “Can you field my calls for a few minutes?” I asked my coworker. “On second thought, I’ll put my phone on do not disturb.” I figured that was safer rather than letting her speak to anyone who called me.

  Control freak? Maybe.

  Walking down the hall, I passed a few offices that were now empty. Just two days ago, people sat at these desks, busy behind computers, on telephones, and shuffling papers. Amazing what a little knowledge and a lot of balls can do to an organization.

  I knocked softly on Bailey’s door and waited for her to call for me to come in. When I opened her door, I was surprised to find a few banker boxes on the desk, already packed and ready to go.

  “Grass doesn’t grow under your feet, does it?” I teased.

  “Well, I didn’t really have too much in here. I spent more time working in my office over in finance before William passed.” She looked thoughtful. “God, that still seems weird to say at times. Then there are the days it seems like he’s been gone for years. Is that bad?” She looked at me with a troubled expression, and honestly, I had no idea how to respond.

  “I…uh…well, I don’t really have much to draw from, you know? I mean, my father passed when I was a little girl, but I never knew him anyway. But other than that…” I probably made her feel worse with my answer.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. About your dad, I mean,” Bailey replied.

  “No, don’t be. Absolute stranger.” I waved my hand dismissively. “Never met him. Not once.”

  Well, that was a conversation killer if I’d ever dealt one. She awkwardly shuffled the few papers left on her desk before I put her out of her misery and spoke again.

  “So, the reason I stopped in… I saw your interoffice memo this morning—”

  “Right, I wanted to talk to you about that too.”

  “Really? What about it? Looks like your decision is pretty final.” I looked around the office pointedly. “I mean, you announced it to the staff.” What input of mine could she have needed?

  “No, I’m definitely not cut out for the city manager spot. Everyone knows that. I think you’ve had a few colorful ways of expressing the thought yourself.” She gave me a playful wink while reminding me of my awful recent behavior.

  Bailey had not only affected my professional life, but she’d also crossed into my private world too. She’d hooked up with my best friend and roommate, Oliver. At first I wasn’t very supportive, but now they are head over heels in love, Oliver has moved in with her, and I’m officially on my own.

  “I’ve apologized for that. To you and Oliver. I’m not sure what else I can do, Bailey.” I stood my ground, owning the fact that apologies were not my forte.

  She put her hand up to stop my mea culpa. “That’s not what I meant. I was simply teasing you. I’m not very good at the whole ‘playful’ thing. Oliver’s trying his best to help me ‘lighten up,’ as he puts it.”

/>   A genuine smile warmed her face. She truly loved Oliver, and it did good things to my heart to see those emotions run across her face.

  “I’m very happy for the two of you,” I told her, hoping she could sense my sincerity. Many people in our line of work had a stellar bullshitting ability, but I meant what I said.

  When Oliver and Bailey first started dating, I was very jealous. I had never had to share him with anyone else. Not in a lover sort of way, of course—it was never that way between us—but in a human companion sort of way. I was spoiled with Oliver always being there for me, literally and figuratively. Once he started seeing Bailey, his attention shifted fully, and it was hard for me to adjust.

  My professional life was in upheaval at the same time, turning me into a self-contained category five hurricane. For a month or so, every time Hurricane Skye touched down, Oliver was directly in my path. He caught the brunt of every bad mood, insecure freak-out, and anxiety-driven breakdown.

  In the beginning, he weathered the storm like a true champion. He tried to batten down the hatches and ride it out like a trooper. Eventually he started digging in and standing his ground, though, and looking back, I couldn’t say I blamed him. I took a lot of work-related stress out on him when I would get home, and he hadn’t deserved that. When the proverbial shit finally hit the fan, he headed for higher ground and moved in with Bailey. When the storm waters receded, I’d owed them both a huge apology for my behavior, and luckily, they both had gracious, forgiving hearts and still called me their friend.

  Bailey cleared her throat, bringing me back to our conversation. “I wanted to talk to you about your professional plans. I mean from this point forward. What are you thinking?”

  “That’s a good question. Before this morning, I thought I would ride it out as your assistant until the election. At least that would give me a little more time to come up with a modified plan.”

  “What was your original plan, then?” she went on relentlessly. “Say, before William died?”

  “Originally, I hoped I would take his job.” I grinned. “Seriously, I thought I would show my worth around here, the next cycle would pass, and whoever took the mayoral race would appoint me to manager.” I shrugged because to me, it seemed like the next logical step.

  “Okay, that makes perfect sense.” She nodded. “What was on the master plan after city manager?”

  “Wait. What? You know about my master plan? Who told you about that?” My voice rose in panic. “Oliver doesn’t even know about that.” Should I be embarrassed about my neurotic planning habits?

  “Skye.” She touched my forearm to center me. “Every smart woman has a master plan. Or at least I thought they did. I always have. I still do. Although now I know better, and I use a pencil. Because life changes. Inevitably, things change that you can’t control. The older you get and the more people you have in your circle, the more your plan changes.” Now she was the one grinning. “And I’m a neat freak. All the crossing out, white out, and smudges were driving me crazy, so I started using a pencil. I can breathe again when I look at my planner.”

  I narrowed my eyes with a playful grin on my lips. “We may have been separated at birth.”

  “That would explain a lot from Oliver’s standpoint.”

  “Right?” I nodded, thinking seriously about the point she just made.

  “Back to the conversation, though.” Bailey had a great way of keeping a conversation on point. “Where do you see yourself after city manager?”

  “Mayor,” I said instantly. “Well, at least a city council seat.”

  “Why?” She fired her question so fast, I felt like I was in a job interview. A tough one at that.

  “Because they’re elected offices, and it’s the first level. I think it would be the best spot to get my feet wet running a campaign and gauging my appeal with the voters.” I nodded, satisfied with my response.

  “I’m really impressed, Skye. You’ve done your homework.” She leaned on the edge of her empty desk.

  “Thanks…I guess. No offense, but how does my career path concern or, rather, interest you?”

  “Well, I’m invested,” she said. “I want more than to see you land on your feet after what’s happened here. I want to see you land and take off running, you know? I want to see you succeed. I was very driven by your age. I see a lot of myself in you.” She smiled in a motherly way, even though she wasn’t even ten years older than me.

  “Thank you, Bailey. I’ll take all of those words as compliments.” I hesitated and then decided I had to ask the question. “I have to still press this issue, though. With you resigning, where does that leave me? Who will take your place? The entire city government is in shambles. How can we possibly have an election in a week when half of the candidates have withdrawn from the race?” There were a lot of unanswered questions around city hall.

  “Well, don’t quote me on this,” she said as she walked past me and closed her door completely, ensuring no one could overhear her. “It’s my understanding there has been a petition sent to Sacramento to postpone the election.” She turned back to me to gauge my reaction.

  “Really? That would be the first time in the city’s history, I think,” I said with astonishment.

  “Possibly. I’m not certain. Regardless, it would be significant. But it would also give you time to organize a campaign if you were interested in doing so.” She stared at me expectantly.

  “Wait. What are you saying? You think I should run for the mayor of Los Angeles?” Surprise made my voice climb an octave.

  “Whoa there, sister. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” She chuckled and sat against her desk again. “I think a spot on the city council is very likely going to be vacated. I’ve heard serious talk from a few of the current seat holders about running for mayor. Of course, they have the experience needed and the trust of the voters. You, my dear, would make perfect sense to fill a spot left behind on the city council.”

  While I felt like a total ass for aiming so high right out of the gate and being shot down the way I’d been, I was intrigued by the idea of running for city council. Plus, it basically skipped an entire step on my master plan, making up for the lag created by William’s death.

  “This is a very interesting idea,” I said. And then I thought of all the reasons it wouldn’t work. “There’s so little time, though. I mean, I’m not shying away from a good challenge, but there’s not even time for an exploratory committee or any of the usual pre-campaign steps.”

  “You’re not wrong,” she said, arms crossed over her chest.

  “I don’t know. Maybe this isn’t the right time for my first campaign, you know, on such an abbreviated schedule?” Doubt already niggled at my gut.

  “Maybe not. Only you can decide that.”

  “Why are you being so vague?” I asked her.

  “I’m not being vague.”

  “You totally are.”

  She uncrossed her arms and sighed. “These aren’t questions for me to answer, Skye. If you don’t have the conviction to answer a few simple questions about your own campaign, you’re right, you probably aren’t ready to run for public office.” She stood from where she had been perched on the edge of her desk, seeming to have lost patience with me.

  “I didn’t say I wasn’t ready,” I protested, sounding like a child.

  “Didn’t you?”

  “No, I didn’t.” I tried to sound more convincing.

  “Then stop acting like it.”

  She went to her door and opened it. She said nothing at all and just stood there.

  “Are you kicking me out?” I looked at her, confused.

  “Am I?” she asked.

  “Oh, my God. Are you always this infuriating?” I had a serious impulse to flick her nose.

  “Do you always answer your own questions with another question?” She tilted her head marginally to the side.

  “This is why Oliver always loses arguments,” I finally said, realizing I did the exact
same thing to him.

  “I know. Isn’t it awesome?” Her grin was wider than I had seen on her face before.

  We high-fived each other as I passed by on the way out the door.

  “So, are you going to file the papers?” she asked my retreating back.

  I paused and turned. Now that I was in the hall, I didn’t want to broadcast my intentions to the rest of the office. “I need to think about it,” I said quietly. “It’s a serious step. I need to check my financial picture above all else.”

  “Don’t wait too long. The clock is ticking. Literally,” Bailey replied.

  “I know. Is this something you want to be involved in? Long-term, I mean?” Now it was her turn to be in the hot seat.

  “Present me with an offer I can’t turn down,” she said and shrugged. “We’ll talk about it. As of this afternoon, I’m unemployed. I don’t think the finance department wants me back.”

  “I’ll be in touch,” I called over my shoulder as I walked down the hall toward my office. Or, as we called it, the veal-fattening pen.

  Tara pounced the minute I returned. “You were gone a long time. What’s going on? Did you get some dirt? Did she get fired?”

  “Did who get fired?” I played dumb, as if I hadn’t just been in Bailey’s office the whole time.

  “Oh.” She looked crestfallen. “I thought you went to talk to Ms. Hardin.”

  “Nah, I was in the can. My stomach can’t handle all this drama. Plus, I drank too much last night, and now I’m paying for it. You know how the day after tequila feels.” I held my stomach for maximum effect.

  “Oh, God!” She put her hand up to stop me. “Don’t even mention tequila. After the last office happy hour, I can’t even hear the T-word without turning green.”