Class Reunion of Murder (13 page)

She rounded the corner and saw a man standing outside her office door. He was dressed in a suit and tie, a briefcase at his side. He straightened when he saw her and offered up a smile. “Miss Steele, sorry I’m early. It took less time to get here from the capital than I thought.”

Great, just great.
The representative from the governor’s office had beaten her to the punch. Not only did she now appear late and two steps behind, but a half-eaten doughnut hung from her mouth. She probably looked like a dog with its chew toy. She couldn’t answer with a mouth full of pastry. She bit down in a haste to swallow. Custard oozed out of the doughnut, dribbled down the front of her shirt, and plopped on her shoes. She made an unintelligible, garbled exclamation of mortification. The masticated doughnut and her top retainer flew out of her mouth and landed at the man’s feet.

He looked down at it and paused, mouth agape. When he looked back up, there were no traces of disgust or pity on his features. He wore a pleasant smile as he jutted his hand between them. “I’m Ben Montgomery, the governor’s aide. Thanks for meeting with me today. We’ve been hearing a lot of good things about you.”

She shook his hand, a wad of doughnut still dangling from between her lips. As soon as her hand was free, she unlocked her office door. As she hoped he would, he turned to go inside, and Lacy dived for the doughnut/retainer combo, wrapping them in the napkin Michael had given her. She spit the remainder of the doughnut from her mouth to the napkin and used the back of her hand to wipe her lips. The cleanup was accomplished in record time. She shoved the wadded napkin mess into her purse and stood, smoothing down her skirt with a smile. If he was willing to overlook the doughnut spit-up incident, then she was more than happy to play along.

“You’ve heard about me? This must be that political schmoozing I’ve heard so much about. I’m fairly certain you’re joking. It’s nice to meet you, nonetheless. Welcome.” Her cheeks were probably magenta, and her eyes were watering. With effort, she took a few deep breaths and tried to stuff down the extreme embarrassment. Someday all the humiliation she had stuffed down over the years would erupt and she would never leave the safety of her house again. But not today. Today she pretended she was suave and sophisticated and hadn’t just spit a doughnut and her retainer at the governor’s right hand man.

“No, I’m serious,” he said as he took the chair she indicated. “Downtown revitalization is all the rage these days, and what you’re doing here has reached our ears. The governor is very interested in you.”

Lacy blinked at that, still sure he must be joking. “I didn’t even vote for him,” she blurted and immediately wanted to crawl under the desk. What was wrong with her?

He couldn’t quite maintain his polite mask at that. He snickered a laugh before quickly clearing his expression again. “No one’s perfect,” he said. “I seriously doubt he’ll hold it against you.”

Lacy took another breath. “I would like to tell you that this morning is a blip in my otherwise cool exterior, but I’m afraid this is a fairly typical morning for me. It’s probably best if the governor stays away, for his own safety and the security of our state.”

He laughed again and cleared his throat. The look he was giving her told her he was trying to figure her out. “Maybe it’s better if I act as a go-between,” he said. “Sort of like the guy who tastes his food for poison first.” He smiled.

Was he flirting with her? She thought he was, but she had never been good at reading those types of signals. Then she remembered her doughnut-covered retainer and thought he was probably being a gentleman and trying to put her at ease. No one was desperate enough to flirt with a woman after seeing the complete contents of her mouth. Except maybe dentists. Lacy realized her mind was going off in a self-protective tangent, and she worked to pull herself back to the present. “I can’t guarantee your safety,” she said. “I once broke a toe while standing perfectly still.”

Again he laughed before pushing it quickly away. She wondered if maintaining a serious demeanor was part of his job or if he wasn’t sure what to make of her. With a sigh, she thought it was probably the latter. All chance at making a good impression was over, and she was now completely herself with him. That was a good thing for her because it meant she didn’t have to try so hard to keep it together. But it was probably a bad thing for him because he was being exposed to too much too soon. Lacy had found it was better to ease people into her personality rather than confront them with all of it in the beginning. For some reason when they saw her, they expected her to be one of those women who had it all together. She didn’t think she put up a front, but people often had trouble reconciling her appearance with who she really was. She was confused by that because she so often saw herself as the chubby, gawky girl with her head in a book. What did others see when they looked at her? She truly had no idea.

“I think I’m willing to take my chances,” he said.

He was definitely flirting with her, and Lacy was flustered. She didn’t want to flirt with him, but what if she did it accidentally? Joe Anton hovered in the door, saving her a moment of awkwardness while she made the introductions. Ben stood and shook Joe’s hand with a friendly smile. He was the consummate politician, even though he wasn’t actually a politician. Did he aspire to be or was he content to be the man behind the man? Lacy stood and latched on to Joe’s arm. He would make a handy buffer as they took their tour.

As they made the rounds in the StakelyBuilding, Lacy felt more at ease. Not only was Joe by her side, but she was talking about her passion. She forgot the retainer incident and the possible flirting. Instead, she talked about her plans for the building and the entire community. Ben listened with practiced interest. He nodded his head and asked insightful questions. He seemed as interested in the downtown as she was, and that was heartening. If someone in the state’s highest level shared her vision, then she didn’t feel quite so alone in what sometimes felt like an uphill battle. At town meetings, it seemed all she heard were complaints about how much things were changing and all the new people who were disrupting the status quo. Ben’s enthusiasm was a confirmation that she was on the right track.

They reached the end of their tour. “That was fascinating and insightful, thank you. We have some time before I meet with the head of the reunion committee. Can I take you to lunch?”

Lacy’s mind was blank and Joe was nowhere to be found. He had pulled one of his trademark disappearing acts, and she felt a little bereft without him nearby as a buffer. “I…” How could she say no to the governor’s aide when it might someday help their town? She didn’t want to offend him, but neither did she want to give him any other signal. “Sure.”

“Would you like to take my car or yours?” Ben asked.

“I don’t have a car,” Lacy said.

For some reason that made him smile, but the smile made Lacy uncomfortable. “Can I meet you outside? I just have to check on something.”

He left and she looked helplessly around. She pulled out her phone and stared at it. Should she call Jason? Did she need his permission to have lunch with another man? Someone whistled a mindless, annoying tune and Lacy’s head came up with a snap.
Michael.
He had never looked better to her. She bustled into his shop and dragged him back out again.

“I need you,” she whispered.

“I
knew
it,” he said.

“I’m having lunch with the guy from the governor’s office. I don’t know how not to flirt with him.”

Michael rested his hand on her arm. “I’m sorry to tell you this, love, but you’re horrible at flirting.”

“I know, that’s why I need you.”

“I’m confused,” he said.

“I need to not do or say anything embarrassing in front of this man,” she said.

“Then you need a miracle,” he replied.

She grabbed his shirt and tried to shake him. “You’re right, okay? I babble when I’m nervous, and I do things so embarrassing that no amount of therapy will be able to erase them from my memory. I also can’t read vibes or signals, and I’m afraid he’s going to think I’m hitting on him. I am not going to take the chance of messing things up with Jason, and I need you to come with me and be a buffer. Please.”

“All right, calm down.” He peeled her fingers off him.

“I can’t calm down. I spit my doughnut at his feet.”

“A simple hello would have sufficed.”

“
Michael!
”

“I see we’re past the point of being able to laugh at ourselves. Take a breath and pull yourself together; it’s going to be okay. I will tag along and assure your boyfriend of your undivided loyalty.”

“And keep me from doing or saying anything else embarrassing,” she added.

“I’m only human, Lacy.”

She took a shaky breath and tried to head off her impending flop sweat.

“Seriously, you have to relax.”

“I am not cut out for schmoozing,” Lacy said.

“Love, if you had any idea your true worth, you could achieve world domination,” Michael said.

Lacy was so used to his teasing and provoking that she was disarmed by his occasional sweetness. They reached Ben’s car before she could make a reply. She insisted that Michael take the front seat because of his long legs. He rescued her by making polite conversation with Ben all the way to the restaurant. By the time they arrived, she had gathered herself and was feeling calm once again. Ben seemed to take Michael’s presence as the gentle rebuff it was. He didn’t attempt to flirt with her again. The three of them maintained a pleasant conversation over lunch, and she dropped Michael at the StakelyBuilding with a smile of genuine gratitude.

“Thank you,” she mouthed. He touched his fingers to his forehead in a silent salute and disappeared inside the building.

“On to the reunion committee,” Ben announced as they made the short drive to the hotel. “You’re not going to dump me off on some boring chairperson who will tell me the entire history of your high school, are you?”

“I’m going to leave you with Mrs. Madsen, but I wouldn’t worry that she’ll tell you the history of the school. She’s probably start with the original town charter and go from there.”

He groaned. Lacy laughed as he held the door for her. Jason was standing at the desk, writing something. He turned toward the sound of her laughter with a smile that faltered when he saw Ben. She could see him running through a mental list of people they knew, trying to figure out if Ben was somehow connected to the reunion.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he said, his smile returning. She sidled up to him and rested her hand on his forearm. He looked mildly confused by her display, probably since she was the one who wanted to keep their relationship quiet for the time being. But she hadn’t been able to stop the rush of gladness she felt upon seeing him again, especially after her stressful morning.

“This is Ben Montgomery, the governor’s aide. Ben, this is Detective Jason Cantor.” She dropped her hand on Jason’s arm as the two men shook hands. Jason’s arm slipped around her. The pose felt casual and relaxed with only a hint of possessiveness.

“I used to be a cop,” Ben offered. “The hours were killer. I never had time for anything. Being a suit fits me better.”

“The hours take their toll,” Jason agreed. “Having flexible friends is definitely a bonus.” He gave Lacy’s shoulder a squeeze.

Friends,
Lacy thought, glad she hadn’t introduced him as her boyfriend. Months of buildup, weeks of dating, and they were still
friends.
Ouch.

Mrs. Madsen swept out of the conference room and descended on Ben. Lacy made the introductions. He cast a plaintive look at Lacy when Mrs. Madsen’s conversation began with the year 1784. She smiled and waved as he was led away.

“Seems like a nice guy,” Jason commented. “Were you together all morning?”

“Mostly,” Lacy said. “I gave him a tour of the StakelyBuilding and we went to lunch with Michael.”

“You had lunch with Michael,” he said.

Explaining that she had dragged Michael along to assuage any jealousy issues on his part now felt ridiculous. “Michael and I are friends,” she said, easing out from under his arm as she turned toward her office.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he followed behind her.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“Geez, not fine. Anything but fine.” He closed the door inside her office and leaned on it.

Lacy sat and pulled out the payroll she needed to finish. “How was your day? How’s Brady?”

“Brady’s touch and go, and so was the day. It’s a mess, and I’ve got nothing. You know what’s weird?”

“Hmm,” she said absently as her mind shifted to work.

“For the past two days as I’ve interviewed people, I’ve heard story after story of all the wretched things Summer did, and yet I have no idea what she did to you.”

“What makes you think she did anything?” Lacy stalled.

“Some things you’ve said about what a miserable, horrible bully she was.”

“You know what’s weird?” Lacy said.

“Hmm,” he said.

“For the past few days as I’ve interviewed people, I’ve heard story after story of all the guys Summer hit on, and yet I have no idea if she hit on you,” Lacy said.

He sank into the chair across from her desk. “Pretty much every day since eighth grade.”

“And nothing ever came of it?” For all her meanness, Summer had been outwardly attractive.

“We kissed once at a party. Didn’t take. She tasted weird, which was unexpected because she was a health nut like me.”

“Gross. Also, are you sure you weren’t secretly a band kid? Because that’s one of the oddest statements I’ve ever heard.”

“Tone deaf. And I could never be with a woman who doesn’t taste good.”

“It’s not getting any less gross or odd,” Lacy said.

“For the record, you taste like lemon drops,” he said.

“I’m not sure if I should be flattered or get tested for diabetes,” Lacy said.