He scowled.
He wasn’t going to be here for long, and was too messed up right now to deal with the stress of a new relationship.
He needed to think about something else.
With only half an hour before the council meeting, he drove over to the shire building where he met with the planning manager.
“Glad you could make it.” Floyd shook his hand. “It’s always easier when the petitioner is at the meeting so questions can be answered immediately.”
“Of course.” He followed Floyd into the large meeting hall where a number of people were already seated on the rows of plastic chairs. His item was further down the agenda, so he took his seat and slid his laptop out of its case. He would work on the details of Mai’s contract while he waited for his turn.
When the meeting began he tuned in so he didn’t miss his turn. The first item was public question time and started an hour of debate about whether a certain tree in the community park should be cut down. Thank goodness he had his laptop.
As the group voted, he looked up. It was the planning department’s turn so he saved his work and shut his laptop as Floyd stood. “We’ve received a petition to demolish the building on Jackson Street and replace it with an eight unit building with a central car park,” he said. “We’ve had no detractors from this proposal and recommend it goes ahead.”
A man behind him said, “I lodged a complaint today.”
Nicholas’s stomach clenched as he turned. The man was younger than him and everything about him said bogan, from his blue plaid shirt to his shaved head and the packet of cigarettes tucked into his top pocket. “Shadbolt is a dodgy company. Their last development burned down and the police thought it was deliberately lit. We don’t want them bringing their troubles here.”
His pulse raced. What the hell? How did he know about Baldivis? Only Lincoln knew as far as he was aware.
“Gordon’s right. The development will be an eyesore – it’s modern and ugly, and doesn’t fit the architecture of the area.” Another voice, female this time. Nicholas shifted to see Kit standing. She stared at him as if daring him to contradict her. Her words echoed those of Jamie’s the day before.
It hurt – a sharp, twisting pain in his gut. Had he been set up?
He’d trusted the meeting with Mai had been genuine, but maybe she’d been playing him.
Lincoln had said if you take on one musketeer you take them all on, and Kit wouldn’t be here if Mai hadn’t asked her to be.
Mai was a hell of an actress. He’d really believed her.
“It probably should be heritage listed,” Kit continued.
“The development encourages economic growth in the area,” Floyd said.
Gordon spoke. “If we let these Perth blokes in, they’ll take all the money and run back to the city. They don’t give a shit about the town.”
“It should be someone local doing the development,” another man piped up.
Nicholas closed his eyes for a second as his heartburn flared. This was going south fast. He shouldn’t have got involved in the community, should have kept to himself. His father would see this as another example of how he’d completely fucked up.
Floyd held up a hand to stop the murmuring that had broken out in the crowd. “We have Nicholas Shadbolt from Shadbolt Property Developers here today. Nicholas, do you want to say something?”
Nicholas buttoned his jacket as he stood. He would convince them this was the best deal. He had to. “If anything is an eyesore, it’s the empty block behind the building. The existing building is dangerous. The wiring and plumbing are not up to standard and it would cost a significant amount to repair. The new units will fix these problems, and additionally provide more parking in the centre of town. I’ve just come from negotiating with one of my tenants and she is happy with the proposal I have offered her.” He stared directly at Kit.
Kit grimaced.
Perhaps she hadn’t known about his discussions with Mai. “Five of the units have already been leased or sold and I don’t anticipate it will take long to fill the rest. The development will give local business owners more choice as I believe there are limited options available in Blackbridge at this time.”
An older Asian woman stood. Unlike the others who wore jeans and T-shirts, she wore a white blouse and knee-length pencil skirt. “I’d be interested in one of those units,” she said. “I’m tired of my landlord refusing to fix the air-conditioning.” She raised an eyebrow at the man who’d piped up.
The man grimaced. “It’s not that bad, Bian.”
A grey-haired man got to his feet. “Kit is right. The development will ruin the aesthetics of the town. People love the quaintness of Blackbridge. That modern monstrosity will destroy the look. Maybe we should look at applying for heritage listing.”
Fuck. That was the last thing he needed. His chest squeezed tighter as the crowd discussed the history of the building and what the town planning guidelines technically allowed. He had a wild card he could use, though he didn’t want to. Not when it would affect Mai.
When it was clear they were getting nowhere, he pulled it out. “If you want to get technical, the whole area is zoned as a retail area. I have a tenant who lives above her bakery, which is technically not allowed by the zoning laws.” He let it sit for a moment as people exchanged glances. They all knew who he was talking about. “Should I tell her to vacate immediately?”
He allowed them to backpedal for a few minutes before he continued. “It seems your biggest concern is the appearance of the building.” There were a few nods. “If we changed the façade to suit the surrounding architecture, would that be suitable?”
No one said anything, so he looked directly at Kit.
She squirmed, then nodded.
Floyd took over. “So the vote is to approve the planning proposal on the condition that an updated design is submitted and approved by the council?”
The vote took place and the proposal was approved.
Nicholas kept his expression bland as relief washed through him. He excused himself and walked out.
He had more work to do.
But at least he’d salvaged the situation.
The day couldn’t have gone better. Mai’s negotiations with Nicholas had been successful, she’d sourced the extra supplies she needed for the new cafe and the takings at the cafe had been an all-time high.
She pulled down her block-out blinds as her phone rang. Her friends and family knew not to call her after eight unless it was urgent. She frowned at Kit’s name on the display and answered.
“I may have made a big mistake,” Kit said.
She suppressed a smile as she threw back her bed covers. “What did you do?”
“Don’t get mad, OK? I was trying to help.”
She chuckled. Kit had always tried to negotiate before admitting what she’d done. “Did you buy bread from the supermarket?”
“Worse. I went to the council meeting tonight.”
Mai switched on her bedside lamp. “What for?”
“They were discussing Nicholas’s development.”
Dread filled Mai and she sank down on to her bed giving Kit her full attention. “What did you do?”
Kit cleared her throat. “I thought you didn’t want to move. I thought you’d want someone to fight for you.”
She closed her eyes, trying not to imagine the worst. Kit always believed she knew what was best. “Spit it out.”
“I protested the development.”
“Kit!” Mai groaned. “Nicholas and I came to an agreement today.” Which was yet to be signed. Was this going to ruin their negotiations?
“Well you didn’t tell me you’d changed your mind,” Kit defended herself.
It hadn’t occurred to her. “What happened?”
“Gordon spoke up first, which was weird.”
It was. Was he trying to get into her good books so she didn’t turn him in to the police?
“He said Shadbolt were dodgy and bur
nt down their last building. Do you know anything about that?”
Mai’s skin flushed hot and then cold. The attempted fire next door. Could Nicholas have been behind it? She didn’t want to believe it. “No.”
“You should check it out,” Kit told her. “Then a couple of the usual suspects got behind my call for it to be heritage listed.”
She reached for her tablet and turned it on. “What was the outcome?” How mad would Nicholas be?
“The development has been approved on the condition Nicholas makes the outside look more like the surrounding buildings.”
That didn’t sound too bad, but she didn’t know how much it would cost. “How did Nicholas react?”
“He was pretty calm and collected through the debate,” Kit said. “But he looked pissed when he walked out. Then your mother read me the riot act after the meeting.”
“Mum?”
“Yeah, she was there. Told me I shouldn’t have interfered.”
Mai sighed. “She was right.” But why had she been there in the first place? Her mother didn’t attend council meetings unless it affected something she was working on.
“Yeah, I know. I was worried you were going to lose the bakery and I wanted to do something to help.”
She couldn’t be mad. Kit’s heart was in the right place. “I’m not going to lose it, as long as Nicholas doesn’t back out of the agreement we made today. He still needs to draw up the paperwork.”
Kit swore. “I’m sorry. I’ll apologise to him tomorrow, tell him you had nothing to do with it. Have you got his number?”
Mai gave it to her. “I’m sure it will be fine,” she said with more optimism than she felt. “Listen, I’m going to sleep. I’ll talk to you later.”
“All right. Sorry, Mayday.”
Mai hung up and dumped her phone on the bedside table, squeezing her eyes shut. Damn it. Would Nicholas think she’d asked Kit to attend the meeting? She hoped not, but she needed to make sure, she couldn’t let this mess up their negotiations. She dialled his number.
He didn’t answer.
When the voicemail message came on she hung up. She wasn’t sure what to say, how to explain Kit had acted on her own without sounding defensive. Besides, she’d see him tomorrow at the training session and be able to explain everything in person.
She typed a search criteria into her tablet and yawned, rolling her shoulders. She should be going to sleep, but Kit’s mention of arson had her concerned.
The results highlighted a number of newspaper articles from a couple of months ago and she read them quickly. A Shadbolt development in Baldivis had burned to the ground and Nicholas had been suspected for a while. There was no mention of a final outcome or charges being laid.
The idea he was guilty didn’t sit well with her, but was that because she liked him? She needed to detach herself from her attraction and think critically. He’d seemed upfront in his discussions with her.
But why would anyone else want to light a fire in her building?
She put her tablet aside and switched off the light, but her brain wouldn’t switch off as easily. Tomorrow she’d call Lincoln and make sure he knew about this.
And hope Nicholas really was innocent.
Chapter 9
Nicholas was running a little late for the fire training on Friday night. He’d spent the day on the phone to his architect and to the concrete slab manufacturer trying to figure out the easiest and cheapest way he could meet the new conditions on the development.
He’d also endured an awkward conversation with his father when he’d explained what had happened. Another mark in the bad son column. Not that it was his fault this time.
Besides he really liked the new design the architect had come up with for the façade. It was a nice call back to the twenties, not dissimilar to the building that now stood there. Unfortunately it would take some extra finessing to achieve the look, which of course added to the cost.
He was tempted to take some of the expense out of the offer he’d negotiated with Mai. The more he’d thought about it, the clearer it had become. Kit wouldn’t have turned up at the meeting if Mai hadn’t asked her to.
And if she hadn’t sent Kit to the meeting, the development would have been approved.
He’d made a rookie mistake trusting her.
Bitterness was a bad taste in his mouth. He sighed. He was being melodramatic. It was business, he shouldn’t take it personally – this was exactly why business and pleasure didn’t mix.
He shook his head.
He’d actually thought Mai had been upfront, had accepted the development. She’d seemed enthusiastic about it yesterday, had cried when he’d accepted her terms.
It stung that he’d been fooled.
He got out of his car and acknowledged the people standing around talking. Training hadn’t started yet. Scanning the faces he found Mai behind the wheel of the tanker, moving it to the empty space next to the fire station. She waved and he nodded, but he wasn’t going to be friendly. Fool me once and all that crap.
He headed into the station greeting Lawrence and Jeremy who he’d met earlier in the week.
Lawrence clapped his hands as Mai came back in. “Tonight we’re doing a full audit on the tanker, the fast attack vehicle and trailer, as well as a stocktake of the equipment room.”
Around him people groaned.
Lawrence shook his head. “We need to make sure everything is in place and working. If we have time when it’s done, we’ll do hose drills.” He turned to Mai. “You and Nicholas do the fast attack since you’ve used it most recently.”
Damn it. He didn’t want to be stuck with Mai, having to make small talk. Nicholas walked over to the vehicle without saying a word.
Mai picked up a checklist and joined him. “Kit told me about the council meeting last night.”
He raised an eyebrow, surprised she’d mentioned it.
She grimaced. “I’m sorry. I had no idea what she’d planned.”
Yeah, right. “So it’s a coincidence her words mirrored Jamie’s?”
“Jamie?” She frowned. “What’s he got to do with it?”
Like she didn’t know. “He said the design didn’t fit when he saw the plans the other day.”
“It’s true, I told you that. But this wasn’t a set up.” She placed a hand on his arm, her eyes concerned. “I promise you. I spoke to Kit when I first found out, when I was still upset about the development, but I never asked her to do this.” She sighed. “Kit has a habit of going off half-cocked when she believes in something or is trying to protect someone. When Hannah was being stalked, Kit went to Lincoln about … something Hannah didn’t want him to know. She means well.”
Hannah had been stalked? No, he couldn’t be distracted. “That’s convenient for you.” Her hand was warm on his arm and he wanted to believe her.
Mai’s eyes narrowed. “No it’s not. She’s made the development harder for you and now you’re mad at me – how is that convenient?”
He didn’t respond.
“I might have fibbed to you about the building’s history in a moment of panic, but I would never do something so backhanded.” Her gaze focused on his. “I’m happy with what we agreed yesterday. My reaction was real.”
Though he wasn’t sure if he should, he did believe her. “All right.” Maybe he had overreacted, been overly sensitive. After the Baldivis incident, that wasn’t surprising.
“I really am sorry.” She glanced at the list she held. “We’d better get started.”
He nodded.
He’d still be more careful from now on.
He couldn’t afford to fail.
They worked through the checklist quickly, Mai calling out the items and Nicholas checking them. It enabled him to familiarise himself with the vehicle, which was invaluable.
When they finished, they went to help in the equipment room.
“How do you find Blackbridge compared to your other brigade?” Jeremy asked.
“It’s a lot busier,” Nicholas said. Not that he’d ever attended a call.
“He’s a newbie,” Mai said. “Just off his Ps. The Foley fire was his first real blaze.”
“You did good,” Jeremy said. “I wouldn’t have picked you as a noob.”
Pleasure warmed him. “Thanks. Do you know what caused the fire?”
Jeremy shrugged and looked around. “Hey, Foley. What caused the fire?”
Everyone in the room stopped to listen.
Foley frowned. “Some bastard had been storing chemicals inside the shed and it looks like he stopped for a smoke.”
“What would they do that for?” Jeremy asked.
“The cops wouldn’t say, but they got pretty excited. I reckon it was drug-making chemicals – for meth or something.”
Nicholas raised his eyebrows. There had been some big quantities of chemicals there – more than your backyard meth lab.
“They found a lock on the gate that leads to the back road,” Foley continued. “And the hinges have been repaired. It used to be a bitch to open.”
“You didn’t notice?” Jeremy asked.
“Don’t start questioning me.” Foley scowled. “I got the third degree from those Albany detectives. I haven’t been in the back paddock since I stopped using the shed. One of my guys checked the fences about six months ago when we moved the sheep in, but they didn’t mention the gate. They all got questioned too.”
“Someone’s not going to be happy about losing all that stuff,” Mai said.
“Yeah, my heart bleeds,” Foley said. “Insurance aren’t going to pay up because they consider it an abandoned structure. Bastards.”
“Are you guys finished in there yet?” Lawrence boomed from the doorway.
“Just about,” Jeremy reported.
“Good because we’re going to do some hose drills.”
Nicholas followed the others out of the room. Hard drugs were not something he would have associated with the sleepy town of Blackbridge. But what the hell did he know? He hadn’t known Shane was using either.
Nothing to Gain Page 11
