“Yes.” Anaya blushed as she always did when anyone mentioned Carl. “We are good. How about you? How are Nick and the kids?”
“Nick is fine. Working hard like always. The kids are great. My oldest starts Oakland College Prep in a few weeks, if you can believe it, and the other two are in middle school.”
“Wow, Oakland College Prep. Nick’s new job must be giving him pretty nice bonuses.”
“Well, we do okay,” Jayde said, shrugging.
Anaya raised her eyebrows. “I would say being able to pay for Oakland College Prep is better than okay.”
“We want the best for our children,” Jayde said adamantly, if a bit defensively. “Nothing is going to interfere with that.”
Anaya tilted her head. “Of course you do,” she said slowly.
Jayde stood up abruptly. “All right, Ny. Time’s a wastin’. Those ballot measures won’t write themselves.”
Anaya stood up and hugged her friend. “Thanks for stopping by, Jay. I’ll call you next week.”
Two seconds after Jayde walked out of Anaya’s office, Natalie entered. Anaya thought she could see Natalie’s gossip alarm ringing.
“Is Jayde okay?” she asked.
Anaya got up from the sofa and walked over to her desk. “Yes, why would you think otherwise?” She sat behind her computer and typed in her password.
“Well,” Natalie said sitting in the seat across from Anaya. “I heard she applied for the deputy director position.”
“Of the recreation department?” Anaya asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Yup.” Natalie smacked her lips as if she’d eaten something tart. Then she leaned in and whispered dramatically, “I heard she didn’t even make it to the interview stage.”
Poor Jayde. “When did this happen?”
“Now, boss lady, you know I don’t get in people’s busi—”
“Natalie,” Anaya cut her off. She was not in the mood. “When?”
“I think they received rejection letters yesterday.”
So that’s what was bothering Jayde. Anaya wanted to call her to say something, but Jayde hadn’t mentioned it, so she wouldn’t press.
Just two more years, Jayde. Hang in there.
FOURTEEN
Wendy’s task force included Anaya, Senior County Attorney Sue Garcia, the county’s Assistant Finance Director Will Bresnan, and Jeff. Anaya had worked with Sue and Will on other county projects in the past. Jeff and Sue were responsible for reviewing and finalizing the legal aspects of the development agreement and reviewing judgments from previous civil suits and compliance issues to ensure such issues were preventable under the new agreement. Will ran all the financials and Anaya managed the community benefit portion. Given their already tight workloads, the group agreed the best meeting times were evenings and weekends. Anaya had worked on big projects before so she was okay working extra hours temporarily. She didn’t appreciate Wendy’s overstepping, but with so much on her plate, she had to choose her battles wisely. If nothing else, the Task Force offered extra sets of eyes.
They met in an office reserved for consultants on the ground floor of the administration building. It was a small room that felt very full with four desks and boxes from previous projects piled high against the walls. There was a large whiteboard in the center of the room and an old printer that produced when it wanted to. Jeff sat at the desk near the wall, furthest from Anaya, who was near the whiteboard.
At first, Anaya had felt awkward about working with Jeff, but he had acted nothing but professional. Since Sue and Will didn’t know their romantic history, it was relatively easy for Anaya to act like she and Jeff were just getting to know each other. She had never seen Jeff’s professional side, and it was like getting to know him for the first time.
“Ho-lee shit,” Sue said.
Anaya looked up from an insurance report from one of the contractors. The task force had started working early that Saturday morning and it was almost six in the evening.
“What’s up, Sue?”
Sue’s eyes were bright as she met Anaya’s curious gaze. “I just got an email from a friend at the DAs office. Keep it in this room, but it looks like there is going to be a grand jury investigation into the RFP process and the contract negotiations with the base.”
Anaya’s jaw dropped. “No way! Someone from Wendy’s staff issued the RFP a couple of weeks ago, and I overheard my staff talking about it, and I told Wendy I thought it was unnecessarily restricted. But how would the DA get wind so fast?”
“Why is the county administrator’s office sending out RFP’s?” Jeff frowned.
Anaya sighed. “That’s a whole other story. We don’t have time to go into Wendy’s power hungriness.”
“Yeah,” Sue agreed. “I am familiar with that.”
“Well, if you heard your staff talking about the RFP, other people are probably talking about it too,” Jeff said. “Which is how the DA probably got wind of it.”
“Exactly,” Sue confirmed, her eyes moving across her computer screen as she reread the email. “The tip came from a whistleblower. And since it’s an active RFP, the DA had to make it a high priority.”
“Does Wendy know?” Anaya asked.
“Oh, she knows,” Sue hissed.
“Wow,” Jeff said.
Anaya nodded, thoughts in a whirlwind. After hearing the rumors from her staff, she had tried to get hold of Wendy to figure out what had happened with the RFP, but Wendy had ignored her calls, emails, and office visits, citing that she was “too busy to talk”. Anaya had eventually given up, resigned to seeing how it played out. But if the DA was looking into the RFP and found that it was inappropriately restricted, the blame would fall on Anaya’s office. “Trying your best” didn’t usually hold up in a court of law.
“So what are you guys thinking?” Will asked. “Does the DA’s investigation change anything for us?”
Jeff looked at Anaya and said, “Anaya, I know you won’t like this, but you need to bring Wendy’s belligerence to the board’s attention as soon as possible so they can force her to give you the database code and we can reissue that RFP if we need to.”
Anaya had thought about this option as well, but it was basically a death sentence for her career. No one would want to work with someone who went over their boss’s head to tell the board about a mistake. If she spoke to the board, she would never be promoted again.
But she didn’t want to explain that to Jeff, who was looking at her like she could save the day.
“I don’t know, Jeff. I don’t think the supes would appreciate me breaking the chain of command to complain to them about my boss.”
Jeff looked at her incredulously. “You have to. That’s what we are here for. We can’t let Wendy get away with keeping a project of this magnitude from local, qualified bidders.”
“I agree,” Anaya nodded.
“Anaya, isn’t there a closed session coming up in a couple of weeks?” Jeff asked.
“Yes.” Sessions closed to the public included sensitive topics like potential litigation, personnel issues, and real estate purchases or development. Closed session meetings were attended by the board, the county attorney, and any department heads who were presenting.
“Make the announcement then.”
“Let me think about it. For now, we just keep doing what we’re doing. Missing our deadline won’t make anything better.”
The room quieted as everyone returned to sifting through documents or typing away on their laptops. Anaya breathed a sigh of relief, actually glad to have the insurance report to distract her.
Three hours later, Sue stood up and stretched. “I need to get out of here. Anybody want tea? I’m going stir crazy.”
“Me too,” Will said. “Can I go with you?”
“Sure,” Sue said. “Anaya, Jeff? You guys wanna come, or do you want anything?”
“No, thank you,” Jeff said. “I’m going to rough it out.”
“Nothing for me,” Anaya said, yawning
. “I’m going to plough through these community benefit reports.”
“All right, you two masochists, if you change your mind in the next twenty minutes, give me a call,” Sue said on her way out.
After Sue and Will were gone, Anaya buried her face in her hands.
“I’m so tired,” she sighed. Her phone buzzed. Carl had texted her to see if she’d be able to come over.
The knot in her stomach twisted a little tighter. She still hadn’t told Carl and the girls that she was working with Jeff. She sent Carl a quick text back saying it would be another late night. It was the second time she had turned down an invitation from him that day—she had already declined a lunch date with him. Anaya had been busy with the task force; she wasn’t trying to avoid Carl to spend time with the bearded attorney she was alone with at the moment.
She looked up and saw Jeff looking at her expectantly.
“I’m sorry, what did you say, Jeff?”
He gave her a look. “I said, yeah, it’s a lot of work, but the good news is we’re in the home stretch.” Jeff rubbed his palms together.
Bless your heart. His optimism was darling but terribly illusory. She didn’t want to crush his vibe, but they were far from the home stretch. Even if they managed to make sense of the numbers and reports, Anaya had a feeling that this was going to be tougher than they thought. There was too much history with the base. The public would want assurances of safety, and the supes would want assurance of jobs. It was doable, but it wouldn’t be easy.
“I really just wanna go for a run.” She rubbed her temples. Her head pounded and she could use a Zantac. Between the long hours, Ava taking over the house, and planning Catie’s baby shower, she hadn’t had a chance to run. She felt like a chunky biscuit.
“That sounds good,” Jeff said. “You know, I didn’t believe you when you told me that running was relaxing.” He wagged a finger at her. “Now I’m a believer.” She used to like it when he wagged his finger at her that way.
“Told you.” She threw a paperclip at him. “You should’ve listened to me the first time.”
“Yeah.” He looked at his hands. “You told me a lot of things I should have listened to.”
Oh, Jesus. Anaya stretched her arms above her head, trying to be casual. “How are you feeling about working together? Are you okay with it?” They had to talk about it eventually.
“The truth?” His eyes danced as if he’d been waiting for her to ask that question.
That’s why I asked. “Please.”
“It’s hard,” he said, then paused as if he were thinking about what to say next. “I respect your job. It’s nice to see how successful you have become. It’s actually pretty incredible to watch you morph from one of my students to this boss. Sometimes when I look at you, I see this pint-sized shot-caller. Other times, I see the woman I fell in love with years ago, and I just want to wrap my arms around you and—”
What the feezy?
“Wait. Whoa.” She made the timeout signal with her hands.
“Too much?”
“I’d say so. I thought we were going to keep things professional and leave the past in the past. I wasn’t expecting . . . all that.”
“My bad. You said you wanted the truth.”
“Yeah, let’s start with small doses of the truth.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “I like working with you, and Sue and Will are great.” He smiled. “Better?”
“Much.” She sighed, trying to process the fact that Jeff still thought about her like that. It made her feel warm and tingly, and that made her even more irritated. She didn’t want to complicate things even more. It was nice seeing him again and getting to know him in a different way, but she was in love with Carl. At least, that’s what she told herself. “I just want this project to be over.”
“I know. Just hang in there, old soldier.”
“My mom used to say that.”
“I know.”
“I’m surprised you remember that.”
“I remember everything about you,” he said tightly.
Too much, too much, too much. Back to work. She picked up a report. She didn’t care if it was rude. He crossed the line one too many times tonight, first with the love confession, then recalling notable memories of her mom.
“Does it bother you?”
She continued staring at the report. “Does what bother me?” Irritation glazed her tone.
“Well, at first I was gonna ask if working together bothers you, but now I’m wondering if it bothers you to read legal contracts upside down.”
Crap. She shook her head. “Nah, that’s okay,” she lied. “I mean, sometimes people have good memories.” Sometimes people have good memories? What kind of bumbling response was that?
“And you’re okay working with me here?”
He moved closer and perched on the edge of Sue’s desk directly in front of her.
“Yes, you are here,” she said, avoiding his gaze. “We are working. Together. It’s fine.”
“You’re lying.” He smiled. “Don’t forget I know you.”
You won’t let me forget. “Okay.” She finally looked up. “It was a little awkward at first. I mean, I haven’t seen you in so long, and then you show up, and . . . it’s just different.”
“I know. We got this though, right?” He walked over and tilted her face toward him. “We can do this together. No more awkwardness. No more reading upside down reports and walking into doors trying to avoid me.” His half smile told her he was teasing.
“Wait, you saw that?” She groaned, wanting to disappear. She had been talking to Carl on the phone last week and Jeff came walking down the hall. She had swerved into what she thought was an open doorway to avoid Jeff, but it had actually been closed. Luckily, she had only damaged her pride and wasn’t seriously injured. She was certain Jeff hadn’t seen her. Wrong again.
She pulled her chin away, slightly embarrassed, but he caught it again, ever so gently.
“I see everything you do.”
She held his gaze, then pushed her chair back to make some space between them. It was getting hot. “I just want this to be as normal as possible. I work with Sue and Will, and I don’t want drama. And I want to see this project through.”
“Gotcha. No drama. I promise. And this is strictly professional. I have no motivation other than getting this project done as well.”
“Okay, cool. Let’s keep it profesh.”
“Profesh.” They shared a fist bump.
They heard Sue and Will talking in the hall, and Jeff returned to his desk. The group worked another hour before Will heaved a huge sigh and pushed away from his desk.
“We’ve done enough. Let’s call it a night.” He glanced at Anaya. “You still need a ride home?”
Anaya nodded. Ava had asked to use her car, and she had reluctantly agreed. “I do actually, but I can take an Uber. It’s out of your way.”
“I’ll take you,” Jeff quickly offered.
Anaya inhaled slowly and thought fast. Serenity now. She didn’t want him to take her home because that would make things murky. Trying to keep things profesh meant not driving her home. But then there was a part of her that did want him to take her home. There were still so many unspoken words between them. So much history and hurt. It could be worth salvaging the friendship, but at what cost? This could be her chance to try build a platonic friendship with him that wasn’t based on attraction or their past. He looked at her with those bedroom eyes that once drove her crazy.
“Um, I can take an Uber. Really.”
“Come on,” Will said. “There are three people with cars here. We are not letting you take an Uber so choose one.”
“It’s on my way home,” Jeff offered.
“Okay. Sure, thanks.”
Will picked up his briefcase and waved. “See y’all tomorrow.” Sue was right behind him.
Anaya and Jeff were quiet for the first part of the ride. Memories flooded like the Russian River. They had
spent so many hours in the car together and had so many conversations. Many that left Anaya in tears. She shrugged off the memories and felt guilty about not telling Carl that she was working with Jeff. Jeff’s car smelled like jasmine. Just the way it used to. She needed to tell Carl soon.
“Long day,” he said when they were almost at Anaya’s house.
“Yup,” she said. “Turn left here.”
“I remember.” He looked at her from the corner of his eye and she concealed a smile.
He pulled up to the curb in front of her house and she didn’t get out. Memories engulfed her of all the times they had sat in this same spot, talking for hours. The way he made her laugh. How she missed him five minutes after he left.
Jeff turned toward her. “Thank you for letting me take you home.”
“I should thank you for taking me.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“Good night,” she said.
“Hey,” he put his hand on her arm. “We got this, okay? It will be fine.”
“Okay,” she said quickly getting out of the car before she said or did something she would regret.
She opened the front door carefully, as Joe fell asleep on the couch sometimes. She took off her shoes and almost jumped out of her skin when she sensed something moving in front of her.
Ava was learning against the wall with her lips pursed. “You aren’t living right,” she said. Even with her crazy hair and nighttime dashiki, in that moment, Ava’s tone and bossy demeanor reminded Anaya of their mom.
Anaya put a hand to her chest and let out a slow breath. “Ava, you scared me.”
“Since when is somebody standing in a room scary? You aren’t living right, dear sister. Who was that man?” Ava said “man” like it was the plague.
“Ava, Mom died, and Dad is upstairs minding his own business like you should be doing. Don’t question me. I’m an adult.” Anaya walked past her sister and started up the stairs.
“Adults don’t creep around, Ny.” Ava was right on her heels. “I happen to know that wasn’t Carl who dropped you off. It was some other man.”
“That’s true. Good night.” Anaya closed her bedroom door and reached for the Zantac she kept by her bed. There were too many adults under one roof.
Never Too Soon Page 12
