Possessive Best Friend

“Huh.” I cock my head and stare at the floor. “Huh. That could… work.”

“I know. I’m amazing.” Amber sighs and stands. “Or you can go to your mom and ask her to help.”

We look at each other and both of us burst out laughing.

“Good one,” I say.

“I know. I’m also very funny.” Brent calls for her from across the room. She waves to him then smiles at me. “Anyway, see you later.”

I watch her go, but I’m not really seeing her.

I’m already planning how I’ll get down to the permit office and how I’m going to charm them into giving Dean what he wants.A chime goes off as I step into a dingy, small office. There’s a fan running in one corner and a bored-looking bald man is sitting behind a large desk. He looks up and frowns at me as I step toward him. “Excuse me?” I ask.

“Yes, miss? You lost?”

“I hope not.” I give him my best, most charming smile. “I’m looking for the permit office.”

“You got the right place.” He leans back and puts his thumbs under his suspenders. His white shirt is stained under his arms and his glasses slip down his nose. “What can I do for you?”

I walk over and smile at him. “I was hoping you could help me out,” I say. “I wanted to talk to you about the new car wash that’s being built.” I know I don’t have to be more specific with him, since there’s no other car wash in town, and not much else is being built.

He looks surprised. “That whole project is toast,” he says.

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, I suppose I shouldn’t have said that.” He clears his throat. “The Ashman project isn’t going to move forward though, I’m afraid.”

I slowly sit down in the chair in front of his desk. “Why not?”

“‘Fraid it’s complicated,” he says.

“Simplify it for me.” I gave him my prettiest smile and lean forward a bit. I catch his eyes as they flit down to my chest and back up. “Please?”

“Well,” he says, licking his lips. I feel gross for flirting with him, but whatever, it’s harmless. “Turns out, that land isn’t zoned for commercial use, you see? It’s a whole issue in itself.”

“Can’t we just… rezone it?”

He snorts. “I’m sorry, miss,” he says, shaking his head. “That’s just impossible.”

“What if you gave him the permit anyway?” I ask. “And we’ll get the land rezoned on our own afterward.”

“That’s not how this works.” He narrows his eyes. “I’m sorry, miss. Do I know you?”

I shrug a little and look at my nails. “My name’s Lora Lofthouse.”

He sits up straight. “Excuse me?”

“Lora Lofthouse,” I say. “I believe you may know my family?”

“Uh, yes, miss, I know your family,” he says. He’s nervous all of a sudden and not looking at my chest anymore. It’s nice to know my family name still holds some weight. I mean, I figured it would, but I’ve never actually tried to use it around town before.

“So listen, sorry, what was your name again?”

“Donald, Miss Lofthouse.”

“Donald, please help me out,” I say. “This permit would mean a great deal to my family, you understand what I’m saying?”

He nods and looks terrified. “I do. But the land… it’s not zoned properly…”

“I’ll make sure the zoning changes,” I say. “Don’t worry about that. I just need a permit written up and issued this afternoon.”

He stares at me and I smile back. I hope I don’t give the guy a heart attack. I might feel bad about that.

“I just… I don’t…”

“Go ahead,” I press. “I’ll wait while you write it up.”

Slowly, he starts to move, like a statue coming to life. He reaches into his drawer, takes out a folder, takes out another paper, and begins to write something out. I watch him, pretending to be bored, but my heart’s racing like crazy. I can’t believe this is actually going to work.

Part of me figured I’d come in here, drop my name, make the guy uncomfortable, and get thrown out. So far, everything happened the way I planned… except he’s actually writing the permit.

I know my family owns most of this town. Not officially or anything, but they own all the buildings, most of the businesses, and employ tons and tons of people at the manor. This town exists more or less because of the Lofthouse family. I know all of that, but up until this moment, that fact has been totally abstract.

I know this is unethical. I shouldn’t use my family’s name and wealth to get this permit for Dean. But the guy’s already writing it out and… well, I don’t want to stop it. Because it feels good.

When he finishes, Donald looks up and smiles at me. “Here you are,” he says, tearing off one part and filing away the rest. “It’s official. They can start, ah, building again. If they want.”