“No more than I am. She got a really raw deal. And nothing anybody can say will convince her that she didn’t personally have a hand in destroying that other town.”
“Shouldering all that responsibility.” Sandra shook her head. “Reminds me of someone else I know.” She lifted a meaningful brow at him.
Cam shrugged. “Apple. Tree.” He pointed a finger at his chest, then at her.
“True enough. Now what is it you really want this morning?” Her manner relaxed, and Cam knew the brief diversionary conversation had been the right move.
“I think we should commission an independent economic impact study. Bring in an expert who doesn’t have a horse in this race to look at the local economy and actually project what GrandGoods will do to it, good or bad. It will help us all make a more informed decision.”
“That seems completely logical. Why bring this directly to me?”
“Because I figure it stands a better chance of happening if it comes from you. You can strong arm Vick where I can’t if he kicks up a fuss.”
“I hate how much of this job is making other people play nice.”
“You had plenty of practice corralling me and the cousins over the years.”
She fixed him with a gimlet eye. “I could ground all of you.”
Cam grinned.
“I’ll set up a meeting.” She dialed Vick’s extension, obviously surprised when he answered after the second ring. Cam checked his watch. Not yet eight. Vick was getting a bright and early start after his apparent success at last night’s Council meeting. Sandra asked him to come up for a quick chat.
“Should I vamoose?”
“No need for that.”
Vick was all smiles when he strode in a few minutes later. He opened his mouth, ostensibly to spew some effusive pleasantries, but Sandra cut him off, back to the curt irritation she’d displayed when Cam had arrived.
“I’ll be brief. Before things go any further on the GrandGoods proposal, I want an economic impact study conducted. Paid for by the city, conducted by an independent agent with no ties to GrandGoods. This project is significantly different from any of the proposals we’ve entertained before, and I want to make absolutely certain we proceed with as much information as possible.”
“I think that’s a very sensible suggestion, Sandra. I’d be happy to get right on that this morning and compile a list of possible contractors.”
His ready agreement threw Cam. Where was the antagonism? The arguments against slowing the process?
“That would be great. I’ve got a full plate sorting through other things today.”
With another of those used car salesman grins, Vick walked right back out.
“There. That was relatively painless, for once.”
Painless and Vick didn’t go together. “I don’t trust him. He never agrees to anything that easily.”
“I take it as a sign he’s trying to play nice. I suggest you do the same. Now skedaddle on to work yourself. I’ve got work to do.”
Chapter 9
“—The Council has agreed to a delay of the vote until receipt of the economic impact study, so we’ve got a bit of a reprieve until the report comes back.” Cam’s announcement to the twenty or so members of the Chamber of Commerce scattered on the bleachers of the community center was met with grim focus.
Norah could work with that. What she wasn’t sure she could continue to do was work with Cam. He hadn’t pushed, hadn’t guilted, hadn’t even alluded to their brief relationship. But compartmentalizing what she felt for him was taking more than half the energy she needed to be devoting to the campaign. She could usually lose herself in the work, but seeing him day in, day out was slowly driving her mad.
Realizing he was done introducing her, Norah took his place up front, already refining her pitch, shifting from training to instinct. “Usually how this works is I’d go with all the glitz and glam, lay out my credentials and awards to establish myself as the resident expert before launching into my pitch. But this isn’t a boardroom and y’all don’t care about that. Most of you don’t know me. Those who do probably know little more than my connection to the Campbell family. So here’s what you need to know in a nutshell: I may not be from here, but I love this town, and I don’t want to see it desecrated by GrandGoods or any other corporate giant seeking to come in and carve out a place without consideration of the community at large. I have the skill set, the time, the passion, and the commitment to see that that doesn’t happen.”
She paused a few beats, noting body language as some, like Tyler and the sweet-faced brunette who ran the pharmacy, leaned forward, engaged. Mama Pearl folded both arms across her ample bosom, her strangely ageless face set in lines of skepticism. Norah had faced tougher crowds.
“But I can’t fight this war alone. And make no mistake—this is a war. GrandGoods and all they represent are a threat to the culture and way of life here. Your City Planner would have you believe otherwise.”
She turned and rotated the markerboard Cam had dragged in for her before the meeting so they could see the list she’d made. “Mr. Burgess would have you believe that GrandGoods will create jobs. Obviously, with Wishful’s economy being in its current state, that would be a great thing. If it were true. In fact, studies by independent economists prove that big box stores eliminate more retail jobs than they create. And the jobs they do create tend to be part time, low wages, with no benefits.” She drew a line through the first myth and moved on to the second. “He says GrandGoods will boost local tax revenue. That’s a big catch-22. Whatever tax benefits GrandGoods may provide will be negated by the cost of providing public services like roads, additional miles of utilities, more of a drain on fire and police time. Not to mention that cities that approve big box development often experience a decline in property and sales tax revenue from existing local businesses. That would be all of you.” She crossed another line off.