Not so smug now, are you? April thought.
But it didn’t last. Vicki pulled at the front of her jacket, straightening it out. “You’ll be receiving an email from my assistant first thing in the morning so that we can organize a meeting,” she said. “I’d like to open up a discussion with all the staff at the library so we can figure out a suitable resolution.”
“The only suitable resolution is one that doesn’t involve destroying a hundred-year-old building and cutting people off from important resources that they need,” April said.
“Let me assure you, Oasis is committed to minimizing the impact of this project on the community.”
“You already used that line. How exactly are you going to do that?” April asked.
“That remains to be seen. It’s why I’m going to work with you to make sure that the community is heard,” Vicki said firmly.
“So we’re going to sit down and have a chat, and then you’re going to bulldoze the place anyway?”
“I will pass on your recommendations to the appropriate-”
“What, so that Oasis can just ignore them? Just like you people have been ignoring my attempts to contact you for months now?”
“You’ve made your point, Miss Reid,” Mayor Collins said. “Why don’t we hear from someone else now?”
April handed the microphone off and sat down. Vicki turned her attention to the rest of the audience. Although Vicki had lost her cool a moment ago, her infuriatingly self-assured demeanor had returned.
However, April had gotten everyone fired up. Hands were going up all around her. It seemed like everyone had something to say now. April’s jaw almost dropped when Mrs. Evans, a quiet old lady who lived down the street from the library, launched a scathing tirade about how the Oakmont Street development project was pushing her friends out of the homes they’d lived in for decades.
April sat back and watched the proceedings with glee. To Vicki’s credit, she handled it like a pro. But as the questions continued, she showed almost imperceptible signs of frustration. Vicki would cross her legs, then uncross them again a moment later, or would run her fingers through her hair a little too compulsively. Now and then, she would look in April’s direction. And April would be staring right back at her, defiant.
After over an hour of this, Mayor Collins called an end to the meeting. It had already gone over time.
“If you have any further feedback, you can contact my office,” she said. “We’ll pass it along to Oasis. Thank you for coming, Ms. Blake.”
“Please, it’s Vicki,” she said firmly. She turned, addressing the audience. “And please, feel free to contact me directly if you have any concerns.”
April scoffed. She had no doubt that any emails sent Vicki’s way would be palmed off to someone less important.
As everyone started to file out of the hall, Vicki and the mayor remained on stage, chatting with each other. Vicki glanced at April as she got up to leave, but April simply turned and marched toward the door.
“Whoa,” Lexi said. “Wait up. Why are you in such a hurry?”
“I don’t want to be in the same room with that woman any longer than I have to.”
“Huh? You mean Vicki Blake?”
“Yes, her,” April replied. “She’s so… ugh! I can’t stand her!”
“Well, you really showed her,” Lexi said. “It was pretty awesome. We’ll see if she follows through with her promise to work with us.”
“I’m not holding my breath.” April didn’t trust Vicki as far as she could throw her, and she had no doubt that any meeting with Vicki would be fruitless. Right now, April never wanted to see or speak to Vicki ever again.
She would never work with Vicki Blake.
Chapter Six
April refreshed her email inbox for the twentieth time that Tuesday. Here it was, almost time to go home, and nothing. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that woman,” she muttered.
Lexi looked across to April’s desk. “Hmm?”
“Vicki! She said she was going to work with me. She said she’d be in touch. It’s been a week now. I’ve called, I’ve emailed, I’ve left messages with her assistant, and nothing!”
“I’m not surprised,” Lexi said. “I didn’t know whether I should say anything or not because this isn’t very professional, but I know a little about her.”