Chasing Perfect (Fool's Gold #1)(30)

Charity did her best not to laugh. “I know it’s difficult.”

“It’s beyond difficult. It’s humiliating to have our town’s problems featured in her thesis.”

“At least we’re only a chapter.”

“I know and I should be grateful, but there’s a part of me that wants to ask why we’re not good enough to be an entire book. Which is crazy. I must need medication.” She drew in a breath. “All right. Enough about Tiffany. How are you?”

“Better than you. I was going to get a bottle of water from the vending machine. Do you want something?”

“A martini. Which I happen to know we don’t stock. I’ll take an iced tea.” She raised her hand, then set it back on her lap. “I don’t have my purse with me.”

“My treat. I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you. I’ll sit here and practice my breathing in attempt to get my blood pressure below a thousand.”

Charity left her office and walked toward the vending machine. She hadn’t personally spent any time with Tiffany but she’d heard the grad student’s questions could be probing at best and a little annoying at worst.

She put the money into the vending machine and collected the drinks, then returned to her office.

“Thank you,” Marsha said gratefully as she took the bottle. “Is that outfit new? I really like the skirt.”

Charity told herself to simply accept the compliment without an explanation. Or at least not a detailed one. Her boss didn’t need to know about her realization that she’d spent the past couple of years totally ignoring her appearance.

“I drove to Sacramento and did some shopping over the weekend.”

The black pencil skirt was still professional, but it ended a couple of inches above her knees rather than five inches below. The pumps had a thinner heel and were about an inch higher than what she had been wearing. She’d had the white blouse for about a year, but it was fairly classic. Hanging on the back of her chair was the new cropped black-and-white pinstripe jacket. The tailored style emphasized her waist and made her feel both feminine and powerful.

“You look great. I’ve always had a fondness for clothing. I had a thing for leather for years, but I’m too old now. I would simply frighten people if I showed up in leather pants or, God forbid, fringe.”

Charity laughed as she sat down at her desk. “You could start a trend.”

“I’ll leave that to those of you still under thirty. Anyway, tell me how things are going. Do we have any new businesses moving here so I can tell Tiffany we’re no longer thesis worthy?”

“Not yet, but I’m working on it. I’ve been in touch with the hospital committee and they were very impressed. They’ve dropped one site completely, so now it’s down to us and one other contender. They’ll want to send a few different people to explore the town and see what we have to offer. I’m already putting together different tours.”

“A hospital. That would be impressive.”

“It was on your to-do list.”

Marsha sipped her tea. “I love it when people listen to me.”

“I’m sure everyone does. From what I can tell, the biggest concern the hospital committee has is about community support, so I’ll be dealing with that directly.”

“Excellent.”

Charity passed over a second file. “I’ve been meeting with a software company. They’re in San Jose and while they’d keep their headquarters there, they need to expand. A lot of the staff have expressed a desire for small-town life. They want to stay in California and be relatively close to the main office. So I have high hopes we can convince them to come here.”

“Software, huh?”

“Most computer geeks are guys.”

“True and I’ve always liked that type of man. Computer guys, engineers. They’re usually stable and dependable. Important qualities when it comes to marriage.”

Charity glanced at the other woman’s left hand. There wasn’t a ring. She started to ask, then thought it might be a little too personal. But Marsha must have noticed.

“Like many women in my generation, I married young,” Marsha said. “John was a sweet man. Probably too good for me, but he loved me unconditionally. We were so happy together. We had a daughter.” She paused, as if remembering a moment in the past. “How that man loved his little girl. We had plans for a big family, but he was killed in a car accident when our little girl was only three. I was pregnant at the time and the shock of losing him caused me to miscarry.” Marsha pressed her lips together. “It was a difficult time.”

Charity was shocked to hear about the tragedy. “I’m so sorry.”

“It was a long time ago. Now I just have good memories, but for a while I didn’t think I could survive the double loss. My baby girl helped pull me through, just by needing me. And I had the town.”

Marsha smiled at her. “John and I had both been born here, so when I lost him, so did the community. They rallied. About a year later, someone put me on the ballot for the city council. I think it was to shock me out of my depression. I never campaigned, but somehow I won. I went to my first meeting with the idea that I would resign, but somehow I got sucked into it all. Here I am, some forty years later, still working in city government.”