Part 2 (1/2)
Jo yelped, caught off guard by the voice emanating from one of the side offices.
A deep laugh rang through the office, followed by the sound of footsteps.
”Oh...um...hi,” Jo said as Mayor Stratton came into view.
”Good morning to you as well.” The mayor was obviously amused.
Jo stuttered and stammered, trying to put together an intelligent sentence. Not only was she embarra.s.sed to have screamed in front of a boss whom she a.s.sumed already found her inexperienced, but the eyes she was staring deeply into were the ones she had seen in her dream. Eyes that held the same expression as the ones that stared blankly back at her from her mirror each morning. Eyes that were haunted, guarded and beautifully sad.
”I thought I was the only one here,” Jo finally said.
”As did I. Tell me, Josephine, what on earth are you doing here at five a.m. on your day off?”
”I didn't want to be at home.” Dammit! Jo chided herself for speaking the words aloud, but the sudden appearance of her boss had unnerved her, leaving her susceptible to making stupid statements like that.
Once again, Jo looked up to meet the mayor's gaze. She swore she saw in her eyes an understanding of, almost an agreement with, Jo's statement.
”I see,” the mayor responded, her words dancing around the subject, seemingly careful not to probe too deep.
”That's not what...I mean...well...” She'd dug this hole. She might as well figure a way out. ”What I meant is that I needed to get some things done here before I can relax.”
The mayor sat down in the leather chair across from Jo's desk. ”Do you have anything that's pressing or unfinished?”
Madeline Stratton was the kind of boss who paid attention to everyone's a.s.signments. She knew Jo's workload, her schedule and every project she had in the works. There was no point in lying to the woman.
”No,” Jo conceded.
To Jo's surprise, the mayor shrugged and offered a smile. ”Me neither.”
”Why are you here so early on a day off?” Jo asked, then remembered to add, ”if you don't mind me asking, that is.”
”I asked you first, remember? So I guess it's a fair question.”
”True.”
”I guess I'm just more at home here than anywhere else lately.”
The answer came after the mayor had weighed her response for a while. It was followed by a startled hop. Jaws had not only woken up, Jo realized, but he was also sniffing the mayor's shoes.
”Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry. I brought him in with me because I figured I'd be alone. I'm so sorry.”
The mayor reached down and scooped the s.h.i.+h tzu up. ”Don't you worry. He's a cute little guy. What's his name?”
Slightly embarra.s.sed, Jo wished she had given her dog a more respectable name-one worthy of sharing with someone as serious and dignified as the mayor. ”Uh, his name is Jaws.” Jo gave a half smile.
”That is just too perfect,” she exclaimed, petting his head. She turned back to look at Jo. ”Do you want to grab some breakfast?”
A casual breakfast with the boss hadn't exactly been in Jo's plans, but there was a vulnerability in Madeline Stratton's eyes this morning that she had never seen before.
Jo's heart hammered in her chest. This was the most normal conversation she'd ever had with her boss, and she was worried it might jeopardize her job. She was getting ready in her head to politely decline the offer when her mouth blurted out, ”I'd love to.”
”Great! I know this little place where I can usually avoid an early morning photo shoot.”
Jo glanced over at Jaws, who was still enjoying the love the mayor had to offer. ”Let me drop him off and I'll meet you there.”
She walked over to get him, then stopped, momentarily flummoxed by the awkward scenario in front of her. Before she could overa.n.a.lyze how to scoop Jaws up without brus.h.i.+ng against the mayor's lap, Madeline picked him up to hand him over. Their fingers brushed as Jo took him, and every nerve in her body tingled at the slight contact. Composing herself, she held her dog in her arms and turned away to refocus on more pressing issues. She felt as if she had just gotten in way over her head. What on earth could she discuss with this woman over breakfast? Would she share too much? Appear too cold and disconnected?
Half an hour later, as she pulled into an alley and double- checked the directions the mayor had given her, Jo was even more uncertain. She knew she should call and cancel. She was preparing to throw the car into reverse when she saw Madeline get out of a Suburban parked near a small brick building.
”s.h.i.+t,” she muttered, smoothing the s.h.i.+rt she'd changed into and stepping from her vehicle.
”I'm glad to see you found it.” There was an unfamiliar note-happiness?-in the mayor's voice.
”Me too. I didn't even know this place was back here.”
”That's the beauty of it,” Madeline Stratton smiled again, a look that before this morning had seemed so uncharacteristic. ”I know the owner, and she gives me a little booth in the back that's secluded from the rest of the dining room. It's one of the few places I can go to unwind a little.”
The words hung in the air, like nakedness exposed. Jo had never stopped to consider what it must be like to be the mayor-to constantly be scrutinized and thrust into the spotlight. Her empathy for the mayor grew; being in the spotlight of public office was probably even more intense than undergoing the scrutiny of a church congregation.
All of her nervousness had c.u.mulated to make her hands shake in a way that they hadn't since she had been on her first date. She followed the mayor as they entered the restaurant and found their way to a hidden back table.
They placed their orders and made small talk over coffee as they waited for their food. Madeline Stratton might be a woman of power, Jo soon realized, but she was also human. Jo's heart had nearly settled into a normal rhythm when she turned her deep blue eyes in Jo's direction.
”So, why don't you tell me a little about yourself? I mean, beyond the interview stuff, we haven't really had a chance to get to know one another.”
Jo forced a smile even though her heart was once again beating like a kick drum. ”Well, you know my family, so you know most of my background-where I'm from and everything like that.”
”Yes, you come from a good family, Josephine... ”
”Jo.” Jo decided this was as good a time as any. ”You can call me Jo. It's what pretty much everyone but my parents call me. Josephine just seems way too formal. I insisted on the shortened version as a kid after watching Facts of Life.”
Jo watched as the mayor's eyebrow shot up in question, but then she cleared her throat, moving on from the mention of the show.
”Very well, Jo. You're also free to call me by my first name when we're not in the office or at a public function. Now, why don't you tell me more about yourself-something not related to your family? What do you like to do? What are your dreams? You know, what makes you, you?”
Jo wasn't entirely sure what to tell her. ”Well, I like to write. For fun, that is. I'm not sure what my dreams are these days. They seem to change regularly.”
Madeline appeared to be taking in the words slowly and savoring every nuance, as one does when taste testing a fine wine.
”I envy that,” she responded quietly.
”Which part?”
”That you can still change your dreams.”
Jo hesitated but asked anyway. ”Do you want to change yours?”