Page 4 (1/2)

She tried her hardest to concentrate, but it was as if Bruce was speaking Greek He probably enjoyed talking above her head It was his way of subtly re here

Only, she did belong here She was just going to have to hunker down and get with the progras, her life would now be all about city council et talks And whatever else she was supposed to do as mayor

Don’t do anything rash

Pilar’s words echoed through her head like a Swiss yodeler in the Alps

But Pilar had nothing to worry about Mi tie and a time out wasn’t a divorce It was sis without the everyday pressure of living together She’d start by telling Allie tomorrow Then her parents And then she and Zeke would sit the kids down and tell thee

Speaking of the kids… She sneaked a peek at her watch It was alet out of school Claire was supposed to pick hi out with her younger brother But for the first tiht about what she’d ht There was leftover roast beef froo Or she could defrost sorill that up Or even stop for pizza—

“Let’s see what Mary thinks about this,” Doug said

Miht not paying attention But Bruce Bailey and that nasally monotone voice of his could put anyone to sleep

The council, though officially on duty, had agreed to keep a “friendly” tone and address each other by their first na “Everyone else does”

Doug sht, Mimi it is”

“I think all this nu our new mayor,” Bruce said He turned to Mimi “You’ll find this is all a little e PTA bake sale receipts”

There went that urge to stick her tongue out again

Instead, she straightened in her chair and tried for a professional s here wondering how the city could be so financially unstable, considering they had you at the helm But I’m sure once I take this report houre it out”

Bruce’s face went red Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Doug raise a brow as if iave her a thumbs up It was nice to have allies, but Mimi hoped that comeback wouldn’t co to need Bruce’s support to make a smooth transition into her role as mayor

Larry cleared his throat “Perhaps we could go over all the different departments and see where we can cut corners?”