The Baby Shift- Iowa Read online

  “Oh, I forgot my phone,” Mayor Charles said. “I’ll be right back.”

  June’s heart dropped as the silence overtook the car. Vince’s eyes caught hers in the rearview mirror.

  “Ms. June.” His voice was butter soft, and she didn’t trust it for one moment. “What a pleasant surprise.”

  “It’s certainly a surprise,” she bit back. Why was she so mad? He smirked. She hated that it made him more handsome even if it was only his reflection. And God, was he ever handsome! In the bar that night, he’d kept his hair cropped and tidy. He’d grown it out now and slicked it back, looking like a handsome greaser out of a film in a business suit. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying as much.

  “You didn’t look me up?” he asked, almost sounding wounded. She glared at him from the backseat.

  “What’s a famous businessman doing in Fresh Meadows?” she asked.

  “What’s a beautiful, talented woman like you doing in Fresh Meadows?” he fired back. She pulled back as if struck. Mayor Charles emerged from the building, waving his phone triumphantly in his hand. They slipped back into a tense silence as the old man joined them.

  “I’m always forgetting something as Ms. Jane can probably attest to,” he said with a jolly laugh. “Ready to roll?”

  “Ready,” Vince replied with some amusement. June wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry as they exited the parking lot and turned left onto Main Street.

  Vince

  He was never good at goodbyes, but he’d never gotten the chance to say goodbye with June. She left that night before he was even up. Odd since his sensitive hearing usually picked up on that. It was usually him slinking away from a supermodel’s bed in the early hours of the morning to catch a taxi for an early morning meeting. In fact, she might’ve been the only woman that had ever left him like that.

  The light turned green, and he turned, driving the merriest band of mismatched companions since the beginning of time. His one-night stand, fuming in the backseat looking as delectable as ever, and a goofy old man in the passenger seat, babbling on about his golf game.

  “I shot 90 on my last course,” Mayor Charles informed them. June made an incomprehensible sound from the backseat. Vince felt a headache coming on from the Mayor’s incessant chatting. Small town men always seemed to have the most to say.

  He’d rather hear from the gorgeous viper in the backseat. He glanced towards her, but she was zoned out and gazing out the window, making occasional sounds at Mayor Charles’ golf sermon. Lunch couldn’t come soon enough. Maybe he could arrange for Mayor Charles to disappear for a bit. When they pulled into the parking lot for the first property, he shot off a text to his assistant.

  Need Mayor out of my hair. Call him on personal number with potential questions about the city. Keep him tied up for a few hours. With an innocent face, he exited the car and felt June’s eyes hawkishly watching him.

  “An old manufacturing plant?” he guessed with an innocent tone as he gazed around the property, feigning a look of interest. No chance in hell. He wanted something much closer to Main Street, but June had a good eye, at least. This was a much better price and made more sense for his market, but he was too stubborn, and she didn’t need to know that yet.

  “It used to be an old textile mill for the town,” she told him with crossed arms as their group surveyed the area. “When all the work went overseas, it became abandoned. A microbrewery put in a bid a few months back, but their funding fell through. It’s an extremely good price.”

  “You’re not in real estate, Ms. June?” he asked and watched her cheeks turn pink.

  “Not at all,” she said. “I’m very well researched though.” He nodded, and Mayor Charles began telling them a story about the old textile mill owner.

  “That’s why it’s haunted!” Charles finished with a flourish as June shot him an exasperated look. Vince, who hadn’t been listening, gave a tame nod of interest. Suddenly, a sound went off, and Charles dove into his pocket. “Yes? This is he? Oh, yes.” He pulled away from their group with his finger raised.

  “Surely not a member of your team,” June said with a look. Vince shrugged his shoulders and feigned ignorance.

  “I’m not sure. My assistant is very thorough. She does what she needs to.” His beautiful companion looked unconvinced. He tried to hide the mischievous grin building on his face. She’d see a lie like that a mile away with those sharp blue eyes.

  Mayor Charles came back, hurriedly putting up his phone. “I’m sorry something urgent has come up for me!”

  “I’m sure it did,” June said with a snort. Vince pretended to be admiring the shell of an old machine that’d been abandoned outside.

  “Maybe I’ll catch you two at lunch later,” Mayor Charles said.

  I doubt that, Vince said to himself but offered a friendly smile. “Of course, I hope to see you later to discuss things.”

  Charles seemed oblivious to any mischief going on. He clapped an affirming hand on Vince’s shoulder and then turned to June. “Will Lance be joining us for lunch, June?”

  June looked to the side. “No, he’s with my parents today.”

  “A shame, I’ll catch him next time.” With that, a car drove up, and Mayor Charles hopped in. Vince turned away from June to watch the car leave, scowling.

  Who the hell was Lance? Her boyfriend? He tapped his foot, kicking up the red dust of the parking lot. “Does Lance work for Fresh Meadows?” He asked.

  She balked. “Of course not.” She didn’t provide any more details. He pressed down a grunt of annoyance and marched around the building without a word, asking questions about the property. When he felt that he’d sufficiently played his part, they climbed back into the car.

  “Do you like jazz?” he asked as he turned on the radio to a classic playlist. She shrugged and looked out the window.

  “Everyone likes jazz, don’t they?” she asked. He remembered that they’d been playing jazz in the bar that night they’d been together. It was Louis Armstrong’s “La Vie en rose,” and he remembered the tune well. He hummed it briefly, and she shot him a look from the corner of her eyes. He smiled. She did remember then. They pulled out onto the road, and his GPS barked instructions in an English accent.

  “How did this town convince you to come back?” he asked.

  “What makes you think I was here before I left?”

  “A woman like you...You’re too brilliant to just stumble across this place. Your parents live here, don’t they?”

  She shifted in her seat. “Yes, they do. My grandparents moved here when they immigrated from Northern Italy.”

  “Oh, Italian then? You’re not quite as loud as I expected.”

  “Do you only operate off of human stereotypes?”

  “You’re a feisty one,” he muttered, as if pained. “To be fair, I don’t know as much about humans as you do.” He felt her shiver and watched her cover her arms.

  “I didn’t realize,” she muttered. “When we met last time until I saw your eyes in the light.”

  “Lion, if you’re wondering.” He hoped she was. She nodded as if churning over this information.

  “I’m not trying to be rude to you because we slept together,” she said suddenly. “It’s business.” He smirked.

  “I understand. If anyone understands, it’s me.”

  “Because you’re Mr. Big Business coming to wreck my little old town with your new condos?”

  He laughed and stopped at the red light. “I wouldn’t say it in quite those terms, June.” She tensed at hearing her name and then stared out the window. “You seem deep in thought.”

  “I’m often deep in thought,” she replied in a faraway voice. He could relate. His thoughts were usually circling around business accounts, transactions that he could crunch, profits that he could make. They drove on in silence with the sound of soft jazz. Sometimes, he felt as if she was going to break out humming.

  She was sitting at the bar wearing a black dress with
a slit up the side. It was that and the elegant fingers wrapped around her cocktail glass that drew his eye. He’d been out to meet a client, and when they’d finished, he hovered behind to complete some work on his phone. When he looked up, he saw her. She was perched on a stool, intently studying a pamphlet. Her perfume hit him before he knew what he was doing. Suddenly, he was moving towards her. She lifted her head. Her brown eyes sparked with interest.

  Now, there was nothing but fire and distrust in those eyes. He understood that it was business...but there was something else. He frowned. There was something beneath her exterior and hesitation. Fear. She was hiding something. But, what?

  The business deal, he ventured. That would be the logical explanation.

  “Arrived at destination,” the GPS chimed. They climbed out of the car.

  “Where do you want to do lunch after this?” he asked. She opened her mouth to say something, but her phone chimed in her hand. A smile crossed her face, triumphant.

  “Unfortunately, I’ve got to go attend to a personal matter,” she said with satisfaction and glanced down the street. “Good luck with your search. My place isn’t far, so I’ll walk. See you later, Mr. Ashton.”

  He had a feeling that she was being less than sincere as she left him alone in the parking lot of another place in Fresh Meadows that he had no intention of buying. He watched silently as she stormed off.

  Fresh Meadows hadn’t been as idyllic as he imagined. In fact, he suspected it would be his greatest challenge after all.

  June

  It wasn’t a lie. Her intern, Alyssa, had sent a text to remind June to pick up something from her house to bring to work. Of course, it was only the romance novel that June had been raving about to her younger colleague and had promised to loan to her. She smiled to herself as she walked into her house. With an exhausted groan, she stretched her arms up over her head and thanked the stars that her parents had taken Lance for the day.

  “Does Lance work for Fresh Meadows?”

  She let out a belly laugh. Let him think that she was discussing an adult! She didn’t need him snooping around about her baby boy. An acidic punch of worry hit her stomach. She nibbled the end of her thumbnail. Should she tell him?

  A text message buzzed on her phone. An unknown number.

  Dinner tonight? You can tell me why you hate me.

  Her mouth dropped open. She typed back: How did you get my number?

  An instant reply: You provided it in your stern response to my development proposal. Her cheeks reddened. Oh. She slipped the phone back into her bag without sending a reply.

  No, it was out of the question. He was her rival in a business deal. And he looked too good in his sleek suit driving that luxury car around Fresh Meadows looking like the most handsome sore thumb that this town had ever seen. She didn’t need him meddling in her life. Her hands went up to her hair and slipped the long locks into a sleek ponytail. It was time for her to focus on work. She grabbed the book that Alyssa had been asking about and called for a taxi, one of the few that the town had.

  “You’re pale today,” Alyssa chirped when she walked in. June wanted to be annoyed with the college girl, but Alyssa was too friendly and good with her work.

  “Interesting meeting this morning,” June confided with a shrug.

  “Want some coffee?” Alyssa asked.

  “Sure, I’d love that. Here’s that book.” June set the book on the young woman’s desk, and Alyssa gave an excited cheer from the coffee pot on the other side of the office.

  “The Mayor called to say he was stopping by,” Alyssa said. She must’ve watched the exhaustion flicker over June’s face. “Oh no, is he trying to convince you on a golf course in Fresh Meadows again?”

  “Worse,” June mumbled with a groan. Alyssa’s eyebrows disappeared beneath her fringe bangs. The doorbell chimed. “Let me guess, the mayor…”

  As if on cue, Mayor Charles came hurrying into the room with a flustered look. “June, what’s this I hear about you ignoring our honored guest? He’s invited you out to dinner?”

  “He’s not an honored guest,” June reminded him. “He’s a businessman trying to tear down a historical monument for his own benefit.”

  The comment seemed to go over the old man’s head. He sat in one of the two chairs in front of her desk. Alyssa brought over two cups of coffee with a tray of sugar and made an excuse to go to the other room. The Mayor started back up once Alyssa shut the office door.

  “You have to reconsider!” Charles proclaimed. June pressed a hand and against her throbbing temple. Alyssa would have to grab the pain reliever from the bathroom after this.

  “Charles, it’s 2018. You can’t force women to go on dates with men for your benefit.”

  “But, June, think of the opportunity for Fresh Meadows.”

  She smacked a hand on her desk. “He wants to destroy a town monument, Charles.”

  “You could convince him to compromise. You’re the only person that can do it,” he said. “I’m sure of it.”

  She sighed. Lance’s sweet cherub face sprung up in her mind. Worse, Vince was still attractive to her. She hadn’t told him why she was this hostile-- yes, in part because of the monument-- but it was much worse than that.

  I love my son, she thought as Charles went off on another impassioned speech. She’d never do anything to risk her child’s safety...but should she tell Vince?

  “Charles, I’ll make a decision in a few hours, okay?” she said with her hands out in front

  of her. He collapsed in relief.

  “Thank you, June!” His eyes were nearly watering with grateful tears.

  “I never said I’d go,” she reminded him in a dry tone.

  “Yes, yes, of course…” But, both of them knew what she was likely to do...June Warner had never backed down from a challenge in her life. She wasn’t about to start now.

  Alyssa showed the mayor out. She already had the bottle of headache relief from the bathroom in her hands on the way back. June gave her a grateful look as she popped the bottle open and took out two capsules. If she were going out tonight, she’d need to be in top shape. After Alyssa left for the day, June settled into her office chair with a tired sigh and prepared herself for the final battle of the day. First, she confirmed that her parents could take Lance until the end of her meeting (date?) tonight. They were ecstatic to. Grandparents were truly the gift to the world.

  She then called him up before she lost her nerve. “I get to choose the restaurant.” It was the first words out of her mouth.

  “You know the town best,” he said in a cool tone. Was he excited? She couldn’t tell. Annoyance bubbled up within her chest. The thought of his handsome face speaking into the phone only seemed to aggravate the feeling.

  “Is this business?” she asked. She hadn’t meant to ask, but it came out. He paused. Her stomach flipped.

  “I suppose it could be both.” He was quick to add, “If you want it.”

  She sucked in a quick breath. “I’m not opposed to it.” It was true that she still found him sexy…

  “When should I pick you up?”

  “Seven forty-five. I’ll make our reservation.”

  “I like a decisive woman.”

  She shivered, a happy thrill running through her. “I’ll see you tonight. You can pick me up from my office.” She always saved an evening outfit at the office, just in case of an emergency.

  And Vince Ashton was nothing if not an emergency.

  --

  She chose Reggie’s Bistro for a few reasons. It was positioned at the outskirts of downtown in an old milk packaging plant. They’d kept the industrial components but fashioned the restaurant into a hip place with vintage light bulbs glowing throughout the brick building. It had a Brooklyn, New York feel without all the city and noise.

  Vince’s eyes lit up when they walked in, but it could’ve been that now he could see her dress in the light. Her emergency evening outfit was daring. It was a favorite piece that
she’d kept tucked in her work closet for emergencies, a dashing dress with a deep V-neck that showed off her generous chest. More generous than the last time he’d seen it after her pregnancy. Remarkably, the dress seemed to fit better on her body than any night in the past.

  She’d applied heavier makeup before he came to pick her up. Her deep berry lipstick

  nearly brushed his suit jacket when he helped her out of the car. He smelled of fresh rainwater and cool metal. She steadied herself in front of the hostess desk. “Table under Warner.”

  “Follow me,” the hostess said and shot an envious look at June. It wasn’t every day that a Fresh Meadows woman walked in with a mouthwatering morsel of a man.

  They were headed to a fine booth. With an elegant gesture, Vince stepped aside to allow her to slide in first. It was cozy. They dimmed the lights as they began to look over the menus. A waiter came by with a wine bottle.

  “Sir, you requested the vintage Pinot Noir,” the waiter said, and Vince nodded. Her mouth dropped open, as it was apt to do around him, evidently.

  “How did you know where I was taking you?” she asked after the waiter left, having poured two generous glasses.

  “It only took a few calls around town,” he said with a shrug. “There aren’t that many nice restaurants in Fresh Meadows.”

  She smirked. “It’s not New York City.”

  “No, but the City tires me sometimes,” he admitted as he glanced over the menu. With a weighty tone, he added, “It’s been over a year since I had any real fun there.”

  She flushed. Heat crawled over her skin. “With me?” She hated that she sounded disbelieving. He lifted his gaze, those handsome flashing eyes, to meet her fury.

  “I like a challenge,” he said.