Once I’d gotten through my spiel, I let out a sigh of relief. It had gone more smoothly than I expected. But just as I stepped back from the podium, a man in the crowd stood.
“I’m not taking questions,” I said firmly.
The mayor, ignoring my comment, walked down the aisle between the chairs and handed the man a microphone.
“What are you going to do about the drugs coming in from Canada?” he asked.
I was taken aback by the anger in his tone, but I forced a smile to my face. “We work carefully with law enforcement.”
A woman leaned over and snatched the microphone from his hand.
“You gonna lay people off?”
Gasps went up around the room.
My goal was not to lay people off, but buying a company and making necessary updates sometimes involved personnel changes. It was the nature of business.
Before I could formulate a proper response, I was hit with a barrage of questions from all over the room.
“Do you feel as though you have a responsibility to the town?”
“Are you gonna take all your corporate profits outside of Maine? You should be investing locally.”
“What makes you think you can run a timber company?”
My eye began to twitch and my heart pounded in my ears. I was a seasoned pro, and I could handle questions, but the people here were so angry and suspicious, and most of this stuff was not any of their business.
But then, in my periphery, a solid wall of plaid moved straight at me.
My heart leaped, then bottomed out.
Gus.
Frowning, he walked slowly toward the podium. When he got close enough that I could feel his body heat, I stepped aside.
Angling forward, he spoke into the microphone. And if I wasn’t mistaken, the man was smiling. “That’s enough, Doug,” he said. “Ms. LeBlanc failed to mention that she and Strategic Timber have decades of experience working with local timber businesses. My entire family is delighted to have her and her team here.”
An older man in the back stood. “But—”
Gus held up his hand. “We all know it’s in the best interest of the town to preserve the timber industry. Maine timber, harvested by Maine workers, will always be the backbone of our regional economy. And Ms. LeBlanc is here to help us modernize and optimize.”
Grumbles went up around the room, and I found myself joining in. I could handle this; he didn’t have to swoop in here.
“I’m so impressed by her vision and credentials that I’ve agreed to stay on as operations manager and help her grow the company.” He stood up straight again and looked down at me.
I gave him a nod, then I turned and smiled at the crowd. It was integral to our success that I put on a united front now, even if I kind of wanted to punch him in the grumpy face.
“But what about the drugs?”
Gus leaned forward. “We are hardly the only rural community to be hit hard by the opioid epidemic. We will do everything we can, but this is a far larger problem than one timber company can solve.”
That seemed to quiet them. And I was begrudgingly impressed.
“Now, we have far more pressing matters to discuss.” He turned around and looked at the agenda projected onto the screen. “Earl, it seems, has filed another petition to ban motorboats on the lake on Sundays.”
Some man in the back, who I assumed was Earl, shot to his feet. “Your damn motors disturb the fish.”
Another man stood and shook his fist. “There are ponds, streams, and brooks all over the county that are great for fishing. Stop wasting our time.”
Others piped up from all over the room, weighing in on Earl’s proposal as Gus tugged on my elbow and led me away from the podium.
The whole way, I fought the urge to stomp on his foot with my stiletto. The way he’d butted in was bad enough, but his large, comforting presence was what really made me irate.
When we were outside the gymnasium, I yanked my arm back.
“I do not need to be rescued. You shouldn’t have interfered.”
He crossed his thick arms and glared down his nose at me. “I think you pronounced thank you wrong.”
“I’m not thanking you.” Huffing, I pulled my shoulders back. “You just undermined me in front of the town.” I sounded petulant, but I didn’t care. This was my company, dammit, and I could take the heat.
“I just stopped the pitchfork-wielding mob from coming after you.” He raised one eyebrow, smug.
I almost laughed. This entire situation was absurd, and yet I was itching for a fight. To yell and scream and stomp my feet. But I’d learned long ago that, as a woman, keeping my cool was the single most important thing I could do. So I pushed the rage down and bit the inside of my cheek.
“I didn’t realize they’d be so hostile,” I admitted.
Gus chuckled. “You should never have led with saying you were from Heartsborough.”
