Michael Wainwright drove his Mercedes Cabriolet to the parking lot across from City Hall in Somewhere and groaned. He counted eleven protestors of every age carrying picket signs, and knew who their leader was—Victoria Patterson. The very talented artist that he had commissioned four paintings from had morphed from a demure, humble woman, into a fierce opponent of his proposed resort. He almost grinned when he read the sign she was toting.
SOMEWHERE'S COUNCIL
NEEDS TO SEND WAINWRIGHT RESORTS SOMEWHERE ELSE.
He sighed and exited his car only to be met by angry shouts.
"There he is!"
"He's trying to murder our town!"
"We don't want you here!"
"Take your corporate money and leave!"
Michael approached the group and stopped in front of Vicky. "Clever sign."
She lifted her pretty green eyes to his and replied caustically. "Have we convinced you to leave yet?"
He smiled. "No."
She turned to the protestors and shouted, "Wainwright Resorts leave our town! Wainwright Resorts leave our town!"
The protestors joined in the rant as Michael skirted around them and entered City Hall. He had a meeting with a council member who was onboard for the resort, another that was almost onboard, and a third that needed to be persuaded. The remaining two, making up the five, refused to meet with him. If he could get the vote of the undecided members he was meeting with today, his resort was one step closer to fruition.
He approached the information desk to check in and within minutes the councilman who wanted the resort came to greet him. "Welcome, Mr. Wainwright. The other members are in the conference room."
Michael greeted the small, rotund gentleman and followed him down the hallway. The City Hall building also housed the library and neither department was very large. Since discovering Somewhere, Michael had been amazed that it hadn't been developed more, and if he had to describe the town in two words, it would be delightfully charming. So charming, in fact, that he'd bought one of the homes on Ocean Boulevard.
From his research he knew that the last time any corporate development had been allowed in Somewhere had been in the 1980s, when land was sold to a developer and parceled off for high-end homes that some of the townspeople were still angry about. At the time, however, it appeared to be the only solution to a fiscal crisis. The selling of the land had generated much needed funds and the high property tax and spending habits of wealthy homeowners, had kept the town in the black since then.
Further research had revealed that the founder of the town, Oliver Hope, had parceled the land into three sections in 1920, giving his identical twin sons opposite ends of the cove and the center to a trust that would be governed by the town's council, hence, their ability to sell a portion of the public beach. And now that the "old-timers" on the council were either dying or retiring, and more progressive leaders had been voted in, Michael thought he had a chance of getting his foot in the door before other developers arrived.
He entered the conference room and shook hands with the man and woman he needed to persuade.
Vicky was livid. Michael Wainwright acted like destroying her town was a game. The way he smiled and bantered was atrocious. She glanced around her group of protestors and wondered if there was anything more they could do to stop the building of a resort in Somewhere.
Faith Bennison, a new resident in town who had become a close friend, and Sandy Gutierrez, a longtime friend, walked over. Sandy said, "What are you thinking, Vicky?"
Faith lowered her sign. "Yeah, what are you thinking? You've got a calculating look on your face."
"I sure do, because I've been pondering how to expand our influence."
"And–" Sandy prompted.
Vicky slowly smiled. "My summer help at the museum has gone back to school, but I'm sure I can get a replacement for a day. How would you like to take our protest to Portland?"
Faith's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
"You betcha. Wainwright Resorts' corporate office is there and maybe we can gain momentum by exposing our cause to a larger audience."
Sandy grinned. "Vicky, I think you've hit on something phenomenal. If the media picked up on the plight of disappearing small towns in America, we might have a chance to stop this resort."
Vicky and Sandy waited for Faith's response.
Faith lifted one hand in the air for a high five. "Count me in."