“And you can make enough money doing that?” Gavin asked.
“I can,” I told him. “Money and connections. Although I’m not living the high life. But the salary of the mayor is almost comparable.”
“I guess you’re not in it for the lifestyle,” Cory observed.
“I’m not going to be taking payouts, if that’s what you mean.”
“You could do some good,” Patrick said. “Clean up the city.”
“I’m going to do my best,” I replied. “One of the big problems is the police department. They need new equipment and new training. They’re not interfacing well with the community.”
“Enough politics,” Cory proclaimed.
“What company did you say you worked for?” I asked. I knew damned well they hadn’t said, but since I was networking, I wanted to know.
“Lincoln Investments,” Gavin replied.
“Really?” This was getting better and better. “I’ve been wanting to reach out to your boss for quite some time.”
“Why?” Cory asked.
“You said no more politics,” I reminded him.
“Humor me.”
I took a sip of beer and set the glass down. “Apropos of cleaning the city up, I thought it might be a good idea to put some money into some of these small businesses in the area. If I can convince investors to back a few mom-and-pop shops in a certain location, we can really enhance the walkability of the city. We’ll bring the foot traffic back and create a better community.”
Gavin and Cory exchanged a look that told me they thought I was full of it. I gave them my best smile, letting them know I understood. It was a sappy vision, but one I thought would give me a good angle when I was running for election. If I could point to a place where I had made a difference, it would give me a good platform to stand on.
Everyone liked revitalization. I wasn’t going to push anyone out or raise the rents so that the little guy couldn’t afford it. Instead, I was going to help the struggling business owners take their stores to the next level. By picking a location and not spreading the wealth around, I could create a blueprint for the rest of the city. That way I could tell my constituents, Look at how I rebuilt Main Street, or wherever it was. People could go visit the shops, spend their hard-earned money, and enjoy themselves. Then they could march right to the polls and vote for me. It would be a win-win as far as I was concerned.
“I can introduce you,” Cory offered.
“Thanks.”
“There’s a place right on our block that could use a little reconstruction,” he added. “It’s this great little bakery.”
Gavin rolled his eyes, and Patrick laughed. I gathered there was something I’d missed. “What about the bakery?”
“He’s not interested in the bakery,” Gavin said. “There’s a girl who works behind the counter—”
“She’s a baker actually,” Cory cut in. “I just saw her behind the counter that once.”
“There’s a girl who works there—” Gavin began again.
“Woman,” Cory interrupted him for a second time.
Gavin gave Cory a narrow look.
“Have you met her?” I wondered.
“No,” Gavin admitted. “But Cory’s been going there every day this week.”
“They have great coffee,” Cory muttered, drowning his words in his beer.
We continued the conversation well into the night. Leaving off my plans and the details about the bakery woman, we listened to Gavin tell some stories about his travels. I couldn’t imagine having seen all the sights he was privy to. It seemed almost surreal. The man had been to so many locations in his line of work, I had a hard time keeping up.
Patrick weighed in with some raunchy stories about the baseball players, and Cory let us in on the details of Boston. I didn’t know why he would have chosen such a cold and distant city to live in, but I kept that opinion to myself.