Page 46 of Sugar & Shadows

I placed my phone on the table, open to the library’s Instagram page. “You do this?”

Finally, she looked up at me, her eyes widening, and swallowed. “Laurie said it was okay. That I could do whatever I wanted.”

“Relax.” I sat and rested my forearms on the table between us. “It’s good. All over the place, with no clear content plan, but you’ve got good instincts.”

“My post about local authors got ten thousand likes.”

“I saw.”

She smirked, a hint of pride escaping her.

“You a senior?”

She shook her head. “Junior. Can’t wait to get out of this shithole town.”

A huff of a laugh left me. I understood that sentiment all too well.

“I’m working on a project,” I said slowly. “And I could use your talent.”

Her lips curved down. “From what I’ve heard, you can manage on your own.”

Touché. I couldn’t argue with that, but I tamped down on my own pride and considered another approach. I didn’t have much experience negotiating with teenagers, but I was aware that they could be harder to crack than a senator’s mistress with a prepaid lawyer and a burner phone.

“Not always,” I said, leaning closer. “And I’m woman enough to know when I can’t do it all myself. The foundation of any victory is a strong team. And this, as you called it, ‘shithole town,’ is lacking in talent.”

Her eyes widened further, her mind working.

I gave it a second. Then I threw in a simple comment I was sure she’d eat up. “Except for you.”

Her eyes lit up. Got her. Hook, line, and sinker.

“You’ve got potential,” I told her. “You like social media.”

“Yeah, but your mom won’t let me make a TikTok account for the library,” she groused. “And I have so many ideas.”

Her earnestness was adorable. This kid was extra in all the right ways. She was probably smarter than most of her teachers and knew it.

“I know you could,” I said, holding her gaze. “But why stick to something so small? Instead of the library, how about…”

I paused, dragging out the anticipation, waiting until she was leaning in.

“How about I hire you to run the Maplewood socials?”

She snapped upright. “For the whole town? Is that allowed?”

“It is if I say it is.”

Lips pursed, she examined me, suspicious. “You have that kind of authority?”

I nodded, keeping my expression light. “Have any idea what we could do?”

She tapped away at her phone, then showed me one bookmark after another in her web browser, eagerly listing ideas and discussing engagement.

“So what’s the job? When do I start?”

“I’m putting together a committee,” I told her. “A task force, really. We’ll meet here, at the library. But I still need to get things up and running. While I do that, I want you to do some research for me.”

She immediately produced a notebook and a sparkly pen.