Kade cleared his throat. “So, it’s safe to say that I’m not entirely impartial where London Russell is concerned.”
Elaine tapped her fingernail on her phone. “You think?”
“I asked Mrs. Fitzpatrick about this on Monday, and she said it wasn’t going to be an issue.”
The mayor leaned forward on the judges’ table to look around Elaine. “You were involved with Miss Russell on Monday?”
“No, I just mean that we knew each other. I didn’t really get involved with her until today, and I’m still not sure how involved I am.” This was really hard to explain.
“You’re involved enough to kiss her in public, and that wasn’t just a friendly peck on the cheek,” Elaine pointed out.
“Yeah, I know,” Kade mumbled. His face grew hot as he remembered that kiss, and then it grew hotter as he realized what this might mean for the pageant.
The door of the judging room popped open just then, and Mrs. Fitzpatrick entered with Mrs. Johnson on her heels.
“Judges, I’m sorry to say that we’ve had a bit of an upset,” Mrs. Fitzpatrick said. “Mrs. Johnson has brought to my attention a very unfortunate picture that is being circulated on the internet, and has asked that we remove Kade from our panel. I’m inclined to agree, but we have sponsorships on the line here, and Kade has brought in many of those sponsorships. It’s a difficult situation.”
“You have to think beyond the money, Mrs. Fitzpatrick,” Mrs. Johnson said. “You have to think about what’s best for all the girls and not just my precious Lacey. If a judge has been influenced by a contestant, that judge should be removed—and maybe even that contestant.”
Kade shook his head. “I will step down as a judge, but I protest any actions taken to remove London from the competition. She didn’t do anything wrong. I kissed her.”
“But I don’t think she did anything to stop you,” Mrs. Johnson said with a smirk. “It looked pretty mutual to me.”
It had been, and Kade hid a smile thinking about it. “I was just telling the other judges that I discussed my prior relationship with London with Mrs. Fitzpatrick on Monday, and I was left with a very clear impression that it wouldn’t be an issue.”
“But that was your prior relationship, Mr. Smith, and things have gotten a little out of hand,” Mrs. Fitzpatrick rejoined. “How can we fix this situation for the benefit of all the girls?”
“Well, I don’t know about you, darlin’, but now that Lacey’s mother has had her say and knows that we’re on it, I say we let her enjoy the rest of her afternoon while we hash this out,” Mayor Morgan said.
Mrs. Fitzpatrick nodded. “Quite right. Mrs. Johnson, your concerns will be addressed, but by private committee. We’ll let you know what we decide.”
Mrs. Johnson looked entirely put out. “But I have a right to know—”
“And you will know, but there’s no reason for you to have your finger in this particular pie,” Mrs. Fitzpatrick said. She stood firm until Mrs. Johnson left the room, and then the mayor grabbed a chair from the stack leaning against the wall and brought it over to the judges’ table.
“Let’s sit down and talk this over reasonably,” he said. “I agree that we’re in a bit of a pickle here, but there has to be a way to make everyone happy.”
“I’ve learned that it’s nearly impossible to make everyone happy,” Elaine rejoined. “Someone is always just waiting for something to complain about.”
“What about this?” Kade leaned forward so he could see everyone. Why they weren’t sitting at a round table, he didn’t know—it would sure make this easier. “Why don’t I resign as a judge, but stay on as a commentator? I’ll still share my opinion, but I won’t be giving actual scores. That way, I’m still representing the sponsors by being on television, but I won’t have an impact on the outcome.”
Mrs. Fitzpatrick nodded. “I think that would work.”
“That’s a nice head you have on your shoulders,” Mayor Morgan added.
“I’m fine with that, but what about tonight’s elimination?” Elaine asked. “We just finished making our choices.”
“Let me see the list,” Mrs. Fitzpatrick said.
Mayor Morgan slid it across the table to her, and she scrutinized it. “Were these twelve girls chosen by all three of you?”
“They were,” Elaine answered. “We were in complete agreement.”
“And Mr. Smith here didn’t exert undo pressure on you to include London Russell in that number?”
“She was the best one out of the lot,” Mayor Morgan said. “There was nothing to discuss—she’s the first one we chose. That we all three chose.”
Mrs. Fitzpatrick nodded. “Very well. I think we can let these twelve names stand. As far as tomorrow’s live pageant goes, let’s do as Kade suggested and keep him on as a consultant, but we’ll find one more judge to step in and score. I have some people who owe me favors—we’ll see how much weight that carries.”
Kade stood up and reached out to shake Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s hand. “Thank you for your patience with me,” he said. “I know I haven’t made your job any easier.”
She sighed. “In truth, I can’t wait until this is over and I never have to see you again. But your suggestion for how to fix this was reasonable and well put, and it just might keep us out of hot water, which is always desirable.”
He nodded. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to be rid of him.
“It’s four o’clock now. I’d like to keep you three tucked away until the eliminations just so you aren’t getting bombarded by eager girls—or their eager mothers.” Her tone turned a little wry, and Kade smiled. “I’ll have dinner sent in, if you’ve no objection, and the restroom is down a short hall through those doors.”
“That works,” Elaine replied, and the two men nodded in agreement.
“Thank you. I appreciate your cooperation.” Mrs. Fitzpatrick paused. “When you announce the finalists, I suggest putting Miss Russell somewhere in the middle of the pack. Putting her first will raise eyebrows, and putting her last will make it look like you were purposely trying to avoid raising eyebrows.” Then she turned to Kade. “I’d like you and Miss Russell to avoid seeing each other until after the pageant.”
“Understood,” he replied. He had known this was going to look bad, but he hadn’t realized that Mrs. Johnson would get so involved, and the whole thing was snowballing faster than he had the power to stop it. He just hoped that Mrs. Fitzpatrick was able to find an alternate judge before the live show, or things would get even worse.
***
“Well, don’t you look adorable?”
London turned from pushing the elevator button and smiled at Lacey, who was approaching her with four of her little minions. All five of them were dressed in floral tea-length dresses, and they all wore their hair in low ponytails. It was like they’d put the first girl in a copy machine and hit print four times.
“Thank you.” London glanced down at her own solid white dress with sheer sleeves. “I didn’t get the memo about floral print.”
“Oh, you’re just precious. Of course there wasn’t a memo.” Lacey laughed, and all the other girls did too. “And I think you look angelic. You won’t have a problem becoming a finalist at all.”
London had really heard enough. “You know how much I dislike confrontation, but let’s cut to the chase, all right? You want me out, and you think this passive-aggressive sweetness is going to get to me. Well, it’s not, so why bother? You’re like a real-life scene out of Mean Girls, and it wasn’t a very good movie.”
“Your elevator’s here,” Lacey said, her face growing hard, and London smiled.
“Why, yes, it is. Thank you.” She got on, noticed that no one was following her, and hit the button for the first floor. Now it was a real pageant—things didn’t get good until you were surrounded by catty girls in a hallway.