You...may be on to something, V. Not quite yet, mind you, but stay tuned.
Ahoy! Next part off the starboard bow!
* * * * *
Carla checked her watch for probably the twelfth time in the past hour. Sometimes she had to remind herself that CHC was for a good cause to keep herself from getting overwhelmed by boredom/frustration and running out of a meeting, never to return. It didn't help that Vanessa naturally had a kind of bossy, take-charge personality to go along with her tall, athletic build, so she had a tendency to sometimes control the sessions. Tonight was worse than usual, though; she couldn't put her finger on exactly why, but Carla felt like Vanessa was being even more domineering than she was used to. She almost seemed to be taking up more space in the room than she should, as if she was literally larger than life.
Or maybe your jealousy is just flaring up, she thought ruefully. In addition to being tall for a woman, Vanessa had more curves than the petite Carla—a fact which had never escaped her notice.
Not that what she's wearing is helping any. She had dressed a bit more provocatively than Carla was used to seeing on her; her shirt exposed her midriff at the bottom and a not-inconsiderable amount of cleavage at the top, and her jeans were clinging tightly to her ass, flexing like a second skin every time she took a step.
I don't see how she can even bend over. Hope she doesn't drop anything. She had a fleeting mental picture of the painted-on denim splitting to the embarrassment of the unofficial queen of the CHC and laughed to herself before realizing she'd stopped taking notes. She forced herself to pay more attention and tuned back in to the conversation.
“...not sure what you're getting at, Van,” said David Campbell, a supervisor at the water treatment plant. Carla suspected his lack of comprehension was due mainly to the fact that he'd probably been too busy staring at Vanessa's display to mind her speech, then kicked herself for being petty.
“It's simple, Dave,” Vanessa answered while pacing the room. “You'd probably know better than almost anyone else in town if anything was off about the lake water. I was just asking if anything had come up lately. I'd think with all the tests and chemicals and instruments and...stuff...at the plant, anything anomalous would show up easily.”
“No, nothing lately. And you're right, I would know. We have to be especially careful considering how close Talbot-Lucian is to the lake. But really, there wasn't anything this weekend.”
“This weekend?” Vanessa replied in a strangely sharp tone. “What about today?”
“Well, today was my day off. But I don't see why much would have changed, and I would've been notified if there was a problem.”
Vanessa looked agitated. “You didn't work today? But what if--” She paused and seemed to regain her composure. “Never mind. I'm sure you're right, you'd have been contacted if anything was up. But, Dave,” she added, bending down near his seat to better make eye contact, “you're the only guy who works there who really cares about the health of our town. You're our guy on the inside, and we need you to look out for us,” she finished, batting her eyes. Carla stifled a sigh of distaste at Vanessa's shameless flirting.
However, it had the desired impact. “O-okay, Vanessa. Will do. You know I'm happy to help out,” Dave said with a smile.
“Thanks!” she beamed at him as she stood back up. “Well, that's all I had to address. Anyone else?” She looked around at the assembly for a few seconds. After nobody spoke up, she spoke again. “I guess we're done for tonight, folks. In closing, I'd like to remind you all to keep your eyes open. It's only a matter of time before Talbot-Lucian makes a really big mistake, and we can get them shut down and out of this town. And I think their time is running out,” she added. “Don't forget, take home some of the snacks if you want to. See you all next month!”