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I saw that by getting out there and putting your money where your mouth is, you can turn things around. Sadly, he's not here today, but his shoes have been more than adequately filled by his protégé. Marcus Smiley may be gone, and I hope he's enjoying his retirement or whatever he's doing, since he cannot be here. But we have with him today the lady who is footing most of the bill for this wonderful project, Tabitha Williams of MJT Consolidated."
    My reception was polite, but nowhere near as enthusiastic as that for the local celebrities. I was dressed more casually than I normally did for work, in jeans and a t-shirt that had come fresh from the printer's that morning with the logo for the new community centers superimposed over the Spartan logo and the rather simple logo we'd designed for MJT. "Thank you for the flattering introduction, Councilman McCaffery," I said, taking the microphone. "Honestly, I feel a bit nervous being up here after such a great speaker. It's kind of like being the act that follows Bruce Springsteen at our own Summer UltraSonic Festival."
    "You look a hell of a lot better than Springsteen though!" someone in the crowd yelled, which got a few chuckles, doubled when I visibly blushed. The jokester got a some boos as well, which also got a laugh.
    "Thanks, but I hope to be more than that," I replied, earning a few smiles from the ladies in attendance. "Councilman McCaffery is right, I'm no Marcus Smiley. I just hope that I can continue his dream of making this city into a city we can all be proud to live in again, a place where everyone has the opportunity to make the most of themselves. We've shaken off some of the shackles of crime and corruption temporarily, and now we are faced with a tremendous choice. We could do the easy thing and drift back towards the way things were. We've done it before, after all. The path is so easy, all it takes is stabbing a few friends in the back, turning away when we see evil acts being done for our short term safety or profit. Sadly, as a city, that path of clean up and then a new generation of corruption seems to be cynically cyclical.”
    "That's the one path we have before us. Or, we can take another path, a path that is going to be harder, one that takes a lot of risk. That’s the path of fighting out of the darkness we've been in back into the light, into a new future. It's somewhat ironic that we have with us today members of the Spartans, a group known most famously for actually losing a battle. But you know what happened less than a year later? The Spartans forces won, and led a rejuvenated Greece into a new renaissance. I say, our own losing battle is over, and we're coming into the new battle, the one we can win, and the one that will lead this city, our city, into a new era. Thank you."
    The applause that greeted my comments was a lot louder than when I came on, and I had to smile when I saw Patrick McCaffery applauding when I stepped away from the microphone. "Nice speech," he said in my ear as the Spartans General Manager stepped back up to wrap up the conference. "Next time I need someone to speak with me, I'll give you a call."
    "You don't have my phone number," I replied, causing him to laugh. He looked at me with a subtle challenge to his look, which I returned just as politely. He may have been handsome, but I know I'm decent looking myself. There was no need to fawn all over him, after all.
    "Well, maybe this is just my way of asking for it?" he said after a second. "Of course, if you want me to just call you at your office, that's fine too."
    I looked in his green eyes, which sparkled with humor and just a bit of sexiness, and made a decision.
    What the hell, it was only a cell phone number. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a business card and a pen, scribbling on the back. "Call me Tabby. And here."

Chapter 4
Patrick
    A fter the press conference , I hopped back in the car I'd borrowed to drive back to the office. I'd ridden the RIST to