Chapter 589
Calliope knew that if she just walked away, the folks from Ivory Town would probably keep making trouble for Oxcreek Town. So, she made sure to say what she needed to, right there in front of everyone from Ivory Town.
“Oh, by the way,” she said, flashing a sly smile, “some of the big shots who work with Oxcreek? Yeah, I know them personally. If you ever need help, you could just ask them. It’d be the same as asking me, really p>
She said it so casually, but everyone from Ivory Town just stared at her, wide- eyed.
Nobody could quite figure out who this Calliope really was, or why she was so confident. But one thing was clear: the people from Ivory Town were suddenly a lot more cautious.
They could tell that Calliope and Silas, standing quietly at her side, weren’t the kind of people you wanted to mess with. If they pushed too far, things probably wouldn’t go well for them.
Then, Calliope turned sharply to face the mayor of Ivory Town.
“Isaiah, right p>
He nodded, swallowing hard.
“If you’ve still got any complaints about Oxcreek, why don’t you say them now? I’d
be happy to pass them along to the folks up the chain, see if you’re still the best fit to run this town p>
“And another thing,” she continued, her tone turning icy, “after what happened today, you all ought to apologize to us, right here and now p>
“If you don’t, well, let’s just say you won’t like how Oxcreek responds. And it won’t just be payback. It’ll be payback times ten p>
Calliope was done playing nice.
Isaiah was starting to look genuinely nervous. But one of his men leaned in and muttered, “She’s bluffing. There’s no way she knows people higher up. She can’t be here forever. She’s just trying to scare us p>
Calliope let out a soft, amused chuckle. “You don’t know whether I have friends in high places? Well, you’re welcome to test that theory p>
She straightened up, her eyes glinting with confidence. “Oxcreek’s growing fast. That means good things for everyone around here. But if you want to play hardball, I can make sure Ivory Town never sees a dime of those benefits p>
“And as for me not knowing
anyone?” She pulled out her phone. “Let’s see what the folks at the
county office think about how you’ve been treating us p>
She scrolled through her contacts. She’d done a lot for Oxcreek lately, and just so happened to have the county commissioner on speed dial.
She called, chatted for a moment in an easy, familiar tone, and then handed the phone straight to Isaiah.
“Here, Isaiah. Go ahead-listen. You might be in for a surprise p>
Isaiah eyed the phone like it might bite him, but he took it. A few minutes later, after a barrage of ster words from the other end, he looked utterly defeated.
“I—I get it, I’m sorry. I was wrong!” He sputtered, nodding rapidly. “We shouldn’t
have messed with Oxcreek. We’ll never do it again p>
He pleaded with whoever was on the line, desperate to keep his job. “Please, I
want to stay on as mayor. Can you help me out, just this once p>
Finally, he handed the phone back to Calliope, his face pale.
“I’m sorry. This was my mistake. I apologize, and so does everyone from Ivory Town. Folks, get over here and apologize p>
He turned and barked at his people.
Grumbling, the crowd shuffled over and started offering half-hearted apologies.
“Sorry about that,” one of them said, not quite meeting Calliope’s eyes “We didn’t know who we were dealing with. Won’t happen again. Please ask her to go easy on us p>
The folks from Oxcreek couldn’t believe what they’d just seen. Calliope had
turned the whole situation around single-handedly.
The Ivory Town crowd slunk away with their tails between their legs, while Oxcreek erupted in cheers and laughter.
“That was amazing p>
“Callie, you’re incredible p>