Alana had stayed up half the night preparing her presentation for the permit meeting. Zav had warned her that it would feel like a ritual more than a meeting, but the team from the ranch still had to have all the facts on hand and present them clearly.
She’d studied every argument made by the planning commission from previous meetings when the permit had been turned down. A county so focused on developing sources of alternative energy raising such a fuss over a windmill didn’t add up from the facts laid out in front of Alana, but Nana shouldn’t have erected the windmill without having the permit in hand. That had just pissed everybody off.
Some people wanted their rules followed even if they shut down progress and possibilities. And didn’t Alana know about that.
Alana threw open her armoire to choose her “duds,” as Zav had called them. In the end she chose a simple dress and sweater, low heels, nothing flashy. She wanted to look like she fit in and was competent.
Jed Thomasson, the engineer for the ranch, reviewed her presentation over breakfast and made a few changes. He loaded her key points into a PowerPoint slide show and told her he’d run it while she and the others spoke from the podium. He seemed impressed by the presentation she’d put together. She wasn’t sure whether to feel complimented or annoyed. Maybe they all thought she didn’t have a brain.