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When he didn’t seem ready to say any more I asked, “And the hospital wing?”
“That’s a good suggestion, but a very pricey one. And it’s not newsworthy until the wing is ready to open. After normal planning and construction delays, that would be several years from now.
My shoulders slumped. “Yeah, that’s too far off.”
He checked his watch and stood. “I have another meeting.”
Now that we were finally on the topic of concrete actions I could take, I wasn’t ready for this to end. “If those three ideas don’t hit the mark, what would?”
He buttoned his blazer. “That’s for you to work on between now and our next meeting. You want to stand out from the crowd, which means excluding or at least modifying the traditional approaches.”
I sighed. After he left, I reached for my contact list and a pad of paper. There had to be an answer my girlfriend problem that didn’t involve calling an escort service.
* * *
Alexa
I hadn’t slept wellsince my encounter with Evan McAllister two days ago. For some reason I couldn’t get him out of my head. I knew I shouldn’t have tried to bullshit my way to a higher commitment from his company, but I hadn’t been able to help myself. Hopefully it wouldn’t impact Chelsea’s meeting with them.
I’d spent the day logging more hours of work credit toward my CPA requirement under Sidney Perlmutter. One day in the not too distant future, I’d be able to hang my own shingle and fulfill my dream of being Alexa Borelli, neighborhood CPA for the little guy. God knows the businesses in my neighborhood needed the help.
If I’d gotten my accounting degree sooner, maybe I could have talked Dad out of taking the risks he had, the risks that had broken him and our entire family.
My phone rang with Chelsea’s name on the screen.
“Hey, Alex,” she started. “I wanted to let you know I got a call from McAllister International.”
My back spasmed. This had to be Evan calling off her Friday meeting. “I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have—”
“They loved you,” Chelsea continued, ignoring my words.
I shut up and put the phone on speaker so I could move away from it. The device was clearly possessed if the words coming out of it amounted to praise from a McAllister.
“Alex?” she asked when I didn’t make a peep. “Did you hear me?”
“Who did you talk to?” I asked after a moment, still keeping my distance from the evil electronic.
“Why, Evan McAllister. You can’t get much higher up in their organization than that. Anyway, he said your explanation of our cause and everything about the way you presented yourself was the best he’s ever heard. Alex, the best. I’m so proud of you.”
“Really? He said that? He’s usually much more…” Several not-nice words came to mind:cold,calculating,conniving,deceitful,underhanded,mean. I settled for mundane. “He’s more reserved in what he says.”
“He suggested a dinner instead of the office to talk about cash support.”
“That’s great. I’ll bet it turns out great when you tell him your story. You’re so much better at it than I am.”
She laughed. “Sweetie, you don’t understand. He wants dinner with you, not me.”
My mind froze, and her words flowed right by me as she continued on about how great an opportunity this was for us. I couldn’t see him again.
“Is tonight good?”
“No, I can’t. I have a wedding tonight.”
“I’ll see what other evening work for him,” she said.
“Yeah.” Tomorrow I’d try again to talk Chelsea into taking the dinner meeting. She knew the numbers as well as I did, and the writing on the wall was unmistakable. The Three Sisters Fund was on a downslope that would soon enough make us irrelevant.
* * *
