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I found that fascinating. “It has become an ongoing goal for us. Our focus is pediatric cancer. We raise money to help needy families receive advanced care they otherwise could not afford through cooperative agreements with local hospitals that are willing to provide the care at cost, plus a modest percentage.” The words brought tears to my eyes the way they always did as I described our goal and thought about Talia and Shauna.
I watched in fascination as he made more notes without glancing at the paper. It was more than his superhuman note-taking ability; I couldn’t avoid focusing on his hands. They said big hands went with big other things, and his were large. Hands I wouldn’t mind feeling…
Cut it the fuck out, Alex.
Just because the man was ogle-worthy didn’t make him any less evil. I had to remember that what mattered was what was inside the fancy suit—the strong shoulders, the trim waist, the large hands…Fuck, I’m doing it again.
The set of his jaw, and even the way he sat in that chair was commanding.Coldandheartlesswere other words that came to mind as all he did was hold my eyes with a face of stone. Talk of children and cancer moved everyone else I met with to some sort of emotion, but not stone-faced Evan McAllister.
“A very noble cause,” he finally said after several tense seconds.
“Thank you.” I took a deep breath and swallowed my emotions. This happened to me whenever I thought about the families we could affect, the lives we could help save. Without the ability to pay, some patients didn’t get the best care our medical system could deliver.
“How many hospitals?” he asked with his pen poised to write.
“Three currently, and we’re in talks with several more.”
“How modest a percentage?”
“Five percent.” It was a figure I felt proud to have negotiated. I watched as Evan made another note. He looked so much more intense now than when I’d known him, but we’d been kids on summer vacation in the Hamptons back then.
In this professional setting, where I was a fundraiser seeking a donation, I should have been at ease. I’d been through dozens upon dozens of these meetings. Instead I felt more like the gazelle being eyed by the lion. Why? I looked down at my hands, but they didn’t hold the answer to my question.
“Tell me, Alexa, do all of your funds come from direct donations after one-on-one meetings like this?”
As much as he repulsed me, I refused to bolt, to be intimidated by this man. “Not all, which brings me to my next topic.” I cleared my throat. This shouldn’t be a big deal, but it could mean I’d have to see Evan one more time. “We have a dinner gala coming up, and I’d like to ask you to purchase a table…” I swallowed and went for the win. “Or two.”
His hand moved across the paper again as his eyes locked with mine. “Are those the choices?”
I maintained eye contact. “It’s very unusual to purchase three.”
He tapped my card again. “And who heads Three Sisters?”
I fumbled my answer, not prepared for the conversation to go in this direction. “Chelsea. Chelsea Hobbs. She started Three Sisters and is the executive director.”
“Phone number?” he asked in a clipped tone, still with that pen hovering over his pad of paper.
I hesitated. I’d dealt with plenty of donors, and none had ever asked for Chelsea’s number. How would it look if one went around me?
“I may have occasion to call her,” he insisted.
I straightened up at the insult. “McAllister International is my account, and I can answer any question you may have.”
“I have no doubt, Alexa.” The way my name slid off his tongue sent a shiver through me. The image of lion and gazelle came to me once again.
I felt a moment of relief when for the first time, his cool blue eyes left mine and traveled to his assistant.
“Diane?” he asked. “Any questions?”
I also shifted my focus to the woman on my right. That he gave his assistant a voice in something like this surprised me.Startledmight have been a better description. I’d never witnessed it in any of the other companies I’d visited. It had to be a ploy on his part, but why? To accomplish what?
“Not at the moment,” she replied, shooting me a smile. “I think a children’s cancer charity is a very worthy cause.”
Evan placed his palms on his desk, a clear sign that our meeting had run its course.
Leaving without a commitment of any kind would be a failure, and I didn’t enjoy failing. I excelled at everything I attempted and was damned proud of it. “Should I put you down for two-fifty, or were you thinking slightly more?” Sliphorn would have been proud of my use of the preemptive close.
Evan took a deep breath and nodded with deliberate slowness, but no words came out.
