Page 20 of The Session

“Mark just got a $10,000 grant for his athletic foundation,” Holly offered, trying to change the subject.

“That’s wonderful,” Lisa replied. “Is this something you could use toward your education?”

Holly’s mother was still holding out hope that Mark might pursue a more reputable career, in her mind. To her, any occupation that only required a BA wasn’t high-status enough.

Holly’s parents had worked hard to achieve their social standing, and Mark respected that. They were certainly elitist, but they had earned it. The problem was, they couldn’t comprehend why somebody wouldn’t want exactly what they had.

“The grant is to help Mark with the program he runs for underserved kids,” Holly reminded them.

“Doesn’t the Big Brothers program do that?” Howard countered.

“Yes,” Mark replied, “but their outreach isn’t the same. We’re not just looking at kids who are economically disadvantaged. We’re trying to find kids who are socially isolated. Sometimes they’re from upper-middle-class families.”

“Well, I guess that’ll certainly look good on a résumé,” Lisa commented. “Where did the grant come from?”

“The endowment falls under a company called Summit Strategies. I was going to ask Uncle Will about them,” Holly answered.

“Summit Strategies,” Lisa repeated.

“Yes,” Mark said. “Have you heard of them?”

“Summit Strategies—the cult?” she asked.

“What do you mean, ‘cult’?” Holly asked.

“It’s, like, some culty sales-training thing. A number of the pharmaceutical reps I work with have been involved with it,” Lisa explained.

“Didn’t they go by another name a while back?” Howard chimed in. He paused to think it over. “I think it was called Echo. Yeah . . . Max Lightman. I used to see him on talk shows and hear him on the radio all the time.”

“Yes,” Lisa confirmed. “It’s some kind of program to teach people high-pressure sales, I think.”

“What exactly did they give you the money for?” Howard asked.

“It wasn’t from them. It was from a nonprofit. And it goes to my athletic foundation, which is another nonprofit,” Mark clarified.

“It sounds like a scam,” Lisa decided.

“Which part?” Mark snapped. “Their endowment or my nonprofit?”

“I didn’t mean that. It’s just . . . I’m not sure about their reputation,” she backtracked.

“I searched online and I didn’t see much,” said Holly. “There were some Reddit threads about them that were kind of negative, but then a lot that were positive.”

Mark had done the same, but he hadn’t realized that Holly was looking into Summit as well.

He watched as Howard gently tapped Lisa’s wrist. A moment later, she said, “I need to use the restroom. Holly, do you want to come with me?”

Mark had observed this tactic the first time he’d met Holly’s parents. Howard chose such moments to subtly inquire about Mark’s family background and economic situation. Mark wasn’t sure where his interrogation would go this time.

After Holly and her mother left the table, Howard smiled at Mark. “So, other than that little close call with the junkie, how is the paramedic business going?”

“My stepfather is in the process of selling it. I’ll probably go to work for the company that buys the service,” Mark explained.

“Oh. Interesting,” Howard replied, seeming not terribly interested.

“It’s solid work and keeps me busy. But I’m still pursuing a coaching position.”

“Yes, Holly told us that. I heard your last interview wasn’t what you hoped for.”