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He grinned. “I’ve got a better idea.” Turning to the receptionist, he told her, “Tina, have everyone gather in the main conference room. I need to make an announcement.”
“Should I go?” Lucy asked.
“Hell, no. You need to stay.” He glanced at her luggage. “Is that yours.”
She propped a fist on her hip. “Yeah. You got something to say about it.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Nope. Not a word. But you can leave it here with Tina. Come on.”
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her with her, waving at different groupings of desks or offices. “That’s the art department. Publicity is over there, next to copy. But we’ll need to rearrange all of it. Or Mike will. Oh, you have to meet Mike. Mike!” He shouted the name. A guy turned and came over to them.
The world tipped as she looked at the young man. There were two of them. And Mike looked a lot like his brother. Same straight nose and firm jaw line. Same bright eyes, but Mike’s eyes held a touch more gray. He smoothed his tie and offered his hand to shake.
Zach pressed one hand to the small of Lucy’s back. “Seems like the time to make the announcement.”
Dragging his stare from Lucy, Mike looked at his brother. “You sure? It’s not too late to change your mind.”
Zach gave Lucy a grin. “Oh, it’s way too late for me.” He herded her into a giant room—one of the biggest she’d ever seen. As she watched, people drifted in, some by themselves but most in small groups. A large table of dark wood and comfortable chairs sat in the middle of the room, but everyone remained standing. With a last glance at Lucy, Zach stepped in front of the group.
“Quiet down, everyone. I know you’ve all been expecting an announcement. Mike here tells me he’s heard rumors already.” A nervous laugh echoed around the group. Lucy frowned. What was Zach doing and why had he wanted her here. Zach glanced at her and then faced his employees again. “The fact is that Collins, Collins and Abernathy is shutting down.”
Lucy’s gasp echoed everyone else’s. Zach held up his hands. “But...the Collins Institute for the preservation of open space and farm land is going to take its place. Bill Abernathy’s been wanting to retire—Mike and I bought out his holding in the firm. We’re taking this into a new direction.”
Another soft murmur swept the room. Lucy ignored it. She focused on Zach and only on him. What was he doing? Selling his company? Closing it? She didn’t understand.
Raising his voice again, Zach said, “You all know advertizing is changing. Social media is taking over, TV ads aren’t going to be the same in the future—companies need to realize this, and they also need to start doing more than green-washing their reputation. The Collins Institute is going to be instrumental in changing any corporation’s image by changing how that company gives back to communities. We’re going to focus primarily on grants to small farms and ranches—we’re going to partner with companies who need to remake themselves. I won’t lie to you—it’s going to be a challenge in this world. Corporate giving is down—but we’re going to create new approaches to this. It’s going to be exciting. But I’m going to let Mike tell you about that because I’m stepping down.”
Another gasp swept the room. Lucy glanced at the faces around her. Some looked worried, some excited. She still didn’t know what to think or feel.
Zach slapped his brother’s shoulder. “Mike is the new CEO of the Collins Institute. I’m going to become one of the field agents, and also I’ll be leading one of our first clients, an Indian casino whose reputation was recently tarnished by a manger who used the casino for his own, possibly criminal endeavors. Mike.” Clapping, leading the applause, Zach stepped back as Mike stepped forward to talk, starting off with assuring everyone that all their jobs would be there if they wanted to stay.
Leaning closer to Zach, Lucy whispered, “What do you mean you’re helping the casino?”
Zach glanced at her. “Martino just ran the place. They need some serious good press now, and what better than they’re offering grants to local farmers and ranchers to help them stay in business and support the local economy? Charlie’s going to be an ideal candidate to apply for that—her place could become a show place for what a little money can do to help a local farm become productive again.”
Lucy shook her head. “Charlie’s not—she’s not a farmer. Her dad was. She just wanted a place where she could help troubled kids, really.”
Smiling, Zach grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the board room. “That’s even better. That’s perfect. Great press for the casino—a home that’ll help troubled kids find a path—and Charlie will get the kind of cash she needs to make it real.”
Eyes narrowing, Lucy stared at Zach. “You’re really stepping away from all this.”
Zach looked around and then looked at Lucy. “You mean would I rather have stars and sky overhead and clean air to breath and open land? Hell, yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I’m good at this.” He waved at the painted walls around them, all done up in soothing gray. “I’m really good, but it’s never been where my heart’s at. Mike’s been needing to get out from under my wing—you think we had arguments, you should have heard some of the ones he and I had. You made me see that—you made me realize I was putting off living until sometime when I retired and that was when I’d like Mike run things. Except that was wrong.” He took her hand. “I wouldn’t have seen what I needed to do, except for you. So...what do you say? You want to be a part of this? Help me find farms and ranches that we can help save?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know about this.”
“Okay, how about this—anyone tell you that you have beautiful eyes? Or that are one hard woman to convince?”
The corner of her mouth twitched. “Nobody needed to until now.”
“Good. Now let’s grab some lunch and then I’m going to show you New York.”
She tightened her grip on his hand. “Can’t we just go back to Charlie’s? I mean, can’t you do the rest of this all with a computer.”
He blinked at her and grinned. “I suppose I could.”
Chapter Fifteen
For the first time in her life, Lucy knew she was free to have a good time. She didn’t need to worry about what was going to happen next or what was waiting for her around the corner. She didn’t have debts to pay off or people to hide from—she was running now just for fun. And she knew exactly where she wanted to go. Breathing heard, she heard the thump of Zach’s footsteps behind her. He grabbed her around the waist. She gave a squeal. He swung her around and kissed her until she was breathless.
