What a dick.
Rounding the conference room, she tossed her hair and went inside.“What did I miss?”
“Are you okay?”Myles asked.“We were worried.You’re never late.”
“Were you sick?”Helena asked.“If you’re sick, you shouldn’t be at work.”
“My body’s not even cold and you’re trying on my shoes,” she said, going to drop into the chair at the head of the table.“I ask again, what did I miss?”
“You look good in charge,” Franco said, tripping over his own tongue.
“Are you going to make me say it a third time?”
It wasn’t fair.None of her team had left her lying in bed.None of them had abandoned her sleeping form after ravishing it over and over again.
What kind of guy did that?
Every time she wanted to turn over and go to sleep, he wanted to do it again.She’d reminded him they had work in the morning.Had he cared?No.Now she knew why.This was the jerk’s plan all along.
“We were having a debate,” Guillermo said.
The word titillated her excitement and calmed her in equal measure.“About what?”
“We need an investor,” Johann said.
She frowned.“We have an investor.We’re sitting in his building.”
“We need someone with greater exposure,” Helena said.“Someone to be the face of the program.Someone to draw in others’ support.Maybe someone with a not so perfect past…”
“Because we don’t want to look like we’re preaching?”she asked, taking a shot.
“This could be expensive.It could get expensive fast.We also need…” Franco trailed off as he and Helena made eye contact.The latter nodded, and he exhaled.“We need to spread the risk.”
“So if there’s a disaster, we have pre-emptive support.”
Not a bad idea.
“Huddle Hope can’t make money,” Helena said.“We don’t want it to appear we’re—”
“Cashing in on other’s misery,” she said, nodding.
Had Rourke reached that conclusion on his own?Was that what he’d meant about monetizing it?They couldn’t.Well, they could.Plenty of healthcare providers made money from others’ misfortune.But that wasn’t the point for them.They wanted to be universal.Available to all.No matter their background or location.
“The larger the pool of connected parties, the wider our network.The more influential people we can reach, get invested in this, the greater the publicity.And we don’t want to be seen as a place for losers and lost causes.”
“We are a place for losers and lost causes, rather people who think they fall into those categories,” she said.Her phone buzzed.“But I understand what you mean.If we can be a place for the cool kids too, then it’s something people will talk about.The more they talk about it, the more likely they are to approach.Acceptance helps Huddle Hope be inclusive.You’re so right.”
“Think that’s the first time you’ve ever agreed with anything without a fight,” Johann said.
She showed him a fake smile and opened her purse to retrieve her phone.
HOTSHOT:Sleep well?
What the hell?She wasn’t even logged into Huddle, how had he—except she was logged in.After witnessing his work with her laptop, his abilities shouldn’t surprise her.
FIREFLY:No.An asshole got me drunk and kept me up all night.
“Political support would be an advantage,” Johann said.
