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“Not in so many words. He just said his heart belongs to one woman alone.”
I rubbed my own heart and tried to focus back on Kane, even though Jaycie’s words were buzzing in my head. I wondered how long ago they’d had that conversation. Did I still own his heart? He hadn’t been acting like it the last few days. Not that I had given him a lot of incentive to. I hadn’t even responded to his text after I’d unblocked him on Facebook. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to—I just didn’t know what to say.
Now here I was, watching him kill it. He was definite CEO material. I even sneaked peeks at some of the board members, all of whom were smiling. I could see the wheels turning in their heads. All those wheels were headed toward Kane. It was apparent that Armstrong Labs was his passion. The people in this room were his incentive. His words said, “I care about you and your future, not only the company’s.”
I had never even really stopped to think about the people in this room. Only the man sitting next to me, Auggie, and the man in front of me speaking beautiful words. I was in this for Auggie, and Kane was in this for everyone. Sure, I had thought about the lives we would save. That was something. But I now realized I wasn’t doing this for all the right reasons. I needed to expand my vision and shift my perspective. Suddenly, I felt small and even selfish. I didn’t think I was a selfish person by nature. Honestly, I thought I was being selfless by trading my dreams for Auggie’s. But how could I be the captain when I didn’t know the crew?
Instead of having my nose in books and reports, I should have been talking to the people in this room. Obviously, Kane had. Sure, he’d been working at Armstrong Labs for years, but he knew everyone by name. I mean everyone. He literally went around the room and mentioned each of them by name, even the people who had come in from some of our offices around the world. He greeted one woman, Bella, and then spoke of how her son had been saved by the very plasma therapies we’d had a hand in creating. It didn’t matter if he told a story about the person or not—each person smiled when he said their name. All one hundred and fifty people, including me, who he had saved for second to last. Though he hardly gave me a passing glance. He set his sights on Auggie, the last person in his parade of names, and segued into a beautiful tribute to my father—the visionary.
“We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the insight, vision, and fortitude of Augustus Armstrong. The man who is truly the lifeblood of our company.”
The room erupted in applause.
Auggie stood and waved. He was actually beaming as he looked over the crowd. This was his life’s work. I’d always known that, but Kane, in his thirty-minute presentation, had made me understand how incredible it was. Unfortunately, he also made it very clear what I lacked. Did he do that on purpose? If he did, touché. More like stick a fork in me, I was done.
How was I going to get up and speak after him? Fainting was sounding good right about now. Auggie sat down, while Kane finished off his Academy Award–winning performance, and patted my knee. “I’m looking forward to your presentation. You can do this,” he whispered, like he actually understood I was nervous. It was odd how comforting his presence had become. Maybe we would get this father-daughter thing figured out.
Still, I worried I would disappoint him. I looked at my note cards, and they appeared to be written in hieroglyphics My mouth was so dry now, I couldn’t swallow.
Please, Scarlett, get your act together. You interviewed at the most prestigious schools in the country and got accepted. Don’t forget, you’re a doctor. A real-life MD. You’ve given big presentations before. So, they weren’t mind blowing, but they were well thought out and at least got the point across, even during your fits of giggling or talking in monotone. You can do this. Please. Your father believes in you.
That was something. But I needed to believe in myself.
I didn’t even hear what Kane said at the end, I was so stuck in my head. Then the applause for him drowned out even my own thoughts. For good or bad, I did hear my own name being announced as the next presenter. My introduction sounded impressive, touting my education and degrees.
I stood on shaky legs with my note cards in hand. I shouldn’t have worn heels. I felt even more wobbly than normal. One other thing—I should have sat on the end of the row. Because who banged her knee on a chair trying to get out? That’s right, me. Who also let out a little yelp when she banged said knee? Yep, me again. A few people gasped on my behalf. Great. To make matters even better, my heel snagged on the carpet on my walk to the podium and I faltered a bit. At this rate, people were going to think I was drunk. Maybe I should have had a glass a wine.
