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Carly had encouraged me to wear her blue sweater today to go with my Smuck U stuff, but I’m glad I didn’t. Why did I think of such a crazy plan?
I straighten. Don’t crumble. Hold your head up high.
I take a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I can see why you’d be mad after being bullied and tricked. Or being threatened if you don’t take a payout. Or being unfairly brought to the police station…oh wait—that’s what you guys did to me.”
Mandy rises. “This is impossible. This is not okay.”
Henry simply crosses his legs. “It’s a business problem with a business solution.”
Mandy slams her folder back together and yanks her laptop cord out of the wall. She walks out with all of the stuff hanging in her arms.
Heart pounding, I make a production out of closing my notebook and repacking my bag. I can feel Henry’s gaze on me. “We’ll revisit this thing,” he says.
I feel dizzy. I should give it all back. Hide in my turtle shell. Why did I think I could do this? Zip zip snap.
“Hold on,” Henry says. “We have something else on the table.”
I set my bag down. I sit. I fold my shaking hands in my lap. “What?”
“We do charitable giving through the Locke Foundation,” he says. “I can’t remember the last time we gave to an animal charity. With Smuckers on the board now, I think it might be a nice gesture for the foundation to fund up a needy local rescue or shelter. A substantial gift.”
I sit up. An animal shelter?
Kaleb is instantly on board, suggesting a giant cardboard check.
“Love it,” Brett says. “People are going to hear about Smuckers soon enough. Let’s make it a fun news story.”
“Right?” Henry turns to me. “You wouldn’t be opposed to that, would you? Or, I’m sorry, Smuckers?”
“That’s the last thing I expected,” I say.
“Do you want to spearhead it?” Henry asks.
“Me?” I study Henry’s face. “Is this a trick?”
“Does asking for your help to identify a charity to give a million dollars to seem like a trick to you?”
“A million dollars?”
“For our portion. Partners might want to contribute if there’s enough buzz. We can have a ceremony and introduce Smuckers. Have fun with it. Turn what my mother did into something positive.”
I’m still stuck on a million dollars. “A million dollars?”
“For our portion,” he clarifies, like that’s the unusual part. And not CAPS LOCK! A MILLION DOLLARS! “And you can direct it to a specific organization. You know, if you have opinions. Or we can have a consultant handle it—”
“No, I have opinions. There’s this dog and cat rescue shelter my friend runs—they’re really good. They just started a stray drop-off center and they could do so much.”
“Let’s schedule it up.” Just like that. Schedule it up. He turns to April. “Get the details and coordinate our calendars on the ceremony. Make a list of who to reach out to and all that.” Then he seems to remember she’s my assistant, and he turns to me. “Good with you?”
I nod, feeling stunned. Why are they being so nice? But I don’t forget my manners. “Thank you. They’re going to be excited,” I say. “That is generous.”
“It’s what the Locke Foundation is for.”
April is smiling in the background, because she is all about the Locke Kool-Aid.
“You want to give your friend a call?” Henry asks. “We’ll want to keep it under wraps until we orchestrate the PR angle, but we can float the donation as soon as they need it.”
I get on the phone to Kimmy to deliver the good news. The board members file out while she squees into my ear. I promise her over and over that it’s real, that they’re getting that money.
