Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
It wasn’t just about judging who was most worthy to get a few million dollars. She reviewed business plans and prospectuses. She consulted with dozens of groups each year, providing them with valuable business advice. She had an entire team who ran inspections all around the world. It wasn’t only about writing checks and watching that money evaporate into the ether. She made sure every dime went to help the people who needed it the most.
Usually, Shonna worked out of Providence, but after Liam left on Saturday, I’d jumped on a call with Shonna and begged her to fly out to Cincinnati first thing on Monday so we could have a chat with Dr. Case together. It was time to fix this broken path.
At ten in the morning, the museum center was starting to get busy. It appeared as if the first couple of school buses had arrived for field trips, but all the kids had yet to pour into the grand rotunda. In the center of the entrance, just past the ticket counter, stood an older woman dressed in a pale lilac suit that looked nice against her ochre skin. She smiled brightly, but I didn’t miss the wariness in her dark brown eyes.
“Mr. Ashbridge, it is so wonderful to meet you in person,” she greeted.
“Dr. Case, a pleasure.” I politely took her hand and then motioned to my right. “May I introduce Shonna McCoy, CEO of Ashbridge Charitable Foundation?”
“Oh, yes! How wonderful to meet you!” Fresh enthusiasm gushed from Dr. Case as she shook Shonna’s hand, who remained polite but frosty. God, I wished I could be as cool and reserved as she was, but nope, my mouth always ran away from me. Zero self-control. But Liam knew that firsthand and still chose to be my friend.
From there, Dr. Case led us to her office while happily keeping up the entire conversation. She thanked me for donating my time and money to bring so many children to the museum and how happy her department had been to provide lectures for all the kids. She talked about all the big plans that her department had in the works and lightly touched on some plans the museum center was pursuing.
But she stayed firmly away from the topic of Liam.
Not a whisper of his name. Not a mention when she knew we were dating. Sort of.
I held my tongue until we were seated at a pleasant sofa-and-chair combo in the corner of her office, making everything feel friendly and cozy.
“It would be best if we laid all our cards on the table,” I started, dropping my polite and friendly façade completely. Dr. Case stiffened, and her smile grew brittle. “You and I have made mistakes, painful ones, but I’m not interested in burning bridges, for Dr. Rose’s sake.”
“Well, I don’t know…” she said, but I was already shaking my head.
“You discovered that Liam and I had a past friendship, and you pressured him into winning a donation for your department, while hinting that his job would be on the line if he didn’t come through by a set deadline.”
“I thought you told me that Dr. Rose had been hired on at the museum less than a year ago?” Shonna chimed in, and my admiration for her only soared. Her timing was impeccable. “You would think if you didn’t have the money lined up to pay his salary comfortably, you wouldn’t have hired him. Or at the very least, you would have warned him that this was a short-term position.”
Dr. Case swallowed hard, her expression changing to more of a deer in the headlights.
“No, I suspect that Liam’s job was never really in jeopardy. You wanted him to do your job,” I continued sharply. “And when Liam could no longer take these attacks on his integrity, he quit.” My gaze dropped to where my hands were folded in my lap. As angry as I wanted to be at her, I was angrier at myself. “But, like I said, we both made mistakes in how things were handled. At Liam’s first mention of the request for a donation, I should have immediately given him Shonna’s business card, which would have been handed off to you. That would have been the end for me and Liam on this front. Yet, since my encounters with Liam led to happier events, I’m feeling generous.”
“Oh?” The head of paleontology brightened after looking like I was leading her to the gallows.
“Yes. I believe in the wonderful work your department is doing, and I see how you’ve done amazing things to educate the area’s children. That should never stop. I believe my foundation should make a donation. However, from this point on, Shonna will handle that.”
I shoved to my feet and stuck out my hand. Dr. Case stared at it for a second as if she couldn’t understand quite what was happening. She jumped to her feet and shook my hand.