Page 45 of Nothing to Fear

“Competitiveness has its place,” Alice said. “My boys goad each other frequently, but there’s never any malice. It’s all in good fun.”

“I don’t think Celeste and Maureen mean to provoke each other. If I’m honest, I think it’s helped Celeste through her divorce. We kept her busy, gave her a social outlet. I know how difficult it can be to get out there sometimes. And how distractions hold you up.”

“Has it been a help? Since your trauma at Breckenridge?”

“I don’t like to call it a trauma, but, yes, I suppose it has. Though this is nothing new for me. My whole life I’ve done anything and everything for charity that I could.”

“Is that rooted in something—”

The door at the back of the room opened. Rather than more servers, it revealed a stunning blonde.

“I heard a whisper…” the woman said, creeping inside.

Alice surged to her feet and the women met in a hug. “Is my boy behaving himself?”

“You know, probably not,” the blonde said. “But I’m not the best barometer for that. I like it when he’s naughty.”

“Oh, my…” With an arm still around her, Alice brought the woman to the table. “Savanna Mayden, meet Roxanna Kyst.”

The blonde extended a hand and they shook. “Pleasure to meet you. Call me Roxie.”

“Okay, uh, hi.”

Alice sat and Roxie slid into the seat beside her.

“Roxanna is spearheading the project I told you about here in the Big Apple. She was gifted a foundation by her fiancé for her last birthday,” Alice explained. “And has been working with a friend on the west coast developing something called Huddle Hope. A digital support structure for people who might otherwise be alone or unable to afford talk therapies.”

“It’s an offshoot from the social media platform Huddle.”

“I’ve heard of it.” The platform, not its off-shoot. “I’m sure it’s quite the venture.”

“Roxanna has a wide network and travels often. Her contacts in New York are wonderful women. Do you know Freya Dere?”

“From Children’s Connection? Only by reputation.” She’d done some sponsored events for ChilConn, not that Freya Dere needed the money. “She’s accomplished so much.”

Roxie dipped her fingertip in her drink. “Freya sends her apologies. She’d be here, but something came up at the hospital.”

“Freya prioritizes her work over everything else,” Alice explained. “Even her own personal life. Sometimes I think she works too hard, but it means so much to her. She’ll do great things in this new partnership.”

“Huddle Hope is in its infancy,” Roxie said, selecting one of the few canapes left. “As is Lola’s Liberty, my foundation, we’re basically the money. We will gain a lot of stability and credibility if we work with the existing infrastructure. We’re not looking to take over anyone’s patch. In fact, we welcome, covet, advice and support from veterans of this field. The stronger the network, the higher the likelihood it will succeed.”

Roxie popped the canape in her mouth. The door opened again to more servers with food and wine. Were they going to be there all night?

“Savanna and I are spending some time getting to know each other,” Alice said. “Building a more personal bond. She’s wary of getting involved.”

“Oh, believe me, I know that,” Roxie said, stirring the drink in her whiskey glass with a fingertip. There was way too much liquid in there to actually be whiskey… right? When that fingertip touched her lip, Roxie scowled and called out, “Baker!” A server hurried into the room. “Please take this away. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not Gin and It. It’s not even in the right glass.”

“Should I make more?”

“No, it’s okay, thank you. The Emperor will get me drunk when he’s horny later.” The server started to leave. “Oh, ah, but, Baker…” The guy stalled. “You know what? Take that drink to him, him and only him. Tell him it’s a gift from me. Someone needs an education.” The guy nodded and disappeared, then Roxie widened her smile. “Sorry, where were we? Ah, yeah! A personal connection is important to Huddle Hope too, we want people invested in its success.”

“I have no money,” she said, struck by panic. “I don’t—”

“No, no, no,” Roxie said, pouring wine into an empty glass. “We definitely don’t need money. Working with Lighting Darkness will strengthen our network, there’s so much experience there. We need a liaison, someone to act as a go-between for…” Maybe it was the look on her face, but Roxie paused. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“Am I see—I—no,” she said, unsure where the question had come from.

“You looking?”

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