Page 7 of What You Own
Ellie sighed and dropped the limp fry. “We didn’t have to stop if you’re feeling sick.”
“You love Red Robin too, sweetheart.”
And for as small as Ellie was, she could eat. She finished her burger and fries, then ate the rest of my barely touched fries, while I sipped at a Sprite. We paid and left, my spirits as flat as when we’d entered the restaurant. No one we’d talked to had given us a yes or no, just lots of “we’ll get back to you,” and I hated taking that back to Lou. The other team had texted Ellie a bit ago with the same results, which made me feel worse.
Ellie drove us to the center so we could deliver the bad news in person. Lou always stayed until six, sometimes later depending on the classes, or if one of his other employees couldn’t lock up. Ellie parked in the lot behind the big, cement building tucked in between an apartment complex and a discount grocery store. The parking lot was fenced in on three sides and well lit at night, but I still looked around me, all angles, before I followed Ellie to the entrance.
The center’s lobby was crowded with kids and parents, pickups from the after school care programs. I smiled and nodded my way through, following Ellie down the left hall to the offices where only volunteers and staff could go. Past our bathroom, a small break room, and another office to Lou’s half-open door. Voices inside made us both stop.
Ellie knocked.
“Come on in,” Lou yelled.
We did, and I nearly fell over for the second time today. Adam was sitting in a molded plastic chair across from Lou’s desk, and Lou was grinning like he’d cheated the devil. Lou always reminded me of the guy who played that gray wizard, with his craggy face and long, silver hair.
“Ellie, Ryan, my new best friends,” Lou said with energy in his voice I didn’t recognize. “You did good, kids, real good.”
“We did?” Ellie asked, while I stared dumbly at the side of Adam’s head. He stood up but didn’t look directly at me.
“You sure did. Mr. Langley here has come with a fantastic proposal for us and our fundraiser.”
“You did?”
Adam nodded slowly, his expression as flat as it had been earlier, and I kinda wanted to poke him in the eye just to see his face do something else. “I presented your ideas to our senior partners, and they’re on board with my thoughts,” he said.
“Which are what, exactly?” I asked.
His cold blue eyes flashed at me, then fixed on Ellie. “LQF will sponsor the event in its entirety. Other businesses can donate to your silent auction, but we’ll be the underwriters on the fundraiser itself.”
I didn’t get it. “Would you have jumped on this if you didn’t know us?”
“Perhaps. The fact that we went to high school together made me pay closer attention, yes. But working on this fundraiser with the center will help my degree and my internship credits, so I’m getting something out of this, as well. And LQF gets the publicity.”
Ouch. That couldn’t have hurt more if he’d gored me with a bull’s horn.
“Wait,” Ellie said, catching something I’d missed. “Working on this with us?”
Balls.
“Yes,” Adam said. “I’ll be coordinating the event with the volunteers here at the center. It’s my company’s money, and I want to know how it’s being spent.”
Your father’s company, jackass, not yours. I kept that whopper to myself, though.
“Sounds reasonable to me,” Lou said. “You’ll be working with Ellie and Ryan here, ’cuz they’re our theater experts. The other two on the committee aren’t here right now, but you’ll meet them.”
“I look forward to it.”
Smug bastard. Ellie gave me a look, and I shoved my hands into my pockets before I twisted my wrist off. This was gonna be a right nightmare, working closely with Adam when I was torn between hugging him tight and punching his porch light out.
“If Adam is going to be working on the committee with us, then I have a request,” Ellie said. “More like a requirement, since the other committee members have agreed.”
Adam arched a single eyebrow. “And what’s that?”
“You have to perform at least one number during the benefit concert.”
The eyebrow flattened. He actually went pale, and I’d never seen that happen in real life. He pulled himself together pretty fast, but I knew him well enough to see the fear. “I, um, I’ve never sang in public before.”
“But you can sing, and we know it.”
