Page 60 of Lucy Loves Him Not
“Hey.” His voice was tense as he stood behind his desk. “Did you see my email?”
I shook my head, pulling out my phone immediately to find the email.
“The Lims pulled out of the festival.”
My heart sank. The Lims were the backbone of the festival. One of our largest sponsors, one of our biggest draws, one of our oldest relationships. Mr. Lim called me Little Lucy Goosie. Mrs. Lim tried to set me up with one of her sons.
I couldn’t imagine the festival without the Lims.“What happened?” My voice was high with shock.
“He said he doesn’t have the money this year. I tried to negotiate something smaller, but it was a big no. They don’t want to be part of it in any way.”
“What exactly did you say to him?” Maybe my voice was harsh. But there had to be some trigger that was set off.
“What we’ve been saying to all our longtime donors. Everything you told me to say.” Adam sounded defensive. And exhausted.
“Did you mention any of the changes to the festival?” I tried to steady my voice, even though I worried he had scared them away somehow.
“I mentioned the ones he asked about, yeah. I bragged on the choir, too.”
“Adam.” My voice fell. I squeezed my eyes.
“What?” He looked hurt. “You think he’s pulling out because I mentioned two minor changes to a summer festival? There’s no way.”
“I know this family, Adam. They could be scared off. Especially if they think we’re ruining a tradition of theirs.” I dropped down in the seat across from his desk and fell back. “I was scared of this happening with so many changes.”
“Don’t act like you aren’t a part of these changes, too, Lucy.” Adam sat down.
I sat up straight. “Should I call him?”
“You already spoke with him. You were the first one to talk to him, remember? He chose to do thisaftertalking to you. I doubt he decided to withdrawduringmy call with him. He stated it as if it was a decision that he and the team had come to together prior to our conversation.”
“Wait.” I put up a hand. “Are you trying to imply thatI’mthe reason he dropped?”
“Stings to get the blame thrown your way, huh?” He leaned forward on his elbows.
“I wasn’t blaming you,” I spit out. I wasn’t blaming him per se. I was merelyinvestigating.
“Yeah, yeah, you were just blamingmy ideas.” Adam rubbed his temples.
“They’re some of our longest supporters.Of course,I’m trying to figure out what pushed them away.”
“And it’s got to be me. Adam has got to be what pushed them away,right?I have to be the reason we lost Lucy’s favorite donors. I have to be the reason we lost the funding everyone thought we could rely on.” He pointed to himself dramatically.
“Money.Of course. That’s what hurts—the loss of funding,” I said under my breath. I was trying to grapple with losing this familiar family, their delicious food, their banter, and their entire presence from the festival…and Adam was reeling from the loss of funds. I knew he cared about me and the festival, I did, but he didn’t know the Lims like I did.
“Well, do you know where we can make up for that loss?” His eyes went wide with hurt. “Because managing the financial side of this is my job. I’msupposedto worry about it. Remember? That’s part of my 50 percent of the work,” he said gruffly.
He was mad now and he had every right to be. I could get frustrated with his financial perspective, but he was right. I had happily left that burden on his shoulders. It wasn’t fair for me to use it against him now as if it was a moral failing.
“I’m sure I can get some of our current donors to give a little more,” I said, trying to sound reassuring.
“Tell them how much bigger the festival is going to be. Sometimes change can be a positive spin, you know? If you’re not apologizing for it the whole time. It could be phrased as a good thing—a great thing.” His eyes were on his desk, not me.This was not how I imagined this morning unfolding.
“I do phrase it as a good thing,” I said. “But come on, you know some people are freaked out.” I had been feeling excited and proud of the festival’s growth. He’d heard me bragging.
“I’m just tired of this narrative about me being the bad guy coming in and ruining everything.”
“You’re projecting.” My heart was racing now. Skin sweating. How could Adam, after these past few weeks, still think I was pushing that narrative?
