Page 24 of You Wish
“That’s if you win. Until then it’s open season.”
“Handshake or I change my mind.”
He stopped walking and took her hand. Immediate heat shimmered in the confines of the room. She yanked her hand back like she’d been burned.
His eyes met hers and they were like twilight’s sky. She loved twilight.
“Now that you’ve given me every detailed moment of our itinerary, tell me about the actual project. The heart of it. What gets you going every morning.”
A shot of excitement bubbled up like it always did when she talked about her job. She tried to quell it, but she couldn’t help the need to share her hard work with someone who would understand how important her job was to her.
“We’re trying to attract a new group of donors. We’ve got corporations down, but we haven’t broken into the sports industry.”
“There is so much crossover between wishes and athletes, it only seems natural that team owners would want to donate to the cause.”
“You would think,” she said. “But we’re having a hard time getting them to see how being sponsors could benefit them.”
“I would think that being a part of a great cause would be enough,” he said, and she sent him the side-eye. “Right. It always comes down to what it can do for them.”
“Our thought was?—”
“Our thought or your thought?”
She felt herself start to give her normal spiel about how it’s a team effort, but for some reason she wanted someone to know she’d not only spearheaded this project, she’d fought two long years to get the go-ahead. If she were being honest, she didn’t want someone to know—she wantedhimto know.
He was a risk-taker, and she’d always admired that in him. Before they’d met, she’d played things safe. Safe degree, safe job—safe won out over passion. She had an internship offer witha Fortune 500 company that would have led to a job when she graduated. A job that offered a six-figure salary. There were also stock options, a signing bonus, and a relocation budget if they sent her to another state.
It was a sweet deal. Period. But for someone who’d accumulated over a hundred grand in college debt? It was the way out. An easy way out.
Georgia hadn’t had the luxury of taking the easy anything, so it was tempting to follow the money. She was also offered a no-salary position at The Wish Project. She’d narrowed it down to just the two, listing the pros and cons of each.
The paid internship would have meant she could quit her tutoring job at the school and focus on something that would take her the distance. Whereas the volunteer position meant she’d have to also carry a job at the tutoring center on top of her insane course load.
Then Connor died and her priorities changed. She decided to follow her heart. Everyone thought she was crazy to pass up the opportunity, but she told herself that money would come and go. Plus, once she graduated, she’d have enough money to live her life. It would never be as much as corporate America. But she’d rather have a job that fulfilled her dreams than one that would keep her busy.
“The whole thing was my idea,” she answered his question. “I mean, if I landed a major athlete and it brought a new fan base to the sport, maybe other team owners would step up and contribute.”
“And that’s where I come in.”
“Yup.”
She could see the wheels turning in his head. “Was I your first choice?”
Go for honest. He’s bound to find out anyway.
“No. I was going to ask Henry, but it conflicted with another endorsement deal he signed.”
“So I was your second?”
“You were the only way my boss would agree to me spending the time and resources needed on something that might not work.”
“Don’t flatter me,” he deadpanned.
“I could have lied.”
“No, you couldn’t have. Not only do you suck at lying, as previously discussed, you hate to lie.”
Truth. She hated it when doctors sugar-coated things. Georgia would rather have the truth, no matter how devastating, so that she could plan her next move. The truth had equipped her with the power to navigate situations and advocate for her brother the way he deserved.
