Page 54 of You Wish
“I can walk by myself.” She started forward but he rooted himself in place. “Fine.” She begrudgingly took his arm. “But this doesn’t mean it’s a date.”
“Darlin’, the second you came in wearing those shoes, it was a date.”
He escorted her across the room to a man who was ninety-percent mustache and ten percent caviar. When he caught Georgia’s gaze, his face lit up.
“You must be the lady of the hour,” he said in a French accent.
“Pierre, this is Georgia Warren, a wish maker for The Wish Project. Georgia, this is Pierre Luran.”
Georgia swallowed her tongue whole. Not only was he the owner of Nova Racing, he was a billionaire, who could, with one check, float the foundation for years to come.
“Nice to meet you.” He took her hand in his, and she nearly cried. He could be the possible savior she’d been looking for. And Jake had made it happen. Not because she’d asked him, but because he knew how important this mission was to her.
Pierre looked down at the hands which she was still holding, and she realized she hadn’t spoken.
Right. Open mouth. Form words. Blink like you’re human. All things she used to know how to do.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” she said, slipping her hands away. “I’ve been watching your team, and it looks like you have a great shot of winning the Constructor’s Championship.”
He clapped Jake on the back. “It’s all riding on this one.”
She watched some of the easygoing joy in Jake’s eyes fade. Not a lot, but enough for her to notice.
She’d never really thought about how much responsibility he carried. How he was the make-or-break for an entire team, which included hundreds of people with mortgages and 401(k)s and college tuitions. All relying on him to pay the bills.
The weight must be staggering. It was similar to the weight she carried all those years with her own family. Weight she hadn’t known to let go of, so it just transferred into her professional life.
After the way his parents raised him, he must be terrified of letting someone down.
“This is an amazing event,” Pierre said.
She felt her face pinken. “It was a team effort.”
A strong, delicious arm slid around her shoulder. “Actually, Georgia did all the heavy lifting,” Jake began. “Including getting me on board with one of the finest nonprofits in the country. In fact, Georgia alone has granted over five hundred wishes and raised over three million dollars in just five years.”
Georgia stood there in awe as Jake went on about all her accomplishments. But what squeezed her heart was that he knew the facts about her career. He must have looked her up on the company’s website or asked Jane. It touched her in a way she hadn’t felt in years.
“That’s impressive,” Pierre said. Using two fingers, he twisted up the end of his mustache. “I donate to a lot of charities. What makes yours any different?”
Georgia’s chin tipped a little higher and her shoulders squared. This was where she shined.
“The Wish Project addresses overlooked or stigmatized issues. Where most people see a handicap or child with mental health issues, we see a life that should be validated. We can’t overcome a prognosis, but we can make their time here memorable. What makes us unique is that we are focused on hyper-local impact. One state, one mission. That’s why Jake is the perfect person to partner with for this campaign. He’s a local hero. And Texas loves a good hero. Plus, Nova’s home track is in Austin. It’s a no-brainer.”
Pierre raised an impressed brow at Jake.
“Told you she was good,” Jake said, and she wanted to hug him for his confidence in her.
“How would this benefit my company?” Pierre asked, and she felt as if this were some kind of test. That her answer would determine if he would be a sponsor or not.
Her boss would tell her to go with the hard sell, but that wasn’t Georgia’s style. She’d put this together, listening to her gut and not some corporate blueprint. So instead of following company policy, she was going to follow her heart. It had never failed her before. Well, except for that one time.
“I’m not going to bullshit you. It probably won’t help your company, but the reason people donate is because it helps kids who are in desperate need of some happy in their little lives. I believe if we can help, then we should. Who else will, if not us?”
Pierre gave a big smile that wrinkled his mustache. “I like how honest you are. Most of the time people try to sell me on what they can do for me, which is normally nothing. You didn’t.You got to the heart of the matter without embellishing the details to win me over.”
Georgia felt like she’d won the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Does that mean we can count on you for support?” Mr. Whitman said from behind Georgia.
