Page 129 of Sins (The Sins Trilogy 1)
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Iris
The morning is bright and sunny, the temperature perfect. The second I walk into the marbled vestibule of the Pryce Family Foundation, I spot a very large man with eyes like a Siberian winter. He’s in a suit with no tie, and he looks at me like some bug he’s trying to decide is harmless enough to let in.
“Hi. I’m Iris Smith. I’m new.” I extend a hand with a smile.
He engulfs it in a huge paw and pumps once before letting go. “Tolyan.” His voice is rusty and harsh, but somehow not unpleasant. “Lizochka told me about you.”
Lizoch—? Oh… Elizabeth.
“Your employee badge,” he says, handing me a lanyard that has a laminated photo ID with my name and the foundation’s logo. “She’s waiting for you.”
Already? I made sure to arrive ten minutes early. I overheard Sam say once that workers who show up after their boss were worthless leeches. But clearly, I need to do better tomorrow.
I walk to her office. The door is open and Elizabeth is at her desk. Her unbound hair hangs loose in golden curls around her stunning face, and a classy blue dress fits her model-like body like it was made just for her. I’m in awe of her beauty and poise…again.
She looks up and smiles. “Great. You’re here.” She beckons me closer. “I was just going over these numbers and thought you could help.” She turns a huge external monitor my way. “It looks complicated, but isn’t, really. It’s for our main projects for the rest of the year.”
She explains what she wants me to do, the reports I need to generate for her on a regular basis and where to find all the people I should contact to organize funding and sourcing of the material we need. “Let me know if you need any help.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“And Tolyan should have a laptop for you.”
For the rest of the morning, I sit at a desk outside her office and work on the numbers she gave me. The projects I’m dealing with are all domestic. Most are for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The foundation is partnering with religious and secular organizations in various communities to supply meals and gifts for people who have no place to go and children whose parents can’t afford anything. Only three projects are about delivering school supplies to needy families for back-to-school activities, although those are in some of the poorest and most underserved districts in the country. When I see the total amount the foundation’s raised, I have to double-check the report. Holy mother of God, that’s a lot of zeros!
During lunch, Elizabeth leaves, saying she has an appointment. “We should have lunch this week, though,” she says. “To welcome you to the foundation.”
“I’d love that. Thanks.”
I grab a sandwich from a deli, then bring it back to my desk and fiddle with my phone. There’s a text from Tony.
Hope your day’s going well.
I smile. Fabulously. Elizabeth is amazing.
You having lunch?
Yes. A sandwich. You?
I miss sharing lunch with you and holding you while you nap.
Maybe this weekend?
Too far away.
If you can’t wait until the weekend, I’m probably going to practice after work.Although I’m not working in the music field, I want to keep it up. Maybe more memories will come. Some clue about who Tatiana is…or the name of the girl who threw popcorn at that ridiculously proportioned porn star. I already looked through my high school yearbook, but didn’t see her photo.
My place?
That works, but I need to pick up a few things first.
Deal.
My phone rings. “Hi, Sam,” I say.
“What the hell is the meaning of this, Iris! The first one was bad enough, but now videos with you and Anthony?”
