Blind Date with my Billionaire Boss - Evangeline Kelly Page 0,2
There had to be at least two hundred people here today, which wasn’t a lot considering how many foster youths there were in California. But Dad had chosen to support a small foster family agency, believing he could make a bigger impact with a more manageable group. And here I was, continuing the effort.
A man dressed in a clown outfit waddled by in shoes three times the size of mine, and he poked me on my stomach as he passed in an attempt to get me to smile. I glared at him and fell just short of telling him to take his ugly clown hands off of me. He got the hint and moved on.
“That’s Chester,” she said, trying not to laugh. “He’s harmless.”
“Chester had better stay away from me.”
“I’ll make sure he knows.”
“Please do.”
“Excuse me for a moment.” She headed in Chester’s direction, and I let out a breath, glancing at my watch again. Joanna had arranged for the picnic to last three hours and then the volunteers planned to take the kids through the park so they could enjoy the rides.
I took out my phone and typed a quick text to my secretary, Verity Williams.
Call me in ten minutes and pretend there’s an emergency so I can get out of here.
She used to be Dad’s secretary, but I kept her on because she was the best at what she did, and I preferred her calming presence over some of the younger admins. In her sixties, she was a force to be reckoned with, and she had more energy than most had in their twenties.
Her response was short and quick. You don’t pay me enough for these charades. She’d been around for so long that she seemed to think she had more liberty to voice her opinions when it came to me, and I allowed it, but only from her.
Glancing up, my gaze landed on Joanna, who was heading back after talking to Chester the clown. I sent another text to Verity telling her to “just do it” and then shoved my phone in my pocket, managing a curt smile as Joanna joined me.
“He won’t bother you again,” she said eagerly.
“Thank you.”
“Would you like me to introduce you to a few of the families?”
I pressed my lips together and frowned, scanning the grassy area. Everyone was having fun, and quite frankly, I doubted they wanted to meet a stiff suit who didn’t look as if he fit in. “That’s okay. I have to get back to the office, anyway.”
“Oh.” A crease formed at her forehead, and she looked at me with concern. “I’m so sorry you can’t stay.”
“I only planned to stop by and make sure everything is running smoothly.” I winced, not meaning for it to sound as if I didn’t trust her or her volunteers to do a good job. “You’re doing wonderful work, Joanna.” I turned to leave, not bothering to wait for Verity’s emergency call.
“Wait!” Joanna reached out as if to touch me but stepped back when she saw my hesitation. “I was hoping to discuss another event we need funding for.” She paused, appearing unsure as to whether she should bring it up. “I thought we would have more time—”
“Of course. Contact my secretary, Verity Williams, and give her the details. We’ll be happy to accommodate you.”
I took off in the direction of my car, not glancing back even once. When I got there, I checked the time. Ten minutes. That was all that exchange had cost me. Ten lousy minutes. Way to go, Easton. Dad would have been so proud.
Truth was, my father had been a better man than me. I knew it, and so did everyone else, but there was no use dwelling on that now.
Later that evening, I stopped by to see my sister, Charlotte, before heading home. She’d left a cryptic voicemail message saying she had something important she needed to discuss, and it wasn’t a conversation she could have over the phone. Before I even had a chance to knock, the door flew open and she urgently pulled me inside.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We need to talk.”
“About what?”
She directed me to her living room and invited me to sit on her floral couch, the one I hated looking at because it was too frou-frou for my taste. “Lila called me.”
I rolled my eyes and loosened the tie at my neck, feeling way too hot all of a sudden. “Spare me the details.”