Wild Open Hearts (Bluewater Billionaires) - Kathryn Nolan Page 0,92
Jasmine argued.
“She’s not wrong,” Sylvia said carefully, “we’re all a little slimy. But what I hear you saying, Luna, is that you’d like to be… different.”
I knew what people had said about me in this industry when I won the VC award. They’d mocked what I’d declared on that stage, labeled it childish, naïve. People say it’s too hard to make real change in the world anymore, I’d said, keeping my eyes on my parents in the front row. They were my anchor. All the damage has been done. Well, I never, ever thought it would be easy. How could it be? We’re talking about dismantling a system that has been in place for hundreds of years. But suddenly we live in a world where we can’t all try and do better?
“I know it’s naïvely optimistic of me to try and do this and not use it for my own personal gain,” I said softly, “but I’d like to…” I glanced at the photo on my desk of me and my fundraising stand. “I will do better. The media will focus on the nonprofits receiving the funds. Not the foundation.”
“You’re the one giving away the money,” Jasmine said.
“They’re the ones actually doing the work,” I said, leaving no room for her to argue.
She sat back in her chair, arms crossed.
Sylvia glanced at her watch. “I have to go to my next meeting. Luna, let’s schedule for next week with the accountant. There’s a whole hell of a lot of paperwork for us to start processing before we can start accepting applications.”
“I’d like the first gift to be for Lucky Dog though,” I said. “They can fill out an application like everyone else, but I’ve spent weeks working with them and can speak to their value. Feels silly not to end my time working with them by granting them much-needed funding.”
“I like it,” Sylvia said. She swept out of the room, about to close the door when she turned and said, “For what it’s worth, you can be philanthropic without coming off as manipulative. The foundation should be announced, and people should know about it. It doesn’t mean you have to present yourself as the rescuer. You could present it from the heart. An expression of why philanthropy matters.”
I thought about Beck, sharing such an intimate conversation with Jimmy for the camera. The way they weren’t trying to guilt people into money, but giving a piece of themselves. Here’s my heart and soul… What are you going to do with it?
“The media and Luna da Rosa will have a complicated relationship for a long time,” she said. “They can’t control you. And you shouldn’t let them control you now.”
She closed the door behind her, leaving Jasmine and me to regard each other like sparring partners.
“Your time with Lucky Dog has done wonders for your damaged reputation. Giving money through your foundation to your new boyfriend with the criminal past will only make things worse,” she said.
“It’s not to Beck, it’s to Lucky Dog,” I said. “I don’t think anyone can debate the fact that they’re amazing.”
“The media and the public won’t see it that way,” she said.
“The media and the public don’t control my decision-making,” I said, biting off the word anymore. Thinking about what Sylvia had said. Trying not to use the media to manipulate was as exhausting as pandering to them, seeking their approval.
Maybe I should just be. Let the chips fall where they may.
Like Beck would do.
“Listen,” she said, uncrossing her arms and leaning across the table towards me. “I’ve been working with Derek’s team like you asked. Their research indicates that your reputation after Ferris Mark has improved, of course. But barely. And I don’t believe the upward trend will sustain into the future. The next mistake you make—and you will make one because you’re in charge of a billion-dollar company—and they’ll descend on you like vultures.”
I braided faster—then let go. Inhaled. Exhaled. Thought of Beck speaking into the camera—Luna has more integrity in her little finger than most people have in their entire bodies.
I didn’t have to direct this company from a place of fear.
“Let them descend,” I said. “The force of what Wild Heart’s foundation could do is bigger than tabloids and Instagram trolls.”
Jasmine was silent for a minute, drumming her nails on the table. Tap tap tap.
“Moving on to other agenda items. You got invited to be a last-minute keynote speaker. Tonight,” she said.