“Are you done?”
He sighs. “Yes.”
“Thank you for the TED Talk, Peter. It was inspiring. But let me remind you, she’s writing an article about me. She’s not here to ‘get to know me’ in a vacuum. She’s a shark, this girl. It’s my favorite thing about her. Don’t get me wrong. But we’re not just two people shacking up. She wants something from me. So, ‘letting down my guard’ completely, as you’ve suggested, would be a felony stupid thing for me to do.”
He sighs. “If you say so.”
“I do. So, will you get me the financials I’ve asked for, or not?”
“Of course, I will. Just send me the names and whatever information, and I’ll get it to you in a couple days.”
“Thank you. I’ll send you a text after we hang up.”
“So, will you be bringing this breakfast-worthy girl with you on Sunday to Hazel’s party?”
To my surprise, my heart leaps at the idea. I never bring dates to personal events with my good friends. Hardly ever to work events, either. And yet, here I am, eager to bring Georgina to my best friend’s house and introduce her to pretty much everyone I care about, all in one fell swoop... Indeed, I can’t wait to sit back and smile with amusement as Georgina casts her uniquely powerful spell on every last one of them.
“Yeah, I’ll bring her,” I say, trying to sound nonchalant.
But Henn’s not a fool. He knows this is totally outside the box for me. “Holy shit, Reed,” he says. Which is exactly what I was expecting him to say. But then, he goes on to say something I’m not. “For a smart man, you’re dumb as dirt sometimes.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t fuck this up!” he booms. “Be completely honest with this girl. Let her know the real you. In fact, why all the secrecy about you funding her grant? Tell her so she knows what a generous guy you are. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to find out you’re the reason her internship is a paid one.”
“Are you insane? Henn, when I came up with the idea to donate to the cancer charity, my main motivation was to arrange things behind the scenes so I could get her into bed. You think she won’t realize that in two seconds flat? The last thing I need is for her to doubt she got her job on her merits. Which she totally did, by the way. CeeCee was going to hire her, regardless.”
“You truly don’t think Georgina would be grateful to you for helping her?”
My stomach clenches fiercely. “She’s proud, Henn. It means the world to her to be a ‘professional writer.’ I don’t want her to doubt herself.”
“But if she finds out you’re the source of the grant, later, it’ll be ten times worse than if you’d told her on your own, up front. You not telling her makes it seem like you did something nefarious and creepy, rather than something generous and kind.”
“She won’t find out.”
“Well, if she does, paying off her dad’s mortgage and her student loans won’t fix the problem. Trust can’t be bought.”
I respect Henn’s mind more than anyone’s, probably. He’s a literal genius—the smartest guy I’ve ever met. But this time, he’s dead wrong. “I’m not telling Georgina jack shit about the grant, and she won’t find out about it on her own. But, on the off-chance she does, then she’ll forgive me because, by then, I’ll have gotten her an A-list interview with someone even better than me and I’ll have the information I need to immediately pay off her debts in full, too.” I look at my watch. “I can’t talk about this anymore with you. I’ve got to head to a meeting at my attorney’s office. Thanks for getting me that info. I’ll text you and everyone about a pre-party on Saturday.”
“Hey, Reed. I really think—”
“Drop it, Henn. I’ve got this. I’ll see you on Saturday. Thanks for the favor. Bye.”
Chapter 12
Georgina
Have you ever met some regular, nice person, and instantly connected with them in a genuine, easy way... only to find out later that regular, nice person was actually a big wig? Someone who would have intimidated the heck out of you, if only you’d known? But by then it was too late to feel intimidated. The easy friendship was already formed. The connection made.
Well, that’s what happened when I met Reed’s longtime attorney, Leonard. When I encountered him backstage at the RCR concert last night, he was a sweet older dude in jeans and a Red Card Riot T-shirt who was geeking out over watching his teenage daughter and her friends meet the band. But now that I’m sitting across from Leonard in his sleek office, and I can see the impressive diplomas and framed magazine covers and awards on his walls, I’m realizing he’s actually a big wig. But it’s too late now for me to feel intimidated, because all I see when I look into his smiling face is the sweet, kind dude in jeans and a Red Card Riot T-shirt from last night.