Chapter 15
Bryan
I
’d decided, after some serious thinking, to give Ellen a call. The mere
fact that I couldn’t shake the offer from my mind meant I needed more information about it. I took the liberty of calling her and telling her I was interested in more information, and I could tell she was thrilled. She suggested a restaurant on the other side of town that immediately reminded me of my parents, but I agreed to meet with her anyway.
This restaurant was the type of restaurant my parents frequented on a regular basis. The silken cloths that draped along the tables were held in place by lit candles. There was no menu, only the eight courses the chef would be serving that evening. There was a small wine pairing for each course as well as a small glass of ice water to sip from so someone didn’t get too drunk during the evening. But, if drunk was the intention, there was an open bar with a cocktail menu that housed absolutely no prices.
“Bryan,” Elle said, smiling. “So glad you could make it.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said.
She stood and wrapped her arms around me, placing a small kiss on the side of my cheek. Her hands lingered a bit longer around my shoulders than a friendly hug would’ve entailed, and I could tell she was wearing expensive perfume. The pearls around her neck glittered while diamonds dangled from her ears, and the dress she had on suited her body perfectly. It was black and sultry, with a slit up the side that stopped halfway up her thigh.
It looked like she was dressed for a date rather than abusiness meeting. “So,” she said as we sat, “you’ve given more thought to my offer.” “Well, I’ve been turning it around in my head the past few days, and I figured that alone would warrant a bit more information.” “Can’t get me out of your head, can you?” she asked with a sly grin on her face. Oh, she was going to be a doozy to work with. “What exactly does an operations director do?” I asked. “Oh, pish posh. We’ll get to that in a second,” she said. “Let’s at least get you your first glass of wine.” She snapped, and a waiter suddenly appeared at our sides. I drew a deep breath through my nose and snickered while she chatted with the man. This was exactly how my mother would act in a place like this. Like she owned it. Like she had free reign of the people in it. I had no idea why money made people act this way, but if it continued like this the entire night, I’d have to reject her offer. The last person I was going to work alongside was someone who reminded me of my mother. A glass of red wine was set in front of both of us before the first course. It looked delightful as I spread my napkin in my lap, and I could tell Ellen was watching my every move. How I cut my food. How I held my posture up. How I quietly sipped my wine and waited for her to redirect the conversation back to why I was here in the first place. And when she was done eating her fill of me, she smiled. “The operations director has the biggest impact on the homeless community. You would be fielding all the projects and making sure we had enough volunteers to help. You would be taking care of the budgets for the projects. If you wanted free and total reign, I could even give you the power to callyour own meetings to get your own project ideas voted on and passed. You would be in the homeless community, coordinating your own projects and traveling around to help as many as you could.”
“Where does all this funding come from?” I asked.
“Wealthy donors, but the schmoozing is my part. You won’t have to attend any of those parties or charity balls. That’s my side of things. You’ll know when the money hits, and you can divvy it up as necessary,” she said.
“What are the project limits?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Are there any specific projects you won’t take on?” I asked.
“Well, let’s just say there hasn’t been a project yet that has been turned down. The only thing we ask is that when a project is presented, we need to know how much it costs, how many volunteers are necessary, what the main goals are, and how long it will last.”
“Fair enough.”
“The work you’re doing on your own is good, but helping a few people here and there won’t work in the long run. It helps those individuals, sure, but not the issue as a whole. The homeless need more housing, more medical treatment, more access to places to clean themselves up, an area where they can track down jobs and secure interviews. We need to set up connections with local places who are willing to interview and hire the homeless. We don’t have any of this infrastructure
yet.” There was a switch that occurred in her at that moment. This vixen
of a woman who was obviously hitting on me had gone from a wealthy woman who felt she owned the room to a caring woman who really wanted to do something about this issue. I could see her eyes glistening like she had a personal stake in this matter, and I wanted to ask. I wanted to ask her why she felt so strongly about this cause. But I was distracted the moment she leaned back in the chair. Ellen was wearing a striking black dress. The slit enough would drive a man wild, but her bosom was prominent and untamed. The pearl necklace she had on drew the eye to that very place before her body dipped into a very stark, slim waist. The mixed signals I was getting from her over dinner were mounting, and a sly smirk appeared on her face again as the conversation took a drastic turn. “Are you enjoying everything thus far?” she asked. I cleared my throat and nodded before our plates were taken away. “Good. Because my foundation could use a good man like you.” Just then, I felt something slide against my leg. My eyes connected with Ellen’s, her stare intense and her lips curled up slightly. I could feel it moving against my foot before something started slipping underneath the cuff of my pants, and I pulled my leg back harshly before I gripped my wine glass. “At the risk of reading too much into things,” I said. “I am in a relationship with a woman I love very much.” “I like a man who’s dedicated,” she said, grinning. Her offer sounded wonderful. The work her foundation did sounded incredible. I knew just by talking to her that it was something I wanted to do, something I wanted to throw my whole heart into. But I couldn’t work with a woman like this, a woman who seemed practically unfazed by the fact that I was in a relationship. A little mindless flirting from a rich woman who was used to getting what she wanted I could tolerate, but now her gestures had become physical in nature. I saw her reach her hand over toward mine and wrap her fingers around it, and that’s when I stood up and set my napkin down on my plate. “Where in the world are you going?” she asked. “Home,” I said. “Why in the world would you do something like that? We haven’t even enjoyed our second course.” “I figured since I’d just told you I was in a relationship that you were no longer willing to fire me for the position. That, and you’re pretty brazen with your actions,” I said.
“Oh, Bryan, sit down and simply listen.” “Depends. Are you talking with your mouth or your body?” I asked. “Why can’t Italk with both?” she asked. “See, and there it is again, that brazen flirtation even though I’ve already stated I’m in a relationship,” I said. “Look, Mr. McBride, you’re incredibly attractive. Wildly, in fact. You have this bad boy aura about you while still being a decent man. And those tattoos, I’d have no issues tracing them with my tongue. Having sex with you would probably be the highlight of my month, but that is not why I approached you.” “Uh-huh,” I said. “I approached you and inquired about a career change for you because I believe in the work you do. You do it well, the stuff with your business and the homeless community. You have a practical head on your shoulders and a real, true passion to help these people. Do you know how hard that is to find nowadays?” she asked. “Yes, actually. I do,” I said. “Then you know how invaluable you are to me. If the flirtation makes you uncomfortable, then I’m more than happy to lay off. Honestly, I’m used to having to do it to get men to sway in my direction. It’s a knee-jerk reaction, even though you are very attractive,” she said. “You’re a woman of many talents, I’m sure. You don’t need to use your body to get what you want,” I said. “Oh, you’d be surprised. Money doesn’t gain me the type of power it gains for men. But that’s a different conversation for a different day. Just know that should things ever happen between you and this lucky woman of yours, I’m more than willing to be your delectable rebound.” This woman was relentless. I had no idea if I should’ve been flattered or annoyed by the entire thing. She was attractive, sure, but she was no Hailey. Her pompous attitude alone could propel me out the door before I’d even gotten my hands on her. But if she was willing to lay off the flirting and keep this strictly business, there was nothing standing in the way of me taking this job. Not anymore. So, I sat down just before the second course was placed in front of us. “So, does this mean you’re interested in the position?” she asked. “This means I’m willing to talk it over more, yes.” The food was some of the best I’d ever tasted. The steak was delicious, and the flavor combinations were unlike anything I’d ever indulged in. I thought myself to be cultured because of the way my parents raised my brother and me, but all of this was completely new to me. I hummed and groaned over the food, earning giggles from Ellen every now and again. But she stuck to her promise of not crossing any boundaries. “You would be paid a salary, of course. With benefits. But there isn’t a lot of room for raises and such. Because it’s a non-profit foundation, all the excess revenue outside of the salaries and what it takes to keep our main building up and running gets redistributed back into the projects. The good thing about that is your travel expenses and the like can be wrapped into the overall price of a project, so your salary can be stretched a bit further.” “That’s fine with me. The more money I’ve got for these projects, the better I can make them,” I said. “Sounds like you’ve accepted the job,” she said, grinning. “I’m speaking hypothetically, of course.” “Oh, of course,” she said. “Hypothetically.” But something in the tone of her voice told me she was simply mocking what I was saying. “What will you do with your own business?” she asked. “Will you leave that to someone?” “That’s one of the things I wanted to talk with you about,” I said. “Since I already have some of that community service wrapped up in my projects, what you would think about making my business one of your first projects?” “Assuming you take the job?” “Assuming so, yes.” “What did you have in mind?” she asked. “Present your idea like you would to the board to approve.” “It would go something like this. Many people have been asking me to expand outside of the San Diego area and to come in and develop housing like the type of subsidized housing I’m doing now. The only problem is cash flow. I’d have to dip back into debt to branch out, hire the hands I needed, and pay for the travel time to get to these sites.” “Either that or take the time to travel yourself and hire locals,” she said. “Exactly. I figured we could swing it one of two ways. The foundation could give a donation to the company to get the projects going, and then as we got trucking and sold off the housing, I could pay you back the money.” “Why would you do that if it’s a donation?” she asked. “Because the company will stand on its own with that area eventually, at least that’s the theory. It’s the initial branch-off that takes the most time and money. Once we get established, however, the foundation could take it upon itself to subsidize the housing for the homeless community. Pay for four or five months’ worth of bills for however many houses, and it would give them places to live so they could clean up and try to piece their lives back together.” “But they need more than a place to live,” she said. “Yes, which is why I would only work part-time starting out. I’d have to go between my company and the foundation for a spell. I’m not going to liquidate my company to come work for you. That’s not an option.” “I never expected you to,” she said. “What would you be doing part-time?”
“Establishing all those connections in the places we’re looking to go. I’d start here and branch out. I’d find places that would hire the homeless community and network, find barbers and hairdressers that would help the homeless community look their best, find thrift shops and retail stores that would be willing to donate clothes they could borrow. We could start an entire store where the only system needed is bartering. The homeless community works there helping other homeless people like themselves find clothes for interviews. They borrow them and bring them back when they’re done, and not only do they get to the interviews, but they have volunteer work already set up for their resume.” “See, it’s ideas like that, Bryan, that brought me to you. It’s got kinks to work out, but it’s an ingenious idea,” Ellen said. “And I’ve got plenty more of them,” I said. “Does this mean you’ll take the job?” she asked. “I don’t know. Would you be willing to settle for a part-time operations director until things could fall into place?” We sat in silence for a little while, and I could see her mulling over everything I’d thrown at her. She was nodding to herself like she was debating how people would react when she went back to tell them the news. I sat in my seat with my hands interlocked, gripping them tightly while I sat there and waited for her answer. The nerves coursing through my body was yet another signal I was on the brink of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. “Let me talk with some people,” she said, “but I don’t see why not.”