Matthew kept his expression neutral. Had Hazel just flirted with him? At one time, he hadn’t been opposed to doing a little flirting of his own. But not now.
The elevator doors opened. He stepped inside and looked at his cowboy boots, hoping he could pull this off. Thank God Ashley couldn’t hear what he would be saying. “Tell me about the Foundation. What projects are you working on at the moment?”
For a split second, Hazel looked uncomfortable. In the next moment, she was smiling as if Congressman Welsh hadn’t stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars and put the Foundation’s future at risk. With a little more practice, she’d make a good poker player.
“We’re in the process of transitioning to a different service delivery model.”
Matthew coughed to hide his surprise. He supposed that having the FBI freeze your money could have a very sobering effect on the Foundation’s service delivery model.
“That’s why I was intrigued by your proposal,” Hazel continued. “You said you have a personal interest in providing safe and affordable activities for inner-city youth.”
Ashley told him that the trick to appearing genuine was to answer Hazel’s questions as honestly as he could. He didn’t have to think too hard about his reply.
“Each year we run three cowboy camps in Bozeman. They’re for teenagers who have never been on a ranch. Some of them have been in trouble—nothing big, but enough to set them on the wrong path. The self-confidence and pride that each teenager goes home with is incredible to see.”
“It must be very different living on a ranch.”
“About as different from city life as you can get. Have you ever been to Montana Ms. Lewis?”
Hazel touched Matthew’s forearm. “Call me Hazel. And no, I’ve never made it as far as Montana, although I have been to Texas.”
“From where I come from we call a spade a spade. An injection of cash will make all the difference to the Foundation’s youth center project. If you believe all children deserve a chance to make their life great, then you’ll see the sense of what I’m proposing.”
The elevator stopped on the twenty-third floor.
Hazel didn’t say anything until they arrived at her office. “What you’ve said makes perfect sense, Matthew. How about I make some coffee? We’ll go through your proposal and see how it could enhance the services we’re already offering at the youth center.”
He almost sighed. Hazel’s impressive vocabulary was only exceeded by her ability to cover up the truth. He wondered if she knew how close the Foundation was to closing.
As he made himself comfortable, he doubted she had any idea about what was happening. If she did, she wouldn’t be making coffee. She’d be talking to recruitment agencies, looking for a new job.
“Here we go.” Hazel’s wide smile made him feel guilty. Underneath the cool, polished, identity she’d cultivated, was a woman who cared about children. He only hoped she cared as much about the truth.
***
After an hour of discussing his proposal, Hazel suggested they visit the youth center. Matthew made a quick call to Ashley, letting her know where he was going.
So far, everything had gone well. Hazel had started to lose some of her city-slicker edge and Jasmine hadn’t seen him.
Out of everything that could have gone wrong, Jasmine’s appearance would have sealed his fate. If she thought they were second-guessing the story she’d told them at the ranch, a team of lawyers would be visiting Ashley’s editor within the hour.
The traffic heading across town was almost as bad as he’d expected. Hazel gave him a mini tour of the sights, pointing out landmarks and telling him about the areas they were driving through. When she parked her car in front of a red-brick building he was almost sorry they were there.
“As you can see, the youth center isn’t open at the moment.”
“When does it open?”
“We can only afford to staff the center three days a week. It will be open tomorrow.”
“Is three days enough?” He pulled himself out of Hazel’s car and looked along the street. The apartment buildings were functional, multi-level, red-brick, monstrosities. There wasn’t one tree or blade of grass anywhere.
“We could open the center seven days a week and still be busy.” Her voice sounded sad. “I started working at the Foundation a few months ago. This was the first project I became involved with. The kids were so excited when we opened. A lot of their parents work long hours. They don’t have a lot of money. This is a safe place they can come after they’ve finished school. We help them with their homework and build their confidence with lots of activities and sports.”
A group of teenagers walked down the street. “What about the kids who don’t go to school?”
Hazel unlocked the youth center’s front door. “We started programs for them, too. We had tutors who helped improve their reading and writing skills. A group of college students taught a series of computer classes. We even had a day care for young moms and dads. Volunteers taught them the basics of parenting, how to budget, and how to make meals for their children.”
“You used the word ‘had’ a lot. Aren’t you doing those classes anymore?”
