“They know Vanessa and I used to have a business relationship and she now runs a firm that competes with mine, so bringing you in as a consultant will make sense to them. You can relax, Max. The team will treat you like family.”
If Vanessa wins this pitch, I don't believe for a second she’ll do what’s best for the people. For her, it’s always been about the profit. For me, winning this is about more than a bottom-line number. It’s about honoring the commitment I made to these communities. That’s ultimately why I went along with this ridiculous plan.
I…Weactually need Max.
“Okay, then,” I say, settling it. For her, but mostly for myself.
I glance over and catch her fidgeting again. Which means she’s about to—
“So,” she says, right on cue, “what makes you so passionate about the environment and the world?”
I smile at how predictable she already is. At how easily I’m learning her.
“Humans are assholes.”
She smirks. “I mean, that’s a bit obvious but, I’m not sure I follow.”
I exhale slowly. Smirk. She wants to know me.
“Senior year of college, I took a trip to South America with some friends,” I say. “It was supposed to be fun. A boys’ trip.” I keep my eyes on the road. “But I ended up meeting this little girl selling crafts with her mom and brother.”
My grip tightens slightly on the wheel. “They invited me back to their place. Made me dinner. Treated me like I was somebody important.”
She smiles and nods, encouraging but quiet.
So I continue.
“My friends went out partying while this single mother and her two kids were stretching nothing into something. Most of what they owned—furniture, materials, tools—came from American waste. Stuff we throw away without a second thought.”
I swallow.
“Some people were surviving off it. Making a life from it. And others were being buried by it. I knew I couldn’t change the world. Not on a massive scale. But I also knew I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t seen a possibility to make a difference. RootHaus came from trying to do better. Even if it is small.”
“Wow,” she says quietly.
I don’t tell that story often. And when I do, I’m careful. That family still matters to me. I won’t turn them into a talking point.
“What happened to them?” she asks. “The mother and her two kids?”
I smile because no one ever asks that. “Ruby. She’s our head of sustainability now. Helps lead our recycled material designs and sourcing. We have offices set up near her home in South America so she didn’t have to relocate and she visits us here once a quarter.”
Her expression brightens. “That’s…really amazing, Bear. Kind of intimidating, to be honest.”
I turn onto Main Street, the busiest stretch in town. “Intimidating how?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know if I fit in with all that do-good energy. I’m more… every man for himself.”
“I doubt that,” I say easily. “And even if you were, give it time. This place has a way of getting under your skin.”
Just as you’re getting under mine.
As I pull into the team’s favorite coffee shop, I say a silent prayer that this isn’t the worst idea Thaddeus Drake has ever had.
Strike One
Max
Iwatch as Eli strolls out of the coffee shop, balancing a tray of seven coffees and two boxes of pastries.
