“Yes.”
“Why?”
She rolls her eyes. “You know why.”
“I’m not sure I do. Tell me. Let’s be sure we’re on the same page.” I don’t know what I want her to say.
Well, that’s not entirely true. I’d love to hear her say she’s madly in love with me too, thinks about me all the time, and that resisting me is also incredibly difficult.
But I’ll settle for what she’s thinking right this minute.
She sighs. “Everett, I’m not saying we can’t pursue this relationship because I don’t have feelings or don’twant toon some level. It’s purely about the job.”
“Good.”
“But that also means that being constantly aware that you have feelings and thinking about those feelings and our attraction and everything makes it difficult to focus on work and…” She pauses, then admits, “and to not be sad about everything.”
I like that too much.
I don’t want her to be sad, but I do want her to be happy when she finds out that I’m fixing things. I want to tell her I’m working on that, but I don’t want to put extra pressure on her right now.I’m quitting my job, and the company I built with my first and only best friend, so I can be with youmight not go over well with her until I can prove that IES can definitely go on and thrive without me, that Graham and I are solid, and that she and I really can have it all.
“I’m only your co-worker from here on out,” I tell her, adding thefor nowsilently.
“Really?”
“Promise. This is all about our meeting.”
She nods. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Of course.”
“I read about Albright Investments and the Albright brothers on the plane,” she says. “But you’ve met them before, right? What can you tell me about them?”
Great. Work mode. That will help. Though she still smells and looks amazing, even in boss-woman mode.
“They are in their mid-thirties. Both are married with young children.Veryfocused on family. Pretty traditional and conservative as far as home and family are concerned. They are close with their parents, grandparents, and each other.
“They have a few successful businesses of their own, but most of their money comes from investing in other businesses. They got their start with money from their grandfather. And, very importantly, Charles has set the expectation in the family that they would never be worth more than a billion dollars.”
“What do you mean?” She looks more intrigued than confused.
“He was incredibly wealthy all his life, and their business ventures and investments easily could have made them billionaires, but he donated extensively to keep his total worth under one billion dollars. His sons have continued that, and have also passed that expectation down to his grandsons.”
Ginny’s eyes are wide now. “Wow.”
“Yes. They are very philanthropic, donating huge sums to various charities. But more recently, they’ve begun investing in companies and initiatives that need funding to get off the ground and benefit people, animals, and the planet. I first met them in Denver. They were there as part of an initiative to convert old buildings into housing for the unhoused. The group they were funding was targeting some buildings we’d had our eye on for indoor farming.”
“Who ended up with the buildings?” Ginny asks.
I smile. “They did. And it’s a fantastic project. We weren’t upset to “lose” to them.”
She smiles too. “Good. But you talked to them about IES.”
“I did. It’s obviously not just a donation we’re looking for. They would end up getting some money back, but they might not recoup their full investment for years. They were still very interested, and when we chatted at the gala on New Year’s Eve, they invited me here this weekend to give them an official pitch.”
She pulls in a long breath. “So this really is a big deal.”
It’s a huge deal if I want to step away in the next few months. This investment could ensure IES remains secure for years to come. But I say, “It is. They could give us the funding we need to get these initial ten farms up and working by year's end. As you know, once these ten are built and running, we’ll have real-time data from various locations to share with future farmers.”
