“I know I said the same thing yesterday, but this time I really mean it,” she added quickly. “We’ll just get through the next two weeks, and when I leave this goes, too.”
Cameron shook his head. “It won’t be gone.”
Jackson put a hand on her hip and raised her eyebrows. “How do you know? Howmany times have you done this before?”
“Enough to know that it doesn’t usually feel like this.” He paused. When she didn’t say anything, he continued. “Look, it’s good between us, really good, and whether or not we act on it doesn’t reverse that. I’m already an ass for not keeping my pants on when I told my team to. If you want me to stay away, I will. Probably better that way, but I wouldn’tsay no if you change your mind. There’s a lot we haven’t even explored.”
His words echoed in erotic waves through her body. Jackson gritted her teeth. How had they got to this point so quickly? “Can we please move on?”
Cameron inhaled slowly and nodded. Jackson straightened up.
“I came down here because I wanted to run something by you,” she said, “something I’d like to work on forthe rest of the afternoon.”
Cameron folded his arms. “I’m listening.”
Jackson set down her briefcase and pulled out a folder. “Your charitable donations aren’t standout,” she said, pointing to the summary she had put together.
The corners of Cameron’s mouth turned down. “Is that so?”
Jackson nodded. “I’m thinking you can pick one of the smaller charities the company already givesto, one where you could make a serious difference in their budget, and make a large public donation.”
Cameron scowled. “Not that it’s any of your business, Ms. McAllister, but I do give. Maybe I should give more, and we can discuss that, but you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” He glanced down the hallway and continued. “Second of all, I’m not picking my charities by how muchof a PR boost I’ll get. I’m not my father. If I’m giving more it’s going to UNHCR.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“It’s the United Nations’ fund for refugees.”
The acronym hadn’t stood out when she looked over the company’s financial records earlier. Jackson scanned the papers she was clutching until she found it. “UNHCR...five thousand dollars. For a company of this size, that’s not alot.”
He shook his head. “I give a lot more than that.”
“Where?” She leafed through the pages. “I don’t see anything else.”
She looked up at him. He worked his jaw, and his scowl deepened. “Personally. But I’m not using that to boost the company’s image.”
Cameron stood over her with his arms crossed. She had somehow hit on a nerve, and his defenses were up. She needed to find away past them. “So, you donate larger sums from your personal finances?” she asked.
He nodded. “Anonymously. But the director knows me. I checked out the organization pretty thoroughly to make sure the money was really being used to help people.”
“Why?” she asked. “Why anonymously? Why not as you or under the Blackmore Inc. name?”
The hallway was still and silent, but he glanced upand down again. Then Cameron fixed his gaze on her. “It’s my father’s name and my father’s company now, and he’d twist it for his own advantage. But he doesn’t know the first thing about war or refugees or any of the other fallout.”
She met his eyes. “And you do.”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “And I do.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t want to donate money to get the Blackmore nameon some flashy building. I’ve seen some awful things, and there are smart, good people at the UNHCR who know how to help.”
“You’ve been to their office before?”
Cameron nodded. “And I’ve met some of the people from the refugee camps who relocated to Sydney.”
“I see,” she murmured. She let the image of Cameron sitting down with refugees sink in. “That must have been intense.”
“Iguess,” he said slowly. “But it’s the reality for a lot of people.”
Wow. This wasn’t where she’d expected this conversation to go. What could she say to that? Jackson had no experience with anything close to war or refugee camps.
“Look, I believed that I was fighting for a good cause when I was on the ground. I still do. But war means terrible things for everyone it touches. I can’t ignorethat. I have to do something about that part, too.”
