Page 109 of Bound By Fire
24
Robyn
I push through the staff entrance with my coffee in one hand and my bag over the other shoulder. Hair falls out of my ponytail yet again. I grumble as I pull it back behind my ear, dropping my bag and spilling some of my coffee in the process.
“Crap!” I groan.
I’ll have to come back and clean that up. Right now, I need to get my things into my office before Ridge gets here. I’ve decided that I’m going to be a coward and avoid him at all costs. If I don’t see him, then I won’t be tempted to change my mind.
I yawn, quickly covering my mouth with my hand. I barely slept. I tossed, and I turned, and I stared at the ceiling.
Carla lifts her head as I walk around the corner, and her whole face lights up. She looks as though she’s had eight hours of sleep and a green smoothie.
“There you are, Doc,” she singsongs. “I have been dying for you to walk through that door. Dy-ing.”
“Good morning to you, too.” I drop my bag on the chair beside her desk.
“I want details. All of them. Don’t leave anything out, not even the boring parts. How was last night?”
“There are no details.”
“Liar. I want to know all about it. How was it?”
I take a long sip of my coffee.
“It was boring. Now, I need to get to work, I have a crap-ton of admin. I’m going to be buried all day.”
She looks at her watch. “It isn’t quite eight o’clock yet, so technically I’m not on the clock.” She looks around, and the office is still quiet. “I call bullshit. I happen to know that your date was sexy AF. Did he look amazing in a tux? He must have. Come on…spill.”
“He wasn’t my date, Carla. I keep telling you that. He is my bodyguard. End of story.”
She makes a face at me. “Was it really that bad? It could not have been. Something fun must have happened.”
Oh, you don’t know the half of it.
Not going there.
“The whole evening dragged. I gave my speech, I did my thing, and I’m glad it’s done. I am completely, totally peopled out. I don’t want to see another human being for at least a week.”
“The money is coming in, so you must have done something right.” She swivels her monitor toward me with a dramatic flourish. “Look at this. There are forty-seven thank-you replies. Pledges, Robyn. I’ve already had three calls from major givers who want to set up follow-up meetings. The Garner Foundation? They’re doubling their annual gift. Whatever you did last night, it worked. It worked in spades.”
I try. I really do. I plaster on a smile because it’s wonderful.
“I have to admit that I was a bit worried,” she says. “I thought donations might slow down with everything happening on the island. Did you hear that our Council and Mistveil representatives have another meeting scheduled today? It lookslike talks are going to go on for a few days. Anyway, I digress. Money is flooding in. You did it.”
“I took your advice. I ditched the speech. Sorry, I know you worked hard on it. But I ditched it and spoke from the heart, and it worked. So, thank you for that wonderful piece of advice.”
I start toward my office.
“Are you okay, Robyn?”
I turn back. “I’m fine. I’m just a little tired. I barely slept.”
“Why is that?” Carla is frowning. “I thought you would have slept like a baby after getting the function out of the way.”
I shrug. “You and me both. Who knows? All this unrest on the island has me a bit freaked out.”
It’s true, but not the whole truth.
