gotten my books. The CEO wanted to meet. Didn’t give me particulars so I didn’t know what to expect.”
I sat and listened, my food untouched. “What did they say? Was it what you were hoping for?”
He shook his head. “No. Not at all.”
My shoulders sagged a little. “Oh. Well, that sucks.”
A smile tugged at his lips and he couldn’t hold it back. It spread, lighting up his face. “It was more than what I expected.”
“ What do you mean?”
He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. His fingers were warm and rough and I felt a little shock go through me.
“Fifty-thousand dollars, Emma.” His voice shook a little with excitement. “They gave me fifty-thousand dollars.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Are you serious?”
He nodded.
“ Wow,” I breathed. “That’s incredible.”
Fifty-thousand dollars wouldn't do much in San Diego. But in Mexico? Helping the poorest of the poor? I knew just how far that money could go.
“It is,” he said. “And I have plans. Big plans. La Estancia, the place you were? They need a new well. I can do that. I can help them. This little village outside of Cabo? Their clinic has no windows. No screens. I can fix that.”
I nodded, feeling the excitement grow inside of me. “What about loans?” I asked. “Loans for the people who live there. Like what Kiva does?”
“Yes. Absolutely. I want to look into that, to see if we can set up some kind of loan system. There are models out there, models we can follow.”
“ And school supplies,” I said. “You’ve helped build schools but now you could stock them. Make sure they’re well-equipped.”
“ The sky’s the limit,” he said. “Because if we do good work with this, if we show what a difference this small amount of money can make, other companies might follow suit. This could be the beginning of something big.”
“ Absolutely.” On impulse, I squeezed his hand. “I’m so happy for you!”
I was. I was brimming over with excitement. Dex had created something out of nothing, something with the sole purpose of going out and doing good in the world. He’d built it with his own hands—literally—and was getting a much-needed shot of financial support to grow that idea, to see just how much it would blossom.
“Me, too.” His smile stretched from ear to ear. “But, here’s the thing.”
I waited expectantly.
“I need help.”
I nodded my head. “Yeah. Absolutely. You’re going to have a lot of work going on.”
“That’s not the part I need help with,” he said. “I mean the business end of things. I have a mission statement, I have non-profit status. But I’m gonna need help with execution. Figuring out how to budget projects. Have someone help with applying for grants or donations from other philanthropists while I’m working on projects already going on.”
I knew what he was talking about. The money was the shot in the arm he needed, the exact thing he wanted. But it was operation full-force from here on out.
“You have friends willing to help, though, right?” I asked. I was sure he could find people to do the hard labor sort of stuff while he managed the organization.
“ Yes.” He stared down at his plate for a minute. “But what if I said I wanted you?”
My mouth dropped open. “Me?”
He nodded.
“ But you don’t even know me!”
“ I know enough,” he said simply.
I said nothing, just stared at him, my eyes wide, my mouth hanging open.
“Look,” he said. “I know this is crazy. You barely know me.”
“ And you barely know me,” I pointed out.
“ True,” he admitted. “But I know enough. I know the important stuff. You just spent your entire summer living in a foreign country. Not on vacation, but with people. Not because you had to, but because you wanted to. You came back a changed person, right?”
Wordlessly, I nodded.
“And now you’re just sort of…lost. Don’t know what you should do.” He stared at me as he spoke and I
I sat and listened, my food untouched. “What did they say? Was it what you were hoping for?”
He shook his head. “No. Not at all.”
My shoulders sagged a little. “Oh. Well, that sucks.”
A smile tugged at his lips and he couldn’t hold it back. It spread, lighting up his face. “It was more than what I expected.”
“ What do you mean?”
He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. His fingers were warm and rough and I felt a little shock go through me.
“Fifty-thousand dollars, Emma.” His voice shook a little with excitement. “They gave me fifty-thousand dollars.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Are you serious?”
He nodded.
“ Wow,” I breathed. “That’s incredible.”
Fifty-thousand dollars wouldn't do much in San Diego. But in Mexico? Helping the poorest of the poor? I knew just how far that money could go.
“It is,” he said. “And I have plans. Big plans. La Estancia, the place you were? They need a new well. I can do that. I can help them. This little village outside of Cabo? Their clinic has no windows. No screens. I can fix that.”
I nodded, feeling the excitement grow inside of me. “What about loans?” I asked. “Loans for the people who live there. Like what Kiva does?”
“Yes. Absolutely. I want to look into that, to see if we can set up some kind of loan system. There are models out there, models we can follow.”
“ And school supplies,” I said. “You’ve helped build schools but now you could stock them. Make sure they’re well-equipped.”
“ The sky’s the limit,” he said. “Because if we do good work with this, if we show what a difference this small amount of money can make, other companies might follow suit. This could be the beginning of something big.”
“ Absolutely.” On impulse, I squeezed his hand. “I’m so happy for you!”
I was. I was brimming over with excitement. Dex had created something out of nothing, something with the sole purpose of going out and doing good in the world. He’d built it with his own hands—literally—and was getting a much-needed shot of financial support to grow that idea, to see just how much it would blossom.
“Me, too.” His smile stretched from ear to ear. “But, here’s the thing.”
I waited expectantly.
“I need help.”
I nodded my head. “Yeah. Absolutely. You’re going to have a lot of work going on.”
“That’s not the part I need help with,” he said. “I mean the business end of things. I have a mission statement, I have non-profit status. But I’m gonna need help with execution. Figuring out how to budget projects. Have someone help with applying for grants or donations from other philanthropists while I’m working on projects already going on.”
I knew what he was talking about. The money was the shot in the arm he needed, the exact thing he wanted. But it was operation full-force from here on out.
“You have friends willing to help, though, right?” I asked. I was sure he could find people to do the hard labor sort of stuff while he managed the organization.
“ Yes.” He stared down at his plate for a minute. “But what if I said I wanted you?”
My mouth dropped open. “Me?”
He nodded.
“ But you don’t even know me!”
“ I know enough,” he said simply.
I said nothing, just stared at him, my eyes wide, my mouth hanging open.
“Look,” he said. “I know this is crazy. You barely know me.”
“ And you barely know me,” I pointed out.
“ True,” he admitted. “But I know enough. I know the important stuff. You just spent your entire summer living in a foreign country. Not on vacation, but with people. Not because you had to, but because you wanted to. You came back a changed person, right?”
Wordlessly, I nodded.
“And now you’re just sort of…lost. Don’t know what you should do.” He stared at me as he spoke and I
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