Chapter Ten
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
Allysa nods as she perfects a bouquet of flowers about to go out for
delivery. We’re three days away from our grand opening, and it just
keeps getting busier by the day.
“What is it?” Allysa asks, facing me. She leans into the counter and
starts picking at her fingernails.
“You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to,” I warn.
“Well I can’t answer it if you don’t ask it.”
That’s a good point. “Do you and Marshall donate to charity?”
Confusion crosses her face and she says, “Yeah. Why?”
I shrug. “I was just curious. I wouldn’t judge you or anything. I’ve
just been thinking lately about how I might like to start a charity.”
“What kind of charity?” she asks. “We donate to a few different ones
now that we have money, but my favorite is this one we got involved
with last year. They build schools in other countries. We’ve funded
three new constructions in the past year alone.”
I knew I liked her for a reason.
“I don’t have that kind of money, obviously, but I’d like to do
something. I just don’t know what yet.”
“Let’s get through this grand opening first and then you can start
thinking about philanthropy. One dream at a time, Lily.” She walks
around the counter and grabs the trash can. I watch as she pulls the
full bag out of it and ties it in a knot. It makes me wonder why—if she
has people for everything—she would even want a job where she had
to take out the trash and get her hands dirty.
“Why do you work here?” I ask her.
She glances up at me and smiles. “Because I like you,” she says. But
then I notice the smile completely leave her eyes right before she
turns and walks toward the back to throw out the trash. When she
comes back, I’m still watching her curiously. I say it again.