by Poppy Adams
Part of the crowd laughed, some expressed surprise, not knowing about where the initial start-up funds came from.
Lilly snarled, hearing nothing but fluff and praise. This wasn't an explanation good enough to excuse him, as she needed.
"I'd like you to stand and raise your glasses for Lilly Swift—an extraordinary woman, an angel for the suffering, and a dear friend."
Not anymore.
The few people who recognized Fredrick Walters as the billionaire owner of multiple casinos looked at one another, confused, or whispered gossip to those sitting next to them on their table.
Those who didn't know him at all shrugged and frowned at the ones who called out slurs.
In all, the crowd was fractured in their acceptance of him, and the toast was, as a result, half-hearted.
Lilly cringed and slumped into one of the bar stools.
Hot tears ran down her face.
"This is it. He's ruined me."
Abbey came from the front to the back of the room, and joined her.
"Hey, why the tears? That was some speech in your honor."
"Oh yeah, I love how everyone now thinks I'm taking a payoff from the very businesses we want to shut down. He's my billionaire date, Abbey. But worst still, he's also Anon." Lilly gripped her throat and stared up at her friend, "I've been taking millions from a casino tycoon for five years."
"Fredrick is also Anon?" Abbey seemed impressed rather than freaked out.
"You say that like it's a good thing?"
"Think of how much he's paid this foundation. You said yourself, without his support, the foundation would have closed down years ago."
"The lies don't end there. The PA Anon financed out of the goodness of his heart actually works for Fredrick, not me. So he knows everything there is to know about my charity, and probably me, too. There's no way out of this. I want to go home and hide for the rest of my useless life."
"Don't be stupid." Abbey grabbed her wrists and shook Lilly until she got her attention. "These people have too much cash and need to give it away so they can feel good about themselves. Are you going to deny them the privilege? That's why you're here, remember. Not for you, for a good night, or for your love life. For the rich to give, and for you—like some modern day Robin Hood—to take. Hell, money is money, if it's going to a good cause. Who cares where it's made? Not the people you help, that's for sure."
"Doesn't mean it's right." Lilly sniffed and wiped her tears away. "But you're right, that idiot needs to get the hell off the stage for the auctioneer."
"Idiot? As far as I can tell, Fredrick's been making a massive effort to offset the damage of his father's business by plowing money into your foundation. He doesn't need to do that, does he? Just like he doesn't need to risk his life fighting fires in his spare time. Give the guy a break, Lilly. Nothing's quite as black and white as you think, and no one's entirely good or evil. You gave your dad the benefit of the doubt all his life, so why not him? Look at life in more muted color schemes for a change?"
Lilly's hands formed fists and she huffed at her annoyingly reasonable friend, "Whose side are you on exactly?"
"The kids who's stamping her foot in front of me. As always. I'm asking you to think about him with the same level of compassion and understanding you offer to gamblers."
She's right, I am acting like a child.
I'm stubborn like my mother.
Everyone judged my father without giving him a chance, and I hated them for it.
Sure, he behaved badly, but Dad was a good guy where it counted.
What if Fredrick's a good guy where it counts?
Lilly glared up at Fredrick, taking the mixed reaction to his presence on the chin.
He appeared used to the scorn of people, which made her sad.
He donated millions to her cause, and like Abbey said, he didn't need to.
Didn't she owe him her support?
"Lilly," asked Abbey. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
"Thinking I better help him out up there. The crowd's pretty hostile."
"You're going up on stage, for him? You hate it up there and I thought you hated him?"
Lilly said nothing.
Instead, she marched up to the stage and stole the microphone from him, "Thanks Fredrick. I can take it from here."
He didn’t resist.
Addressing the audience, she continued, "Yes, I can tell a few of you are confused about the appearance of the billionaire son of a gambling tycoon at a fundraising gala for gambling addicts." She sniggered, feeling anything but jovial. "Believe me, when I found out I'd been accepting anonymous donations from this guy for five long years, only moments ago I might add, I was pretty baffled too. Well, if I'm entirely honest with you guys, I used a few expletives I won't repeat here, in the presence of such polite company."
The audience began to relax and laughed along with her.
"Thing is," Lilly said, "although Fredrick made me promise not to reveal his generosity this whole time, his anonymous donations were the main reason I've been able to hire two full-time therapists and ten educators, run four workshops, and open three addiction support clinics this year alone."
The crowd considered one another, frowns creasing those faces not frozen with Botox.
Some even clapped and jeered.
The tide of protest changed before her eyes, face by face.
"In fact, he's given so much support to this charity over the years it would take hours of working through paperwork to show you exactly how much." Lilly peered up to find him blushing and smiling down at her. "If this isn't enough reason to give the guy a break, he's a voluntary fire-fighter in his spare time, and while doing that job, he saved my life."
People gasped, even the doubters nodded at each other, beginning to see the ogre in a more generous light. "I admit, before I knew his true identity, we . . . were friends. When I discovered who his father was, I reacted like a stubborn child and wanted nothing more to do with him."
Fredrick slipped his hand in hers, behind the podium.
A silent thank you she didn't want.
"Let this be a lesson to us all: Who is anyone to judge a person by his parents choices? Certainly not I."
The crowd stood and clapped.
In small groups first, and like sheep, the rest followed.
She had talked the crowd into giving him a chance, but Fredrick still owned those casinos when he should have sold them as soon as his father died.
This remained unexplainable to her. Lilly's policy to see the grey in the black and white reached only so far.
"So, can we raise a glass to Mr. Walters for all his support. Long may it continue."
"It will, and thanks everyone," Fredrick said, raising his glass and smiling at her.
A minority mumbled, still unimpressed, but most stood and cheered after the toast.
Job done, support reciprocated to the best of her abilities, Lilly decided it was time for her to leave the stage and for Fredrick to vacate the premises.
"Please remain seated, the auction is about to begin."
Chapter 25
Lilly returned to Abbey at the back of the function room, while Fredrick stayed on stage.
"What's his problem?" said Lilly. "Why's he still up there?"
"Thank you Ms. Swift, for such a touching tribute made in spite of your prejudice."
Lilly spun around to face him, "My what?" Lilly gasped and gaped.
Abbey sniggered, "Sorry, but he's spot on."
"Thanks to those of you who cheered in spite of how evil you judge me to be. To those who didn't cheer for whatever reason, I will try to understand your motives, while leaving you with a reminder: Judge not lest ye be judged."
He saluted to the crowd, winked at Lilly who stood rigid with rage in the distance, then left the stage calmly, in complete control.
Fredrick marched from the stage towards Lilly, though he wanted to sprint.
On his way, he ignored the clapping audi
ence surrounding him, as well as multiple attempts to shake his hand. His focus aimed entirely at Lilly, who stared back at him from the bar.
A mixture of rage, but also desire, fired from her eyes.
He was no freshman; he recognized the signs.
Lilly just needed to understand him, but for that, she needed to shut up and listen for once in her life.
When he reached her, he grabbed her elbow and moved her out of the function room, out into the lobby and into the elevator, which he decommissioned with the turn of a key.
"Let go of me, what are you doing?" complained Lilly, "and where did you get the key?"
"I'm ensuring you don't run off, so you can't refuse to listen to me again, you impossible woman."
Her jaw dropped, "Let me out. I listened to what you said up their on the podium. You made your excuses and I heard them all. You still earn a living from your father's business though, and I'm afraid that sickens me too much to give you the time of day. Now open the doors and let me out of here." She turned her back to him. "Donations need to be secured, which is far more important to me than stroking your fragile ego."
"Ego? This isn't about ego dammit, or at least not mine." He swung her around and held her arms while she struggled to break loose. "It's about getting you to listen to something other than your own voice."
"You didn't actually say that? Get away from me, I won't listen to you because I don't trust a word you say."
"Why? Because my father left his business to me in his will. Is that a crime now? Or is it a crime even to be related to my father?"
Lilly tried to turn away from him.
His spicy cologne, the fullness of his mouth, confused how she felt.
Fredrick pulled her to see him, holding her chin.
"Truth is, it's neither of those things, unless your name is Lilly Swift—or should I say, Saint Lilly Swift."
"Hey," she yanked herself out of his clutches, "I don't claim to be a saint. My issue isn't with your inheritance, it's with your choice to keep it and continue to live off the misery of others. That should be a crime if you ask me."
He huffed, "The only reason I still own those damn casinos is because my father stipulated in the will that I couldn't close or sell them for ten years."
Lilly frowned, "What?" Her posture softened slightly while she thought, then the rod returned to her back. "No, I don't believe you. You could sell it if you wanted to enough, surely. Your father left you with enough money for the best lawyers on Earth."
"Don't you think I tried, Lilly? I saw every big-shot lawyer in the country and even tried a few from Europe, too. All useless. My father's lawyer closed every loophole." He kicked the elevator door and wished it was his father's face, then shook his head. "Being his son has brought me nothing but scorn, and I never respected my father. Not like you do yours, in spite of everything."
He wanted to scream but ground his teeth instead, letting his teeth dig into his gum a little as a distraction.
"You're forgetting all the billions it's brought you. Sure the weight of hard cash is hard on you, huh?"
"Are you saying I'm the kind of guy who can be bought off? Do you think money changes everyone it touches? If you do, did I buy you when you accepted huge sums of cash anonymously? You didn't seem too fussed about where it came from then, did you? Or is ignorance bliss?”
She ground her jaw, "Back when I assumed a donor of such amounts must be a good person, ignorance was bliss. Yes. I thought Anon to be a man of high morals and endless generosity. Not . . ."
"Not the son of a casino tycoon. Yeah, yeah, I'm tired of this bullshit." He held her cheeks, looking her straight in the eyes, "I live off the earnings from investments I made as soon as I received access to my Father's estate. I sold off everything he owned, all his bonds, and gold. Anything worth a damn, I sold. Fine, I originally invested cash for the sale of items purchased from gambling proceeds, but it's the proceeds of those investments that have paid for my apartment, my car, and our dates. All of the casino profits are sent right back into either your foundation or places like it. It's all I can do for another five years." She struggled to break free so he grabbed her shoulders, continuing to stare into her eyes, "Stop fighting me, Lilly. I'm not the bad guy."
"Then let me go."
Her voice settled. Her nerves relaxed.
With a sadness, he turned the key and the elevator doors opened.
A few people were waiting for the elevator so she smiled at them, pretending nothing was happening.
“Lilly,” he made a desperate plea as he stepped out of the doors.
She stopped, turned, and waited.
"I make a difference in this world. I'm not only my father's son. You know what job I do, Lilly."
Finally, the wall around her heart started to break.
It started to let him in.
"You're infuriating,” she whispered. Unfolding her arms, she slumped into a seat near the exit. She searched his eyes, "Do you really donate the profits?"
He grabbed a seat from the other side of the door and set it down next to hers, and sat beside her. "I can show you my accounts if it'll settle your mind. And did you actually call me infuriating?"
"You are."
Lilly looked much better wearing a smile rather than a snarl and seemed to exhale, perhaps relieved?
Perhaps surrendering?
Was their fight over?
"When I can," Fredrick took her hand, "I'll be only too happy to get rid of those places."
"Really?" she frowned. "Could you leave all that money behind? I'd have thought . . ."
Fredrick curled his hand behind her neck and pulled her face closer to his, "That's the problem with you, Lilly. You over-think everything, and your imagination gets the better of you." Looking at her rosy pout, he longed to kiss her, to end this chapter of their relationship and move on. Pulling her chair closer to his, until they were knee to knee, he smiled, "Sometimes the truth is pure, and it is simple. Sometimes there's no dark intent lurking in the background."
Her shiny green stare was suddenly a growing pit of watery black, "You won't let me down then?"
He shook his head, relishing her softer side after the sharpness of her bite.
She shuddered when he placed his hands either side of her face this time, and he knew when he moved his mouth on hers, she would accept more than his explanation.
She would accept him into her heart…
Chapter 26
Six months later…
The newly built room on the edge of the Roulette floor was fitted with two counseling booths, each with staff ready to listen and advise, and a debt advisor.
The ceremonial red ribbon was in place, the scissors clutched tight in Lilly's hand, and around two or three hundred patrons waited for the opening of the brand new assistance center for problem gamblers.
Lilly smiled up at her man.
He was always so supportive—her alpha with a platinum heart.
He'd insisted on working with her to make his casinos as supportive of problem gamblers as possible.
They froze lines of credit sooner, and refused entry to those who lost large amounts regularly.
But they went further than this with the centers.
"It saddens me to think how different things might have been for Dad if these support centers were in place when he was around."
Fredrick squeezed her hand, "I might not disrespect my own so much if he'd done all this while he was alive, either.”
Lilly's performance anxiety had been particularly brutal today, so Fredrick offered to speak for both of them.
He peered up at the crowd. "Good morning everyone. Thanks for joining us today for this occasion. As many of you are aware, the casino empire left to me by my father was received . . . somewhat reluctantly."
Some of his friends sniggered, including Lilly at his side.
"Now, I realize a majority of people who come to casinos do so for fun and can afford to lose a little or even a lot o
f money, here and there. However, this support is for those who need advice. They might be addicted to the highs, and lows, of gambling and need help navigating a route back to health. They may need help dealing with an addicted parent or friend." He squeezed Lilly's hand. "For addicts and their loved ones, gambling is no longer fun. At that stage, they need advice, support, and assistance." Lilly gazed up into his eyes as he smiled down at her. "Of course, for at least another four years, I have no choice but to be involved in running the Walters Casino chain. So meeting this remarkable woman means I'm more determined than ever to do something to change how damaging these places can be to some." Addressing the audience again, he added, "So, it gives me immense pleasure to open these onsite support services—a fabulous idea from our consultant and my lady-in-life, the wonderful and charitable Miss Lilly Swift. Please offer her a loud roaring round of applause as she cuts the ribbon."
He clapped while Lilly used the scissors to slice through the ribbon.
She grinned at him before bowing to the crowd.
After a deep breath, she said to Fredrick, "Thank you for a wonderful introduction, Mr. Walters."
She winked and squeezed his hand as she addressed her audience.
"These services will be rolled out to all casino's in this chain over the next two months. Let's see if we can offer a way for people to reclaim their lives, and if we can prevent other's from getting in so deep in the first place."
Everyone cheered while Lilly offered the front row pamphlets, "Please take one of these and tell your friends—you never know who's hiding their own struggle from you. You will find we offer counseling and advisory support, and a debt management expert who will help those who need it to get back on their feet."
Everyone started to read the pamphlet and talk amongst themselves.
