A man raised his hand. Sweating nervously, I pointed at him.
“Neil Burkhardt from Big Business Weekly. So are you saying that you are running a garbage company?” he asked.
“N-no,” I replied. “The different between this and a garbage company is that this goes to a—a good cause. And it is subscription-based and entirely—er—” I stopped for a moment, choking on my words. My eyes searched in the crowd for Liam again, but I still could not see him. “—er, it is entirely tax deductible because it's—it's charity.”
Neil Burkhardt scribbled some things down on his clipboard, but he did not seem very impressed. I was so concerned about what he was writing that I began to tremble and dropped my note-cards in a pile on the podium. Horrified, I tried to collect them and sort them, but I had lost my place entirely. If I had practiced my speech, it would have been much easier to piece together, but I had not. Panic-stricken, I searched for Liam in the audience once more. I needed a miracle to finish on a positive note.
A sea of curious, patronizing glares was all that I could see. As I stammered, my eyes frantically danced around the crowed, looking for some beacon of hope.
Suddenly, I found my beacon.
Liam was standing in the very back of the room in the balcony, a supportive and apologetic smile on his face. He waved at me and gave me thumbs up, which was much more encouraging than the one the press release director had given me. I smiled and nodded at him. I could not embarrass us both. It was a brave decision, but I decided to scrap the note-cards. I knew my company and I knew how to sell it. I did not need note-cards. I just needed my own confidence and the love of a really great man. I had both and I was ready to impress a room full of America's harshest critics.
“Subscriptions are not the only thing that Foodonate offers. There is also a one-time-only option, but it is marked up quite a bit, which encourages businesses to keep donating,” I continued. “As of today, we hit fifteen-hundred businesses in New York alone. That was just for our soft open. We project to expand that to five-thousand businesses within the first quarter. We also plan on extending back to the company's original roots in Chicago and L.A. Previous customers want our services to return and we intend to give the people what they ask for because isn't that the true spirit of the American economy?”
Interested whispers started to fill the room and I knew that I was going to make a positive impact. Liam had a massive grin on his face and I felt my heart skip a beat. I had missed his smile. Although it took a fight to prove it, I knew that I could not be happy without him.
A woman raised her hand I pointed at her, a much more confident smile on my face.
“Hi, Anita West from Movers and Shakers Magazine! How much do you project to make in the first quarter?”
“Seven-hundred thousand dollars gross,” I replied.
The room began to buzz.
“Follow-up. Is that after a soft open or a full open?”
“Soft open. Our full open will not be until June,” I said.
Several hands raised and I pointed at a man.
“Jianyu Xu with New York Corporate Daily. Is Hoffman the only major entity backing this project?”
I smiled and looked up at Liam. He waved at me and smiled back, making my heart skip a beat again.
“No, billionaire Liam Manning is also involved,” I replied.
“Follow-up. Really? The Liam Manning from HealeRx?” Jianyu asked, incredulously.
I smiled and nodded.
“The very same.”
Several more hands shot up in the air and I pointed at a woman. She primped her hair and cleared her throat.
“Anna Walters with Currencier Journal. How has working with Liam Manning been? He has not gotten involved in many projects outside of the pharmaceutical industry before. Do you think that has affected his ability to help you build the company?”
“Working with Liam Manning has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I don't think his background has caused any setbacks for us. In fact, I think him being who he is has only helped me,” I said, looking up at Liam in the crowd.
“I don't think I could be without him for this project. I probably would have given up if it weren't for his help. He has turned this company into everything that it is. We have done it together, really. We're a good team. We're capable of great things. And I think Foodonate will only benefit from our teamwork. That is all the time I have today. Thank you all.”
I waved at the audience and they stood and clapped. Somehow, that did not seem very important. My eyes met Liam's and he gave me a nod of approval. He knew that my words were not only regarding the business. He knew that I wanted to make things right between us.
Liam found me after the press release and pulled me into a warm, tight embrace. Despite all of the businessmen and businesswomen surrounding us, we wanted to show our affection for one another and nothing was going to stop us.
He pressed his lips to mine and, strangely, none of the onlookers seemed to care. They were more interested shaking hands and discussing the press release. It seemed funny how we had worked so hard to keep our forbidden romance a secret, only to discover that it was not as frowned upon as we had thought.
“You did great out there,” he murmured against my lips.
“Thank you. I meant every word, you know,” I said, softly.
“You know those things I said—”
“I know. You didn't mean them,” I interjected.
He shook his head.
“No, I need to explain,” he pressed.
“Ally, I was just scared. I was scared of what might happen if things didn't work out. I was scared of what might happen if people started talking and didn't think we were being transparent enough.
I was scared of what might happen if the company didn't take off. I was running from you because I was afraid of what might happen to my career and my money, but being without you the past week has just made me realize that those things don't matter. Luxuries are great, but I would rather spend the rest of my days living in a box and eating from a dumpster than live without you. I'm sorry that it took all of this for me to see that. I should have been better for you. You deserved better from me. I just—”
“Shh,” I interjected, pressing my index finger to his lips. “Luckily you don't have to eat from a dumpster. Foodonate will feed you.”
I chuckled and he smiled.
“So you forgive me?” he asked.
I chewed on my lip and narrowed my eyes.
“There's just one more thing,” I murmured. “Can you say you love me yet?”
He grinned and embraced me as tightly as he could.
“Aaliyah Barr, if I said I have ever loved anything as much as I love you, I would be the biggest damn liar in the business world, and that's saying a lot,” he confessed.
I pressed my lips to his for a long, passionate moment before pulling away and staring into his beautiful, cerulean eyes.
“That's all I wanted to hear,” I said, softly.
“Let's go home,” he replied. “Our home.”
I smiled and laced his hand in mine.
“Let's go home.
*****
Thank You!
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BILLIONAIRE: Protected (A Dark Billionaire Romance) Page 10
