Four Reasons to Come

by Sarah J. Brooks

  “I don’t know yet.” I laughed. “But I am feeling so much better.”

  Stacy grabbed my hand, pulled me up and gave me a big hug. We’d probably only been in the stairwell for a few minutes, but I already had a new outlook on this situation. Cassandra could come in and say whatever she wanted. She could come in and pretend to change things, but we were going to put together a kick-ass show for the fundraiser.

  “This event is huge. There are going to be so many big names at it. You do whatever you need to in order to make us awesome,” Stacy added.

  “What if we incorporated one of the big donors into the actual dance?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “At first, I wanted to have everyone pull a donor aside after the dance, but I think it would be cool to grab one of the younger donors, maybe a guy, and put him right in the middle of the whole thing.”

  “I’ve got the perfect person for this,” Stacy said as we walked back into the rehearsal room and she grabbed her phone out of her bag. “Kevin Fox.”

  “Okay,” I said without realizing who he was.

  “You have no idea who he is do you?” She laughed and looked at Elaina. “Elaina, tell Jenna who Kevin Fox is.”

  “Oh, yes, what a fine piece of man he is,” Elaina started to say as her eyes glazed over. “He’s a tech guy. I think he runs a driving app company or something. Super delicious looking and every woman in the town is after him.”

  “Does he have a good sense of humor? I mean it might be a little embarrassing for him with the idea I have for the performance,” I said.

  “He’s really dedicated to the ballet. His sister loved it, and she passed away. I think he would be willing to do whatever was necessary to help bring in some more money,” Elaina said as she grabbed Stacy’s phone and held it up so I could see a picture.

  “Oh, yeah, I’ve seen him on the news,” I said as I looked at his sexy eyes. He had wavy short brown hair and bright blue eyes. In the picture he had a couple days of a scruffy beard and man did he look sexy.

  “That’s it?” Elaina asked me. “That’s all the response you’re going to give to this hunk of a man?”

  “Sorry, he’s not really my type.”

  “She doesn’t like super sexy rich guys.” Stacy laughed. “You know, after not dating anyone for two years, she has zero sex drive.”

  “Okay, okay, let’s get started on this choreography,” I said as I tried to distract them before they started to go on and on about my lack of a sex life. “Who is going to be Kevin’s dance partner for my …”

  “I am,” Elaina said as her hand went straight up into the air. “No questions. No option. I’m the captain, he’s mine.”

  Stacy and I looked at each other wide-eyed, and neither of us was going to argue with Elaina. She clearly had a thing for this guy, and that would make it even hotter when she danced with him. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do for our big number. I liked the idea of having Kevin brought into the middle of the dancers and doing some sort of performance, but I also liked the idea of doing some one on one time so the dancers could really connect with the donors. No matter what we decided to do, I had to admit I was lying about Kevin not being my type. Of course he was my type, he was practically any woman’s perfect man. Kevin Fox was good looking, rich, smart, and from what I’d heard, he had a damn good sense of humor too. The issue was that I wasn’t his type, and that was a glaringly obvious fact that I was aware of.

  Chapter 2

  Kevin

  “You both look amazing,” Ed said as he greeted my date and me at the door to the charity event.

  “Thank you,” my date Miranda said with a huge smile.

  That’s when I realized I hadn’t even commented on her dress yet. It had been twenty minutes since the limo pulled in front of her house, and I still hadn’t said a word to her. I definitely felt off my game that night. Normally, complimenting women was so natural to me, but I just wasn’t feeling it on this particular evening. Miranda and I had met through a common friend, but so far I didn’t feel much of a connection with her. She was a beautiful woman, though.

  I couldn’t exactly compliment her now that Ed had said something first, so instead, we just followed him to our seats. I’d have to make a point of saying something nice a little later on. Her long brown hair was expertly styled and her makeup flawless. Miranda wore a designer dress that likely cost more than most young women made in a month, and I couldn’t complain at all. She definitely looked nice on my arm as we walked toward the table Ed had reserved for us.

  “What is this event for again?” I asked Ed as we walked behind him.

  “This is the Man’s Club. It’s that charity that helps young men without fathers. You know I told you about how they teach them to dress nice, shave, and do all that cool stuff dads normally would teach them. It’s a great group of people. They are helping them with interview skills and building resumes for internships too. It’s an amazing little organization.”

  “Oh, yeah. I love this idea,” I said as it all came back to me. “You had me send them some boxes of suits and dress shoes, right?”

  “Right.”

  “You are such a good person. I love that about you,” Miranda said and wrapped her arm around mine even tighter as we moved closer to our table.

  The event wasn’t as big as others I’d been to, and it seemed like Miranda and I were causing a bit of a stir as we walked to our table near the front. I liked attending events like this the most, ones that I felt like my attending actually made a difference to them. There were so many good causes in the San Francisco area, and as much as I liked helping groups out, sometimes it was easier to send a check. There weren’t very many charities that could actually get me out of the comfort of my house and to their event. But when I felt like being seen would help the charity grow and get more donors, then I liked to attend. Plus, Ed had basically signed me up for this one, and as my best friend, I also tried to support him.

  “So what’s on the schedule for the night?” I asked Ed as I purposely ignored Miranda’s statement.

  “The boys are putting on a talent show; it should be fun. Also, we have dinner, of course.”

  “Perfect.”

  “You guys are at this table with me and some of the people from work. The event is low key, so I did tell the kids that you would come backstage later and visit with them. I hope that’s alright?”

  “I like that; thank you, Ed. I’d love to visit with them. Thanks for inviting me. I think this charity might be something right up my alley.”

  “Of course, thank you for coming. I really appreciate it.”

  As Ed gave me a quick hug and took off, I was relieved to sit down at his table. Ed’s girlfriend Barbra was sitting there, so I knew at least one friendly face. Plus the other people at the table were high-level executives at Ed’s company Musicly. Although I didn’t know them all personally, I knew they wouldn’t be hounding me with questions or poking into my personal life during the event, and that was a huge relief.

  “Hello everyone,” I said with my fake smile as I held Miranda’s chair out for her to take a seat. “It looks like we are table buddies for the night.”

  “It’s a great night. Look at all the people who are here,” Barbra said as she motioned to look at the crowd. “Thank you for coming. I know this means so much to Ed.”

  “No problem,” I replied. “Barbra this is Miranda. Miranda this is my friend Ed’s better half, Barbra.”

  Ed and Barbra had been dating for a few years, and she was the best thing that ever happened to him. He’d gone from wondering around trying to find a direction in his personal life to getting strategically involved in charities and activities that really meant something to him. My friendship with Ed over the last few years was a driving force in the increase of my own charity participation. Up until recently, the only charity I really cared about was the Red Cross, and my sister’s favorite group, the San Francisco Ballet.

  Altho
ugh the ballet wasn’t exactly a charity, after my sister passed away in a car accident, I became such a big supporter of the ballet. Every event and show I was at because it reminded me of how much Kimberly had loved to dance. If I closed my eyes, I could still picture her dressing up in her little dresses and getting so excited when our parents took her to the ballet.

  “Kevin, can I get a selfie with you?” a young woman said as she thrust herself between Miranda and me.

  Miranda’s face went from all smiles to being totally annoyed about what was going on. She stared down the young woman. This was going to be a really long night for Miranda if she was already annoyed by one selfie request. Because of her reaction, I already knew things between Miranda and me were not going to work out.

  I could already tell that this event had a lot of younger people, which meant they actually knew who I was. They probably followed my social media pages or knew one of the young ladies I’d dated in the past. Being a high profile guy who hangs out with models is fun at times, but at other times it can be exhausting. It took a strong and confident woman to be able to go on a date with me and not feel like they were playing second fiddle.

  “Sure,” I said and turned and smiled as she held her camera up.

  “Thank you so much!” the girl squealed as she ran off.

  “By the way, Miranda, that dress has had me speechless all night long. You look amazing,” I said and leaned over to kiss her cheek in an effort to calm her obvious agitation.

  Her face instantly lit up with the attention I’d given her. Too bad it was fake, and I already knew that this girl wasn’t going to last past this one date. There was nothing particularly wrong with her; she was a beautiful woman. I could tell she was really trying to be a great date, but there was no chemistry, no connection between the two of us.

  “Thank you, it’s by Labanese,” she said as if I had any idea who that was.

  “Oh, it’s nice.”

  “Excuse me Mister Fox, could we have you take a photo with the boys?” a woman asked and pointed to a group of young men who were wearing the suits I’d sent to them.

  Instead of sending my old suits, I’d ordered some new ones of various sizes and had them sent to the boys. They really did look sharp in their outfits. They were probably between twelve and eighteen years old and standing so tall in their new suits; I couldn’t help gravitating over toward them.

  “Of course,” I replied and went over to greet the boys. “You guys look like chick magnets.”

  They laughed. It was heartwarming to see that my small donation was making these young men so happy. Each of them stood in line to shake my hand and personally thank me. They seemed to be practicing their handshakes and making eye contact too.

  The boys made a point to look me in the eye and kept their handshakes firm, but not too firm. Whatever they were doing in this organization was really making a difference. These young men were going to be ready to rock any interview they had, and I had a feeling they were going to make some major changes in the world with this confidence they were exuding.

  “Thank you, Mister Fox,” a meek looking young man said as he shook my hand but didn’t look at me.

  “Eye contact, remember the eye contact,” I coached him.

  “I’m sorry,” he replied as he looked up at me with tears in his eyes. “You are an inspiration. I want to be like you. This is the best moment of my life.”

  “Well, this is a pretty exciting moment for me too,” I said as I pulled him in for a hug.

  The second my arms wrapped around him, his tears burst into a waterfall of emotion, and I could barely hold back my own tears. He was so overcome that his mother ended up joining us and was rubbing his back as she looked up at me through her own tears.

  “Thank you,” she mouthed softly.

  I let him stay wrapped around me for nearly two whole minutes as he gathered himself and then hugged his mother. He was probably twelve or thirteen years old and nearly as tall as she was.

  “What’s your name, young man?” I asked.

  “Derik Anderson,” he said as he whipped his tears away and stood up straight to try shaking my hand again. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Fox.”

  “That was perfect,” I encouraged him as he made eye contact this time. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I asked in an effort to keep him talking. He obviously had been looking forward to meeting me, and I couldn’t just walk away from him after that hug he had given me.

  “An engineer,” he replied feeling a little more confident in our conversation.

  “It takes a lot of hard work and good grades to go to school to be an engineer. Are you ready to work hard?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “What college do you want to go to?”

  He looked at me a little mystified about the answer to this question. He was pretty young still, and there was plenty of time for making college choices down the line. I was about to move onto another question when he looked over at his mother and shared a moment.

  “I think he’d like to go to the Air Force Academy like his father did and then maybe CalPoly,” she said with a big smile. “He passed away a couple of years ago overseas though so we haven’t really talked about college much. But we will start talking about it,” she said as she cleared her throat.

  Up until that moment, I had this notion that all the boys in this program just had absentee fathers. Or fathers who were deadbeats, but at that moment, I realized that this young man had lost his father. His father wasn’t some drunk who couldn’t afford child support or find time to come see him; this young man had a hero for a father.

  I’d lost my own parents the last couple of years. Even though I was an adult, it still hurt horribly, so I could only imagine what it was like for this kid. I connected deeply with people who had gone through losing their loved ones; it was the one thing I understood on a very deep level. I took a deep breath before leaning down to talk with Derik.

  “You know I think no matter which college you go to, you’re going to be pretty successful. That handshake is perfect.”

  “Thank you,” Derik said shyly.

  “Okay, we better get going,” his mother said.

  “I think we should take a picture first. Would you mind taking a photo with me? I want to document that I knew you before you were famous,” I teased as I pulled my phone out. “Are you on Instagram? Can I tag you in this?”

  “Yeah, I’m on there,” he said as his eyes lit up.

  We snapped a photo and then spent a minute finding his page, and I followed him. Although I had a couple million followers, I didn’t follow very many people in return; 382 to be exact, now that I was following Derik.

  “Man, the ladies are going to go crazy for you once I post this. Are you sure you want me to tag you?”

  “Yes!” He practically screamed with excitement, and both his mother and I laughed.

  An Instagram photo with me was certainly going to garner some excitement from the kids at school. I could only imagine what they’d say and how they might start being especially nice to Derik once they knew he and I were friends. Although social media could have a dark side, I chose to concentrate on all the positive things that could come from it.

  “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I laughed as his mother playfully rolled her eyes. “You’re going to be the big man on campus when you get back to school on Monday.”

  “Thank you so much,” she said as she guided Derik away. “This is going to be a memory he will never forget.”

  “Me too,” I said, smiling back at her.

  It was true. I wasn’t going to forget Derik. I’d already made up my mind that I was going to check in with him down the road and keep an eye on him. Sometimes making a difference wasn’t just about giving people money; sometimes, it was about sharing a moment that transcended everything else in the world. I couldn’t wait to continue the new friendship Derik and I had started.

  As Derik and his mother walked aw
ay, I posted the photo on my Instagram page. I didn’t tag the event. I didn’t hype anything, I just posted it with a note telling Derik how awesome it was to meet him, and that he and I were going to be friends for a very long time. I was smiling from ear to ear as I hit send on my post.

  “Are you going to spend any time with me?” Miranda asked as she came up behind me. “I’ve been sitting over there alone for like twenty minutes.”

  “Let’s go sit down,” I said without remarking further. This date was clearly going to be our last. I was so annoyed with her reaction that it took me a few moments to gather my thoughts and calm myself down so I didn’t react rudely to her.

  The talent show was going to start soon, and at least then our attention could be on the kids and what they rehearsed for the show. I enjoyed events like these much better than stuffy or formal charity events. Coming out and having fun always made me want to donate more money than sitting at a boring auction did.

  “So Kevin, how is work going? Ed says you’re selling your company?” Barbra asked as she tried to make small talk.

  “Yes, I recently accepted a deal, and I’m very excited. I’ll stay on for about a year and help with the transition of new leadership. Then of course I’d like to stay on the board, but I’m not sure they will want me to. Still some things to decide.”

  “So at thirty-two you’re retiring?” She laughed.

  “Not exactly, I’ve got some other businesses I’d like to spend my time on. And, of course, I’d still like to mentor and help small businesses. I think the sale will just free up more of my time so I can concentrate on what really matters.”

  “Wow, I bet you’re selling it for lots of money,” Miranda added. “Rider is one of the most popular apps I know. I use it all over the world when I travel for photo shoots.”

  My first inclination was to assume Miranda was interested in the money aspect of my sale. In my gut, I cringed at her comment but did my best not to overly judge her. Even if we weren’t going to see each other again, I genuinely wouldn’t say something to a woman that was purposely hurtful.