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“Send her in.” Gus’s attempt to sound like him caused Sebastian to snicker.
He heard the click of her heels as she entered the room, and then the two of them exchanged greetings and pleasantries. The sound of Genevieve’s sweet voice on the other side of the door made him smile, and he wished he had some kind of superpower that would allow him to see through walls, because he was dying for another glimpse of her beautiful face.
Part of him felt guilty for the lie and wanted to whip open the door and admit to everything right then and there, but something gave him pause. He’d never had a chance to get to know anyone without the stigma of his billionaire status hanging over the relationship. He wasn’t sure how often their paths would cross, since she worked down the street at the Foundation office, but if he saw her again, and if she didn’t know he was a Schultz, she might actually like him for who he was. Not because he was a billionaire.
TWO
The man seated before Genevieve was not at all what she expected. From what she’d heard, Sebastian Schultz was not an easy person to work with or for. But that was not at all the vibe she was getting from the person she’d just met.
“So, tell me a little more about yourself, Genevieve.” Sebastian ran his fingers through his sandy brown hair and sat back casually, his hazel eyes gazing at her.
“Well, I graduated from Ferris State with a Bachelors in Public Relations. I’ve been working in fundraising for non-profits for the past eight years.”
“If I wanted to know your job qualifications, I would look up your résumé. I mean, tell me more about you.” He winked at her and crossed his arms over his chest.
This was not at all how she saw this meeting going. Sebastian was much more … flirtatious than she expected. And young. She wasn’t positive, but he seemed younger than her. Maybe not even thirty yet. But then she’d never been good at guessing people’s ages.
When she didn’t answer right away, he said, “What do you like, Genevieve? What makes you tick?”
“I like Schultz Chocolate. I had one of your truffles today, and it was really good.” She sounded like an idiot, sucking up to the boss or something.
“Everyone likes Schultz Chocolate.”
“Not everyone,” she replied.
One of his eyebrows lifted. “No? Who doesn’t like them?”
“My sister doesn’t like chocolate at all.”
“That’s just madness,” he replied, sitting forward and placing his forearms flat on the desk. “Has she tried ours?”
Genevieve wrinkled her nose. “She doesn’t like the taste of any chocolate.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “I have never in my life known a person who did not like chocolate.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Well, now you do.”
“I now feel like it’s my life’s mission to get your sister to like our chocolate.”
“Good luck!” Genevieve laughed. “You can’t make someone change. They have to decide for themselves.”
She thought she saw a shadow cross his face for a moment before he sat back and said, “So, tell me your ideas for the fundraiser.”
Genevieve took a breath, excited to finally share what she’d come up with. “I know in the past, the charity events have been a dinner at different locations around Grand Rapids with people paying for a table, silent auction, those sorts of things, and those are all well and good, but I’d like to expand on that this year.”
He tilted his head toward her. “What ya got?”
“A regatta.”
His eyebrows lifted, and a grin spread across his face. “Interesting.”
“I’m thinking events throughout the day leading up to the race, contests and games that are more family oriented to get the community involved, and a gala at the end of the night for the big spenders, similar to what’s been done before, but with a theme.”
“What kind of theme?” he asked.
“I’ve been kicking around a couple ideas, but I keep going back to the Roaring Twenties.”
Sebastian’s head bobbed with his approval. “I love it.”