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Christina nodded and led the way back to the boardroom. The same

boardroom where the rejection went down. They sat in the same seats,

except this time, Taylor felt like she had an advantage. She’d already been

told that her idea was being given the green light. She was here to discuss

the success of her project, not debate the merits of it. It still made her feel

like she was living out someone else’s life.

“Coffee?” Christina asked.

“No. Thank you. I already had it hours ago.”

Christina had her laptop and a notepad and pen in front of her, which

she’d put in there before Taylor arrived. She didn’t have them in her hands

when Taylor walked in. She imagined Christina pacing the reception area,

awkwardly waiting for Taylor to show up.

“I’ll just get down to it then. I know you’re wondering why I called you

this morning when I gave you such dismal news yesterday. This morning I

mentioned the idea to our vice-president, and she liked it. She thought it

was a great idea. I did mention that the business model needed a lot of work

and that I’d never be able to push the idea through, but she was so excited

about it, she told me that if you’d like to proceed with it, we’d put together

a team here to work out all the details. They’d redo the proposal, and we’d

get it submitted. Michelle, our VP, has guaranteed that you’ll get funding

for your project. I don’t know what that looks like at the moment, because

we haven’t sat down and come up with numbers, but she really believes that

this would be something unique that could benefit many different people in

the community. It would make a difference in the lives of many animals

too. Not many people submit projects from the heart, and she was very

struck by this one.”

“O-oh,” Taylor stammered. She studied Christina, more confused than

ever.

Christina Hilford might have a dazzling white smile on her face. She

might be glaringly beautiful and crazy attractive with a body that would