Embrace My Heart(28)
“Hey!” Vectra gave Minka a tight squeeze. The woman was first to greet her when she arrived for the dinner meeting.
“Thanks for considering this,” Minka whispered.
“No thanks needed.” Vectra waved off the gratitude. “I’m happy to do it. Just wish I could’ve been on the go-to list a lot sooner.” She nodded toward one of the Dazzles servers she recognized and then looked back at Minka. “I’ve attended Sim’s charity events every year since they started. I never thought to ask how you guys select the venues.” She winced. “Guess I was naive to think the hotels give you a break out of generosity considering the phenomenal work Qasim does right here at home. Low-income kids aren’t the only ones who benefit from his attention—there’s local government and businesses with national and international notoriety who benefit, too—hotels included.”
“Preaching to the choir.” Minka gave an exasperated sigh. “Well, they’ll miss the business this year. It’ll be good to shake things up a bit.”
Vectra winked. “Maybe next time around they’ll have learned something.”
Minka bit her lip, looking a touch uneasy. “Listen, um—” she stepped closer “—Qasim’s here.”
Vectra blinked and then adopted the same unease as the woman next to her. She looked around, but couldn’t make out faces inside Dazzles’s dimly lit dining room.
“I heard he wasn’t too happy about me being brought in on this.”
Minka gave in to a cringe. “It wasn’t that, but you guys did have a run-in last week that ended with you looking pretty damn mad when you left the office. He wasn’t sure you’d go for it.”
“Look, Minka, your boss has a knack for rubbing me the wrong way, but I’m above letting that stop me from helping out for a good cause.”
“And that’s what I told him.”
Vectra shifted her weight from one mauve pump to the other. “Was he concerned about that?”
“He’s protective of you, Vectra. Anybody can see that.”
Vectra knew that very well and silently noted that Qasim was so protective that he’d included himself among the list of things she needed to be shielded from.
“Well, the gang’s all here, and Robb DeWitt’s turning down business so he can accommodate us,” Vectra noted.
Minka glanced toward the dining room. “We believe he’ll think it’s worth it.”
“Well, Will made a very convincing argument when we talked, but it wouldn’t have taken much to get my support.”
Minka leaned close again, this time making a pretense of acting secretive. “Don’t tell him that. He’s feeling pretty proud of himself for reeling you in.”
Vectra threw back her head, laughing. Then, she and Minka headed into the softly lit, conversation-studded dining room.
The dinner meeting with the Wilder Warriors Foundation board and members of the Wilder Corporation turned into more of a dinner celebration almost within a half hour of it getting started. Vectra listened avidly to the proposal put together by Will Lloyd’s team. She then presented the group with the news that she not only loved the idea of holding the soiree at Carro but that she’d love it even more if they accepted her offer of sponsoring the event free of charge. While everyone was thrilled by the offer, there were those who wanted to make certain their generous benefactor understood what she was saying no to.
“Ms. Bauer, we’re all over the moon right now, but this is a weekend event—it’s why we tend to use hotels as the venue,” Xander Battle, a foundation board member noted. “The hotels did throw us for a loop this year with their price quotes, but we understand that such a gathering isn’t...inexpensive.”
“I’m aware of that.” Vectra smiled, taking no offense. “My home is very well equipped. The main house and the vineyard have been photographed on numerous occasions and for well-known national and international publications. We’re equipped with two kitchens—one residential, the other industrial—both more than adequate to handle all meals and individual dining requests. The last isn’t my opinion, but the opinion of your selected caterer and the esteemed proprietor of Dazzles.” She waved toward Robb DeWitt, who had joined in for the meeting.
“And I wholeheartedly agree,” Robb admitted amidst laughter from the group.
Qasim was the only one, in fact, who didn’t share in the laughter. He was seated almost directly across from Vectra at the wide round table, which was candlelit and beautifully set for the evening’s dinner.