Chapter 118

The next morning I was feeling much better. The doctor was confident Alex wasn’t near death yet. He had woken up by the time I returned to the mansion with Victor.

He was well enough for the nurses to get him out of bed to sit in a chair while we had dinner!

He ate well and seemed more alert than I’d seen him since he came home from the hospital.

After the nurses arrived to help him prepare for bedtime, I came up to my room and sat on my balcony while I brainstormed ideas to raise more money for the foundation and other ways to help the poor.

There were several ideas that I felt excited about, but I wanted to talk to someone with more experience in fundraising first to make sure I wasn’t jumping in over my head.

Some of the ideas were pretty big, and I would need assistance. But, as Victor had told me, there was nothing wrong with asking for help.

Perhaps I should talk to Lana. I hadn’t seen her for a while, and I owed her a thank you for straightening out the mess with the Sandersons.

I could take her to lunch or something. Before I did anything else, I sent her a text asking if we could get together soon.

Victor had been right about everything he said yesterday in the clearing. I was determined to try even harder to accomplish my goals.

I dressed in something nice and went downstairs to check on Alex.

The nurses had him out of bed again. He sat in a reclining chair, drinking his morning coffee and looking almost like his old self.

I sat in a club chair next to him as Benson came into the room with another tray for me. I took a sip of juice and helped myself to a triangle of toast.

“You look marvelous this morning,” Alex said. “I trust you slept well.”

“I slept great,” I replied and tried a bite of my omelet. Full of ham, cheese, onions, tomato, and mushrooms, it was fantastic.

“You seem revitalized somehow,” Alex observed. “I’m glad to see it.”

I sipped my juice. “I am.”

“Are your new responsibilities getting to you?”

“A little,” I replied. “But I think I’ve got it under control now.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help, honey, just let me know.”

“You’re supposed to be resting,” I reminded him.

“But I’m getting so bored lying around that it’s no wonder I sleep so much. I would welcome something to do.”

“I’ll talk to Victor,” I promised. “Maybe we can bring you some work home.”

My school day went well. I sat next to William in werewolf history and had lunch with Amy. Justin had a meeting with one of his professors, so Amy’s phone was getting a break.

It was nice to chat with her while dining on pizza boats and tater tots. I really did need more normal in my life.

After lunch, I had one more class before Victor picked me up to take me to the office.

He grinned at the happy expression on my face. “Someone’s feeling better today.”

“I absolutely am feeling much better,” I said. “Thank you for the pep talk yesterday. I needed it.”

“Anytime.” He pulled away from the curb in front of the school and drove toward the office. “By the way, Mom is meeting us in your office. She said you texted her and wanted to talk.”

“I was going to take her out to lunch or something, but it’s great if she’s going to be there. Can we pick up coffee or something for her?”

He took out his cell phone and made a call. “I’m having a couple of lattes delivered. My mother loves them.”

Lana met us in the parking garage. She had picked up a new car this morning and was excited to show it off.

“What do you think?” She asked. “Is it me?” She lightly caressed the beige-gold fender of her new Bugatti Veyron

“I love it,” I told her. “It suits you perfectly.” I knew the car was costly, but Lana is such a good person that I was happy for her.

“I ordered you a latte, Mother,” Victor told her. “It’ll be upstairs when we get there.”

She took his arm as we walked toward the elevators. “You’re such a thoughtful boy.”

Watching the two of them together made me smile. Lana and Harry may not be in love, but Lana certainly loves her son.

We got upstairs, went into my office, and closed the door. I was amazed to see the hot, fresh lattes waiting for us on my desk.

Lana sat in a club chair and took the coffee from Victor. “So, what did you want to talk to me about? Your text sounded urgent.”

“First, I wanted to thank you for helping me with the Sanderson situation,” I said.

“It was my pleasure,” she insisted. “It’s not the first time those people have pulled that kind of stunt.”

“Also, I have some ideas for raising more money that I want to run by you,” I explained. “You have more experience with these things than I do, and I want to make sure I can accomplish them before making any announcements.”

Lana eagerly sat forward in her chair. “That’s very wise, and I’d love to help. Tell me your ideas.”

“What do you think about having a charity ball?” I asked.

“If done right, the city's wealthy and elite would flock to a charity ball,” she confirmed. “That’s a stellar idea.”

“I would also like to have an auction,” I said. “But how do I get people to donate things to auction off?”

“I can help you with that, too,” Lana said. Her enthusiasm was as great as mine. “As a matter of fact, I’ll start the donations for the auction by donating my old car.”

“I thought Dad wanted you to sell it,” Victor said.

“Nonsense, this is for charity,” she said.

“But Mother, it’s a two-million-dollar car,” Victor argued.

I was stunned. “Two …two million?”

“Yes. Mother likes Bugattis,” Victor explained.

“It’s less than two years old, and it should bring a pretty penny at auction.” Lana made a face of her son. “You look just like your father when you look at me like that. Donating it will be tax deductible.”

Victor chuckled. “I’m not getting in the middle of this. It’s between you and Dad.”

I thought I had better change the subject. “I was also going to take out the social media ads with individual stories of the people who need help and then ask for donations.”

“That’s a splendid idea,” Lana said. “You get started on the copy for the social media ads, and I’ll work on the invitations for the ball and letters asking for items for the auction.”

“I also want to get Alpha kids involved with helping people in the poorest communities,” I said. “They could do things like cleaning and repairs and working with the sick and elderly.”

“That’s a splendid idea,” Lana agreed. “And perhaps they could help with some fundraising.”

“Are you sure you want Alpha kids involved?” Victor asked.

“I thought it was a good idea,” I told him. “Besides helping the communities, it will show the Alpha kids how unjust the class system is so they can help change things.”

“It’s brilliant,” Lana agreed. “Our youth is the future! And you'll be the perfect spokesperson to reach them.”

“Spokesperson?” I repeated. Nuh huh. That sounded like someone who gives speeches. I hate giving speeches.

But Lana didn’t seem to notice my hesitation.

“Yes. You need to write something moving …something that will inspire them to want to help. I’m sure you can do it. I’ll speak to your principal and have him schedule an assembly, and you can deliver your speech to all your classmates as soon as possible.”