Page 3 of Thoroughly Innocent Intent

“Is this really necessary? Couldn’t I just join something that already exists?”

“Yeah, go that route. Hop on someone else’s bandwagon. What would you pick?” he asks sarcastically.

“Uh…” I

“Go see Samantha. Get some ideas and we’ll go from there. I just sent her address. Three p.m.”

Well, I guess I don’t have the day off after all.

Chapter 1

Samantha

Ipullthewornleather binder from my desk drawer and frown at the paper inside, no closer to finding the answers on it today than I was yesterday, or the day before, or even the weeks or months before that. In fact, I’ve been staring at this list of ideas for so long I can’t actually recall when I started it, which is even more terrifying when you consider that I’m the one people go to for advice about this sort of thing.

My phone vibrates, giving me a much-needed excuse to procrastinate further. I glance at the display and smile.

“Hi,” I say to my best friend. My only friend, really, Delaney.

I have a number of quirks that limit my social life, a result of my unconventional childhood, and as a result I’m more of a wallflower than the life of the party. But I might not even be that if Delaney hadn’t ended up as my college roommate. Fortunately, she’s both bubbly and patient, a good combination for making an introvert feel more at ease.

“Ohmigosh, I just finished the most boring deposition and I still have hours to go before I’m done. I’m seriously regretting my chosen field right now. Tell me you still love yours. I need to know that at least someone is happy with their choice.” Delaney’s working hard to make partner, but the build-up to that takes a toll.

“Still love it, I just wish I was as good at figuring out my purpose as I am finding one for others.”

“I still don’t understand why you need your own. You’ve only started, like, a dozen charities already.”

Over the years, I’ve helped people address everything from cancer and heart disease to sex trafficking to preservation of national parks and open spaces. I’ve come across virtually every cause there is, but ask me which is nearest and dearest to my heart and I don’t have an answer.

My parents did. They saw the appetite for excess here in the states and wanted to shield me from that while giving to others who had less, which is how we ended up leaving Denver for Africa when I was seven. We hopped from village to village to help with disaster relief, freshwater management, and sustainable agriculture, so I learned early on how to give back. I’m proud to say I still do, although not through a charity of my own.

“I feel like a bit of a fraud considering none of the initiatives I’ve built are mine.” I repeat the argument she’s heard a million times before. “I mean, wouldn’t having one give me more credibility?”

“Your track record is your credibility. And who’s to say you can’t make one of the organizations you already started your pet project? Just pick your favorite.” I feel her shrugging through the phone. If only it were that simple.

“That’s like asking a mother to pick which of her children she loves most. There is no answer.”

Delaney snorts. “You done for the day, or do you have more meetings?”

I close the binder and put it back in my desk drawer before reaching for the file on my next appointment. Colt Trudeau, football player. The name isn’t familiar, but then again it wouldn’t be since I don’t follow the game. I know that makes me possibly the only person in Denver who isn’t obsessed with the team, but football didn’t exist where I grew up in Africa, well American football anyway, so I never developed an affinity for it. I’ve worked with one or two players who have tried to get me interested, but it seems overly complicated, and it takes so long to play a single game, I just can’t get into it.

“Some football player. I’ve never heard of him.”

“You’ve never heard of any of them. I still can’t believe you’ve met several and never been tempted to get to know any of them better.”

I shudder.

Growing up around people who didn’t have the luxury of a gym to work out in means I never really saw large, beefy men until I got to the states, and frankly, I find them unattractive. They’re so imposing. And gruff. Not that they don’t have big hearts, the few I worked with fully committed themselves to the organizations they support, but all that testosterone is sort of off-putting for a girl who never encountered it until she was in her twenties.

“Not my type.” I flip through the file on Colt, trying to get a sense of who he is.

“Sexy as sin and rich to boot? That’s everyone’s type.”

“Not mine."

It’s not that I’m opposed to those traits, I just don’t require them. Sexy as sin is intimidating as hell, and I have enough trouble with conversation. And as for money, well, I made do with so little growing up, and aside from fashion, which Delaney introduced me to, and which goes a long way toward boosting my professional image, I don’t indulge in much. Well, fashion and food. The food here is divine.

“Still on for dinner?” She changes the subject. We have a standing bi-monthly dinner date, which sadly represents the whole of my social life.

---