Earn My Trust

Chapter 25 - The Charity Gala Part One

Hannah was rudely woken by her alarms on Thursday morning. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before because they had come back late.
They had spent the evening round mum and dad's so they could see Bea and had ended up staying later than intended.
The evening had gone so smoothly for the family that Hannah was left feeling enlightened. Bea spent most of the evening sitting with Ethan while she had helped mum in the kitchen. He helped her with some of her spelling homework, then spent the time drawing together.
Ethan and Dad had gotten along so well that by the end of the evening, Ethan and Dad had arranged a day of golf in a couple of months' time together.
Hannah was so proud of them for getting on so well for her that she treated Ethan once they'd got home, allowing him free reign with her and giving him full control.
He had surprised her to no end!
She didn't know why she expected him to be like Jake and pin her in all sorts of positions. She even felt guilty for thinking he'd be like that!
He was completely the opposite, ensuring she enjoyed herself just as much as he did. She'd never been so satisfied before!
Turning off her alarms, she looked around to Ethans empty side of the bed, knowing he was likely already in his office working or downstairs in the gym.
She smiled as her mind gave her the favourite snippets of the night before, and she pulled herself out of bed to get ready for the day.
Once she was dressed for work, she made her way into the kitchen to get a coffee when she heard voices coming from the office.
"I know that, but we need to make it stand out more. We want it to become more than a tourist attraction. We want it to be something the locals benefit from, too. A place they will always think to go there first." A man with a rich Asutralian accent was saying through a laptop speaker.
"The main fact of the matter is what could we add to it to make it that first port of call for the locals and the tourists to keep enticing them back." Ethan said in a thoughtful voice.
"You've got the basics covered, I think." Came another Australian voice. "Maybe some more attractions? Families would be the most likely to go there."
"We've included a cinema, bowling alley, and a soft play." Martin's voice said. "Should we consider a fairground or...?"
"No, not a fairground." Ethan disagreed.
Hannah crept to the ajar door to his office and peeked inside. She saw him at his desk, his hands clasped together in front of his face, and he was deep in thought.
"My minds just hit a blank. What else could coax families to come to the shopping centre?" He huffed, looking frustrated.
Hannah gnawed on her lip. She could think of a few things that would help. An onsite place where kids could be left to play while being supervised by trained staff. A clean, designated baby area for feeding, changing, and calming young babies. A sensory room for children that had special needs and found crowded areas overwhelming. Educational exhibits that changed quarterly. Special performances on a stage that families can enjoy for free in between shopping.
She furrowed her brow as the men in the meeting were unsure of what was missing. They were thinking big and impactive, something to wow the visitors, but they were things that would become dull and boring after a couple of visits.
She wasn't sure if she should impose on their discussion. Would Ethan appreciate her offer to help, or would he dismiss it and fob her off?
She did feel like he would allow her to voice her opinions, but probably not during a meeting. Maybe she should wait until they were finished, but, by then, she'd be at work, and the opportunity would be missed.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to step into view of the office and give it a go. Ethan noticed she was there and raised his head, smiling widely at her.
She sent him a coy smile and a wave, then pointed at the laptop, asking if she could join.
Unfortunately, Ethan misread her silent message and held up ten fingers, telling her he'd be ten minutes.
She rolled her eyes and stepped inside, pointing again at the laptop and then at herself. He frowned and addressed the others in the meeting.
"Give me five seconds, guys." He said and muted himself on the call. "What's the matter? We're not interrupting you, are we?"
She giggled. "No! I was... I was wondering if I could join?"
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You want to join?"
"Well, yeah. I heard that you're trying to work out how to get families to visit a shopping centre and... well, I have a couple of ideas." She walked closer and leaned on the desk. "The problem is keeping the entertainments you offer refreshing at every visit. Mums of young kids would benefit from a designated changing and feeding room, one that's clean, comfortable, and easy to reach. Parents of older kids would love to have an affordable creche for the children, one with trained staff and lots of fun things to do. As well as a special needs area for those who have children that can't cope with the busy times, just a small area where they can go to stim and distract themselves. You could have a stage in the centre, where people do special, fun, educational performances every weekend for free that they can watch while having a break from shopping..."
His eyes grew impossibly wide as she rattled off her ideas. He felt a little foolish for not asking her thoughts before now. None of the men in the meeting had families. They were either single or dating, so of course, she would think about basic necessities rather than just making it entertaining.
"Baby..." he breathed once she had finished. "That's incredible! Yes, let me introduce you, and you can go ahead and tell them."
His grin was full of pride for her coming to their rescue, and he quickly unmuted the call.
Hannah felt the rush of relief that he'd listened to and supported her suggestions.
"Sorry, gentlemen. Right, I'd like to introduce you to someone. This is Hannah," he got up from his chair, allowing her to sit down and see everyone. "She's my girlfriend, and she has just given me a huge list of things that we wouldn't have even considered!"
She waved at the laptop, where she could see Martin and four other men she didn't know. Her box was the largest, taking the bottom half of the screen, while the other men were lined along the top of the screen.
"You already know Martin." Ethan continued, pointing at his box in the top left corner, where Martin was waving enthusiastically. "This is Baz, our project manager in Australia." He pointed at the man in the box next to Martin, who was grinning widely at her. "Nathan is Baz's second and will be helping overlook the project once we confirm which blueprint we like the most." Nathan was a weedy guy that was missing a tooth at the front, but he was still dressed smartly and nodded his head respectfully at her. "And this is Rob and Fred. They're our chosen architects who will be competing for the chosen blueprint."
She waved at the two final men and smiled. "I hope you don't mind me giving my thoughts on this. I just thought about what I would love to see in a shopping centre that would keep tempting me to go back."
"That's not a problem." Fred assured her in his Australian twang. "I think we needed someone in your position to give us their take on it."
Her smile widened to a grin, and she dived straight into what she'd told Ethan, detailing her reasons why she thought they would work after each one.
Ethan was so confident in her ability to hold their attention that he slipped out while she spoke and got them both a coffee.
When he returned, she had just finished telling them about the final one.
"I'm sure I'll think of others, but for now, it's more about ensuring all needs are met." She concluded, noticing the coffee he had put in front of her. "Oh, thank you!"
He grinned at her and kneeled beside the chair, leaning into frame so the men could see him.
"What do you think?" He asked them, already knowing the answer.
"Well, that's definitely something we can include." Rob agreed enthusiastically.
"I'll do a bit of research on other facilities that people could benefit from." Nathan nodded, making a note on a piece of paper out of frame.
"Personally, I can't think of any places that have provided all these facilities under one roof." Hannah added after taking a sip of her coffee. "If anything, it'll be a first too." She watched the men pulling impressed faces and then glanced at the clock on the laptop screen. "Oh shit! I'm late!" She gasped, quickly standing up and making Ethan laugh. "Lovely meeting you all, but I have to get ready to go."
She waved goodbye and rushed out of the office, allowing Ethan to sit back down in his seat. He watched her rush to get her handbag and gather her belongings for a second, a grin of pure pride and adoration for her.
"Hey, Ethan." Baz said, catching his attention off Hannah.
"Yeah?"
"Make sure you marry that girl, matey." He smirked at his boss. "She's a keeper."
Martin nodded. "Thank you, Baz! That's what I've been telling him."
Hannah, who was just breezing past the door on her way out, heard their discussion and couldn't stop the surprised, flattered smile that stretched her lips, but she couldn't have prepared herself for what she heard next.
"Oh, I intend to!" Ethan replied confidently.