Page 16 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
I shifted in my seat.
“And while Marc Kingsley has been generous with his time?—”
Oh no.
People turned in their seats to face me.
Most were smiling, some nodded. Their interest and actions were fine. I knew that.
But it didn’t matter.
A tingling began at the base of my neck and up across my face.
I volunteered my time because the animals needed me.
“—and charges us far less than he should or at all?—”
He could stop now. I didn’t need people to know what I was doing for the shelter.
“—we’ve cut corners everywhere else. We need new fundraising ideas and better ways to showcase our adoptable animals to the community.”
The weight of everyone’s stare bore into me. Unwavering attention like physical pressure. My ears burned.
Anita gave me a thumbs up from the front row.
I managed a tight nod back.
Theo continued, rattling off intake numbers, medical costs, and projected expenses for the next quarter. The facts and figures lined up neatly in my head, creating a clear picture of the problems. Numbers made sense. Statistics made sense. Budgets made sense. Animals made sense.
My shoulders eased slightly as I followed along.
“What about charging less for adoptions?” Someone called out from the middle of the room.
“How does that help?” Another person yelled out from the other side of the room.
“Then maybe more animals would be adopted.”
“Seriously?” Matt snapped, turning in his seat. “If people can’t afford a higher adoption fee, maybe they shouldn’t have pets.”
Josh growled low in his throat. “That’s not how compassion works, dipshit.”
The room started buzzing again, voices rising, people talking over each other.
Glamma cleared her throat.
Silence fell like a dropped curtain. That was Glamma’s superpower—the ability to command a room with a single sound.
“The girls and I have been brainstorming,” she said sweetly, far too sweetly. Her tone meant she’d already decided everything and was just pretending to ask for input. “And we’ve come up with aperfectsolution.”
“Just perfect,” Goldie waved to everyone.
Why she was waving I didn’t understand. It seemed like an odd choice.
“Well get on with it,” Matt muttered just loud enough to be heard. He was one of the few people not afraid of Glamma.
“Shut your mouth, Matthew,” Gladys snapped without sparing him a glance.
“We think,” Glamma paused, for dramatic effect, drawing it out, “that yoga sessions would be the perfect way to bring the community in and raise money for the shelter.”
