It was Jon Myerberg himself, introducing Andrew, the golden boy of the tech industry, but better known across America as the Santa CEO…
Andrew walked out on stage and stole her breath at the sight of him, even though she’d seen him only minutes before. The ballroom clapped for him, then quieted.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming out tonight to show your support for the Myerberg Foundation and for all the good work it does for our nation’s underprivileged children. Ten years ago, when I started Harbor Technologies, I had the privilege of meeting Jon here, and it was a meeting that changed my life.” He nodded toward Jon Myerberg, who was standing to one side of the podium.
“Before that meeting, I had always thought of philanthropy, of good works, as things that simply happened. I didn’t bother to really think about how giving, like any other thing we do in business, is a conscious action that we have to make happen or it will fall by the wayside. Jon changed that for me by asking me one simple question. Within the first minute of our meeting, he asked me, ‘What do you want?’”
He paused, looking around the room, and Meredith couldn’t help but feel relieved that he wasn’t looking at her just then, because it felt like her cheeks were on fire. Hadn’t he asked her that today, in not so many words? Hadn’t she been asking herself ever since she’d woken up this morning and realized that she had wanted something more?
“I wasn’t sure why he’d asked me that until I answered. Now I can’t remember what I said. I think it was something about Harbor’s software, but it doesn’t really matter. What Jon pointed out to me was that, until I’d voiced my request, he would never have known what I was looking for. He showed me that silence is not action. Giving does not just happen. It might seem counterintuitive to so many of us, but the truth is that you have to go out and ask for the action of giving. It is not enough just to ask it of yourself. One person can only take things so far. You have to let other people know what you want in order to truly attain it. You have to take action, and silence is not action.”
Oh, God. Was that her heart in her throat, threatening to choke her dead?
“That’s why I am telling all of you tonight that Jon and I have partnered to create a new organization specifically focused on helping corporations to set aside and manage funds that give back. We want you all to consider putting a portion of your organization’s earnings into a fund that we can grow to benefit the most people possible. We are telling you what we want. We are taking action. We hope that you will do the same.”
What? He was starting another company? Did that mean that he would be leaving Harbor? Andrew paused, and she could hear a few murmurs of approval around the room, but Meredith had to fight back the urge to shake her head. If he left Harbor, would she even see him again in passing, much less have another opportunity to spend a night like this with him? With someone she respected, admired, and, yes, lusted after with an intensity she’d never felt for any other man?
But then Caroline leaned over again and whispered, “Andrew is so inspiring,” making Meredith snap to attention, force a smile to her lips and nod casually, as though she wasn’t afraid. But she was. So afraid that she was once again going to lose a connection that she hadn’t even realized she wanted so badly until tonight.
You’re here for Andrew. Put on a happy face and pretend this is the most wonderful thing you’ve ever heard.
“It is amazing to think back to that meeting, a decade ago, and realize that my life completely changed overnight.”
His voice had quieted, and she could practically feel the audience collectively lean in to hear his next words. But instead of staring out back at the crowd, Andrew shifted his gaze to the table where she sat. To Meredith herself. Their eyes locked, and she could feel herself practically being pulled into him, mesmerized.
“From one day to the next, I became someone different. It took a person who cared enough to take the time to really talk to me, to see me, to teach me how to ask for what I wanted. That’s what it took to shake up everything I knew and turn my life around. For the better, of course,” he added, and the crowd chuckled. “While that description might make what Jon did seem commonplace, or easy, I have met very few people since who had had such a profound impact on my life.”
His eyes were practically boring into hers now. “And somehow, each one of those people seems to have impacted me the same way that Jon did—effecting a transformation in such a short time that I often wonder if some kind of magic wasn’t at play.”