“I’ll take that as a compliment,” said Nick. “Especially after all the wonderful work you have accomplished here.” The wall behind her desk proudly displayed copies of past campaigns: posters, ad slicks, enlarged photos.
“I wish I could take credit for all of this,” said Marie, “but you know as much as I do, it’s our volunteers that make all this happen. Not to mention our dear friends in corporate America. It’s a blessing, all right. Everyone wants to help St. Theresa’s. Hey, Nick, not to change the subject or anything, but I hear you’re dating Shelly White! Is that true?”
“Well, we went out to dinner, but …”
“You better treat her right, that’s all I can say, or Dr. Wall will have you publicly flogged by a small army.”
“Great, I’ll remember that,” he said, shifting in his chair. He then leaned forward and looked right at Marie. “Funny you should mention an army, because you’re right on target. We all know it will take an army to beat cancer, and the time for war is now.”
Marie put down her now empty coffee cup and cleared her throat. “Let’s recap the Board presentation. You come up with a billion dollars, which in itself is a miracle.”
Nick nodded.
“Then we have a press conference here at the hospital.” “Right.”
“And then we sit back and wait for a cure.” “Seems kind of simple, doesn’t it?”
“Sounds somewhat unfeasible, if you ask me.” “That’s what Dr. Wall said.”
“What did you expect, Nick? He knows miracles don’t happen overnight. Well, except for Shelly. He started from the ground up and has seen it all. He just calls it the way he sees it. And I kind of think he might be right on this one.”
“Marie,” Nick said, “I understand your trepidation. But I can’t think of a better place to launch this idea. You have no cost, no exposure. The least that could happen is that more people will know about the wonderful work being done at St. Theresa’s. Who knows, this may lead to something we don’t have right now. If it saves one life, it’s worth it.” It was an argument Nick had given several times before. He didn’t want to sound like a salesman