The Auction House Deal: Bought by A Billionaire

Chapter 150: New Office: Hannah I

Despite not getting much sleep the previous night, I woke up drumming with excitement about starting a nonprofit charity for victims of sex trafficking. It was early the next morning, and the sun had barely begun to peek over the horizon.

Roman was still fast asleep when I slipped out of bed to get ready. He had been so supportive of my idea to start a charity organization, and just knowing that he and Lori were in my corner spurred me on to get started on the particulars as soon as possible.

As I brushed my teeth, I tried to mentally organize everything that I still needed to learn in order to make my nonprofit a success.

I knew there would be paperwork and legal requirements, especially since I would need government approval and funding. I had already found the perfect location, so all that was left for that was signing paperwork, which was ready this morning. There would be volunteers to recruit and interviews to conduct when I was ready to hire a team, and other business aspects to consider.

I spit the toothpaste foam in the sink and rinsed before staring at my wide-eyed expression in the mirror.

"I’m Hannah Macalester and I run a nonprofit charity for victims of sex trafficking," I said aloud to my reflection. Hearing it made me that much more excited, and I smiled.

This was such a humbling and touching venture, a way to give my time and energy to the countless women who had suffered needlessly under such inhumane and illegal treatment. The thought was sobering, and I was giddy and thrilled

After taking a quick shower, I threw on a pair of jeans and a blouse and I was ready to tackle my task.

"You’re up early," Roman said to me from the bed in a sleep-soaked voice when I emerged from the bathroom. He stretched and sat up as I hopped into bed beside him and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"I have a purpose now," I said to him with a grin. "Something that I can pour myself into and give the time that I’ve been wasting idly."

Roman smiled and rubbed my back. "I’m glad you’ve found something that makes you excited. I love seeing that bright spark in your eyes."

I took my husband’s face between my hands and kissed his lips. "I’m going to run my own nonprofit," I said to him, staring into his blue eyes and trying to let my own words sink in. "I’ll have a beautiful way to help sex trafficking victims and other abused women, and the project will be something I can be proud of. Something to call my own."

"And I have no doubt that you’ll be successful," Roman said, pulling me into a hug and resting his chin on the top of my head. "I love seeing you so happy."

"I’m very happy," I said to him.

We stayed in the embrace until Roman decided it was time for him to get up and start his day. I did not stay to work out with him this time; I didn’t want to break the habit, but I had so much to do.

After breakfast, I kissed Roman goodbye and sent him off with his bodyguard to work. I called up Nick to take me to sign the lease. It was going to be a great day.

***

The lease signing went off without a hitch. As soon as I was home, I grabbed my laptop and delved into some more specific research topics. There were so many important steps that I realized I needed to make a detailed list of my specific tasks, goals, and values.

I had a few ideas for the name of the charity, but I would need to run those by Lori and Roman before making a decision. Creating a mission statement and list of values was simple, and I found that I really enjoyed generating ideas on how to advocate for victims. The business plan was proving to be the tough, part since I didn’t know much about the ins and outs of running a business.

My thoughts turned to Freddy and Edward, who my father had groomed to take over his business. Although they may not have been ready for Court’s untimely departure from the picture, they at least had some business knowledge—Lori and I were never afforded that opportunity.

That was fine. I was perfectly capable of learning the art of business on my own, and my zeal for helping these people would be a surefire way to spur me on.

I found a video on registering a nonprofit and getting it off the ground that broke the process down in a way that was easy to understand. I was hooked. After jotting down some notes, it was easy to find more videos from various nonprofit agencies and business owners.

There was something magical in watching a professional business woman share her passion for her business and explain step-by-step how she did it. That could be me one day, explaining how I successfully launched a nonprofit charity to help thousands of women who had been victims of sex trafficking find the support and confidence that they needed to overcome their trauma.

My heart was suddenly filled with a mixture of joy and grief at the thought. The fact that there needed to be an organization like this reminded me that there were cold-hearted people in the world who treated human lives with such wanton disrespect. I felt some of the old stress creep back in.

But I could make a difference, and I was going to treat those victims with the caring and kindness that they deserved.

My eyes were glued to the computer screen, and I had several pages of notes on starting a nonprofit when Roman walked into the room. I blinked at him as I glanced up. He strode over to join me, placing a kiss on top of my head.

"Are you off early?" I asked him, realizing that I had no idea what time it was.

Roman cocked his head at me with a bewildered expression as I checked the time. "I’m definitely not home early," he said. "I’m actually back pretty late."

He was right. It was past dinner time. I hadn’t even noticed lunchtime come and go, but I did remember having a few extra cups of coffee while I was researching.

"Have you been watching business videos all day?" he asked me, peering down at the computer screen.

"I guess I have," I responded, trying to figure out how a full day had gone by without me noticing. It was certainly an odd feeling compared to languishing, watching each minute pass with nothing to do.

I gazed up at Roman and smiled, "but I’ve learned so much." I pointed out a few things to him in my notes, explaining what I needed to do and how I planned on doing it.

"That’s really impressive," Roman said with genuine interest, "but I’m concerned about you stressing yourself out. Rome wasn’t built in a day."

I laughed at the saying and he raised his brow at me. "I’m not trying to build Rome, silly, I’m starting a business. You’ve had years of learning and experience in running a business, but I’m starting from scratch and there’s a ton of things that I need to do."

Roman bent down and placed his hands on my shoulders, gazing into my eyes with a gentle expression.

"Hannah, I love you and I want you to succeed," he said to me, his gaze intense, "I really do, but I also need you to realize that you’re putting yourself under a lot of strain. You’re going to burn out before you even get started."

I gazed back at him and nodded slowly. He was right. I had skipped lunch and had only moved away from the laptop to use the bathroom a couple of times. Not to mention that I had completely lost track of time. It felt like I was cramming for a final exam, and that was rarely a joyous and stress-free occasion.

"I am a bit stressed," I admitted to Roman. He leaned in and kissed my forehead before pulling me to my feet.

"I know," he said. "Come on. I’m ready to have dinner with my gorgeous wife."

I smiled at him as he wrapped an arm around me, and then I paused, remembering that I had received an envelope in the mail earlier.

"Wait, one more thing," I said, slipping from beneath his arm and turning to grab the envelope.

I held it out to him with a grin. "It’s paperwork for the office," I said with renewed giddiness. I gave Roman a moment to pull out the documents and shuffle through them. "Isn’t it great? This is really happening!"

Roman gazed up at me and smiled as he replaced the documents in the envelope. "I’m so excited for you, Hannah, and I’m so proud of you. I’m also glad to see that you’re more excited than stressed."

"I’m so excited!" I said to him, reaching for the envelope, but he held it behind his back.

"You weren’t this excited to see me return from work," he said in mock offense.

I smirked and crossed my arms. "Are we really playing this game, Roman?" He made a horrible attempt at a pouting face and I laughed. I approached him, untucking his button-down and slipping my hands beneath to touch his strong, hard torso.

"Maybe if my husband were naked, I’d be really, really excited," I said in a sultry tone.

Roman gave me a sexy smirk. "So I have to be naked to impress my wife now?"

I shrugged. "It wouldn’t hurt," I said.

Roman tossed the envelope next to my laptop and grabbed my waist, pulling me closer to him before capturing my lips with his for a long, slow kiss. Despite the teasing, I really was glad that my husband was home.