Chapter 15 #2
Though Dylan didn’t name-drop, Michaela knew Clay was also in love with Saskia Oliver, the famous San Holo. Now Dylan had her in his corner too.
Troy said, “They believe in you wholeheartedly, don’t they?”
Dylan nodded, then he grinned at Gideon. “Yeah. They do.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Troy said, his gaze moving slowly over the group of young people. “My family was my support system. But here’s something important you all need to know. You can create your own support system, people who believe in your dream, people who believe in you.”
The burly boy snorted. “And, like, exactly how are we supposed to do that?” Disdain dripped off every word. “You had money. You had a family.”
Troy didn’t let the boy’s animosity stop him.
“And you have this place. You have a man like Gideon Jones. You have people here who can be your friends. You have teachers at school. You have your foster family. You probably have coworkers. If you want to believe in yourself, you will attract people who want to believe in you too.” Holding the boy’s gaze, he asked, “What’s your name? ”
The boy said, “Nathan.”
“Do you have a dream, Nathan?”
Nathan shook his head viciously. “What’s the point when you come from nothing, when you have nothing, when you will never have anything?”
A wave of sympathy for the young man rushed through Michaela. She wanted to say something that would help him, but she knew Troy would find the right words.
Then Troy turned to her. “I didn’t introduce Michaela Killian over there.” He pointed at her curled against the arm of the sofa. “Do you mind if I tell them a bit about you, Michaela?”
What could she say to that? She shook her head. Maybe her story had something worthwhile for these young people.
“Michaela’s father left them when she was a baby.
Her mother had barely graduated from high school.
But Flo, her mother, used her talent for sewing to become a seamstress.
So you see, Michaela came from pretty much nothing.
Her mother worked day and night to provide for them.
” What he said was a mix of things she’d told him and what he’d probably learned from Susan.
She was sure her mother had told Susan their story.
Nathan snorted again, scornfully.
But again, Troy didn’t let that stop him. “As soon as Michaela was old enough—” He shot her a questioning gaze. “Eight or nine?”
She nodded.
“At eight or nine years old, she began helping her mother. She had a dream even then, and that was to grow up and be able to give her mother all they’d lacked when she was young.”
How had he known that? She’d never told him. But maybe it was there between the lines of all she’d revealed.
“She found a support system. And even at that young age, she helped her mother bring in new clients. She worked hard. When it was time to apply to college, she let nothing stop her. She had a dream, and because she’d built her own support system, with her mother, with people who believed in her as much as she believed in herself, she won a full-ride scholarship to Stanford University. She had no money, but she had a dream.”
Then he asked Michaela directly, “Do you feel you’ve achieved your dream?”
She couldn’t answer with another nod, and she needed Nathan to know her story.
“Yes, I do. I worked hard. But I had people who encouraged me, not only my mother, but everyone I went to for help. My friends told their friends and their mothers’ friends about what a great seamstress my mother was so that her business could grow.
My teachers encouraged me, and my school counselor helped me write my essay to apply for the scholarship.
My friends at college told me they thought I could do anything I put my mind to. All those people believed in me.”
After a warm smile for her, Troy said, “You’ve all heard of FoodFast, right?”
There were nods and murmurs around the room.
“Michaela, when she was at Stanford, brought Gloria and Ivan Madden together to build FoodFast. That was her idea. She saw a need in the community, and she saw two people who had the right skills, two people who would make a great team, and she brought them together to create something extraordinary. And now that’s what she does.
She brings people together, whether it’s for a new venture, a sale, or a love match.
They call her the billionaire matchmaker. ”
Michaela’s cheeks heated at his praise, at the admiration in his eyes, but she expected another disdainful snort, or even a litany of swear words from the boy.
Into that silence, Troy said, “I believe we can all make our dreams into reality. But I also know that we cannot do it alone. If we don’t have family, we need friends, we need peers, we need adults who see our potential.
But we also need to ask for that help.” He stared Nathan down, then he asked again, “Do you have a dream?”
The young man didn’t snort this time. He didn’t sneer. He simply said, in a soft voice Michaela hadn’t believed could ever come out of him, “I want to build race cars.”
Troy snapped his fingers, jutted his chin at Gideon, and said, “Will Franconi.” Then he addressed Nathan again. “Are you willing to ask for help? Are you willing to find someone who will believe in you?”
That was Troy’s message. It wasn’t only that a person could do whatever they set their mind to.
It was about setting aside your pride and asking someone to help you, to believe in you.
You could tell a young person all you wanted that he or she could accomplish anything they put their mind to, but you also had to offer them a pathway to get there.
Nathan sat for a long time while the other kids studied him, waiting for his answer. Finally, after an interminable silence, the young man asked, “Gideon, can you help me?”
Gideon’s heartfelt smile spread across his whole face. “All you have to do is ask, Nathan. I never even knew you had a dream of building race cars. But I know a man who rebuilds cars, and I bet he could help you. Would you like me to introduce you?”
Gideon left it up to Nathan. He didn’t push anything on him. He offered. It was up to Nathan to take him up on it.
And finally, Nathan said, “Yes. Please. I’d like that a lot.”
Then all the kids in the room began calling out their own personal dreams. Troy questioned them about how they thought they could get there and who they thought could help them. It was the most amazing sight of her entire life.
All because Troy Harrington had stood up there and told his story. And he’d honored her.
She wanted to cry.
She wanted to throw herself into his arms.