"Darryl pointed out that since we'll be sending larger donations, there are phone calls and other time-consuming bits involved. So we're all going to work on it together. Whenever any employee has some free time and can take half an hour to do the legwork, they'll consult the chart, and pick one of the top five."
"That's amazing!" Looking closer, all of the charities were very deserving. "But what if you can't decide? You could waste a lot of time just trying to pick one."
"Precisely!" Warrick hit another key, and the wheel lit up with the names of the charities. "Instead of being mired in indecision, just spin the wheel."
I burst into laughter, as did everyone around us. Quite a few people from the office area had followed the noise and a crowd had gathered.
"I wanted you to have the first pick," Warrick said, waving me toward the laptop. "Matt can take care of the paperwork with whatever charity you select."
"So is this going to be a reward for people completing their work and therefore having extra time?" I asked.
His mouth fell open. "I didn't even think of that. I just thought it would be fun."
Luca asked, "Is there any limit? One donation per day, or per employee?"
Warrick grinned again. "Nope, not for the first week. Then Darryl is going to keep an eye on how much we should donate every week so that the interest doesn't build up to such ridiculous amounts again."
He pointed to the large button on the laptop's touch screen. "Go on, give it a shot."
It was just so inviting. After I pressed the bright red button, fireworks took over the main screen, and the wheel spun quickly, slowing down to land on the local children's hospital.
"Perfect," I beamed, as Warrick hugged me.
"Do it again," he said.
"Okay."
I clicked the happy red button again, but this time the screens and wheel went dark. Crap. Warrick crawled under the desk to check a cable, and I hoped that I hadn't broken the system.
Then the large monitor flashed back to life, showing pink and purple clouds and flowing script.
"Brooke,I love you more than anything else in this world. I always feel like the best version of myself with you, and I want to keep upgrading with you forever. Will you marry me?"
Looking down,I saw that Warrick had emerged from under the desk and was on one knee, holding up a box containing a plain silver ring.
He took my hand, which was shaking. "This ring is only temporary until we go shopping together tomorrow. That is, if you say yes. Brooke, will you please marry me and allow me to keep trying very hard to make you happy forever?"
Blinking through tears, I nodded, finally managing to whisper, "Yes."
Warrick jumped up, slipping the ring, which I realized was just a piece of laser cut steel, on my finger. He kissed me in a manner that was definitely not appropriate for the workplace, but could likely be forgiven just this once.
The next several minutes were a blur as Warrick wouldn't stop hugging me while someone popped a bottle of champagne and passed out glasses. He finally released me so that some of his team could shake his hand.
Beny came over and gave me an awkward little hug. "Congratulations, Brooke. Now that you're officially part of the family, hopefully we can talk more about your robotic children's toys."
I giggled, spluttering slightly on my sip of champagne. "Warrick was probably just trying to be polite. I don't want to use up any of your resources for my pet project."
Beny grinned wildly. "No, no. I've sort of mentioned it to a few people and we're all really excited. Inventing connectors for machines brings in a ton of money, and it's a creative challenge for Warrick. But most of us want to work on something a little different now and then. Honestly, it would be an incredibly enjoyable project for the whole team."
"Oh. Well, in that case, I'll start making more sketches and nailing down my ideas."
"No rush. You still have school, and you know…" He waved toward Warrick who was being high-fived by a row of interns. "A wedding to plan. "
"Good point."
As Warrick returned, Beny said, "You two are going to make the most adorable robot toys together, aren't you?"
"That's the plan." Warrick gathered me in his arms, spinning me in a slow circle as if we were waltzing. "The most adorable house. The most adorable children. The most adorable entire life."