But Lena shook her head.
“I don’t want your money.”
The room fell silent again.
Alexander frowned. “Then what do you want?”
Lena looked around the ballroom—the chandeliers, the guests, the dance floor she had dreamed about for years.
“I want a chance.”
He blinked.
“A chance?”
“There’s an unused rehearsal studio upstairs,” Lena said. “You own this building. I checked.”
Alexander nodded slowly.
“What about it?”
“Let me open a dance school there,” Lena said. “For kids who can’t afford lessons.”
The guests exchanged surprised looks.
Lena continued calmly.
“I’ll clean floors during the day if I have to. But at night… those kids deserve the same chance I once had.”
The room remained quiet.
Alexander studied her carefully.
Then, unexpectedly, he began to smile.
“You’re the first person tonight who hasn’t asked me for money,” he admitted.
He closed the checkbook.
“Deal.”
Gasps spread through the crowd.
“I’ll fund the renovations,” Alexander added. “You run the school.”
Clara laughed softly beside him.
“Looks like she just changed your business plans.”
Alexander shrugged.