Mark
The call came from Patricia on a Monday morning, her voice carrying a careful, measured tone that immediately put me on alert.
"Robert Ashcroft wants to meet with you," she said. "Today, if possible. He's pulled his pledge for the wing's expansion phase pending the conversation."
I felt my stomach drop. Ashcroft's pledge wasn't small, three million dollars earmarked for the second phase of construction, an outpatient cardiac clinic for pediatric patients that would extend the wing's reach considerably beyond what we'd already built. Losing it wasn't catastrophic, but it would set the timeline back significantly, and worse, it would set a precedent that other major donors might follow.
"Did he say why?"
"He didn't need to." Patricia's voice tightened slightly. "I think we both kno
