Naomi clasped her purse tighter. She willed her voice to be steady. "Go ahead."
He nodded once, as if giving himself permission. "You changed me tonight," he said. "And not because of charity or applause or guilt. You changed me because, for the first time in a long time, I saw someone choose what's right without expecting anything in return."
Naomi looked away for a second, overwhelmed. "I didn't do anything extraordinary."
"Yes," he said quietly. "You did. You gave when you didn't have anything to spare. You stood tall in a room that didn't deserve your grace. And you... you made me realize how far I'd drifted from the person I want to be."
He took a small breath. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. I know I haven't earned that yet. But I want you to know I'm committed to changing: not for an audience, not for optics, but because seeing you tonight reminded me of everything my parents taught me before I lost them."
Naomi's chest tightened at the vulnerability in his voice. She'd never imagined Evan Carrington, billionaire heir with a city named after his family, carrying that kind of ache inside him.
"But there's more," she could feel it. It flickered in the air between them, like electricity waiting for ground.
"Naomi," he said, voice low, careful. "I meant what I said on stage. But there's still something I want to tell you privately—something I don't want twisted by gossip or attention."
Her breath caught. He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a slim envelope, cream-colored, sealed with a silver crest.
"I've been working on something for the last month," he said. "Something that started before the gala. Something I never told anyone because I wasn't sure I deserved to even offer it."
He held the envelope out to her. Her fingers trembled as she took it; the paper felt heavier than it should, like whatever was inside carried weight far beyond its size. She opened it slowly. Inside was a single letter on thick stationery.
She read the heading:
Chicago Institute for Biomedical Advancement
Appointment Consideration: Naomi Brooks