“Of course not,” Park said evenly. Maybe that was just to build rapport with her, but Cooper wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been to more than a few galas already himself and knew what he was talking about.

Seemingly bolstered by Park’s agreement, Genevieve continued, “We’ve worked very hard on it, Arthur, Niko and I. Everyone on the project has, here at the zoo and at Wild Nature. We have almost two hundred guests registered, a musical performance, catering—it’s really quite crucial this evening’s a success.

“Two hundred?” Cooper repeated. At eight-fifty per ticket or more? “Sounds like you’ve succeeded already.”

“Oh, ticket prices are a small percentage of it. Enough to cover our expenses, but a lot still depends on how tonight goes. There’s the live auction, raffle and any commitments we can raise in the moment. That’s where the real measure of success is taken.” Her eyes darted between the two of them. “Please, let me offer you a couple of tickets. It would mean a lot to me that you were there.”

“I’m afraid we can’t accept,” Park said apologetically. “It would be a conflict of interest. But I’d be happy to purchase two tickets.”

Cooper tried not to wince.

“Oh, how lovely.” Genevieve beamed, her teeth very white. “Thank you for your contribution to our cause.” She cocked her head and seemed to examine Park. “You said your name is Park, didn’t you? Any connection to the Park Foundation?”

“Ah,” Park said. “My family’s project. I can’t say I’ve been involved in years.”

That did nothing to temper Genevieve’s delight. “I’m a huge admirer of the charity work they’ve done. Particularly their contributions to the global conservation efforts. It’s really a gold standard for us all.”

“Habitat conservation is very near and dear to my family’s hearts,” Park said mildly. “How long have you and your husband been running Wild Nature?”

Genevieve’s smile turned a bit sharp and stiff. “Wild Nature is my baby. I gave up my acting career and invested everything into getting her up off the ground. And even then I had to call in a lot of favors. It was tough in the beginning, but we’ve come an enormous way. Arthur only came on a few years ago.”

“You met through conservation work?” Cooper asked.