Page 107 of Pride and Protest
Liza drummed her fingers on the dining table (dining table!) in the Fitzgerald Airbus ACJ319 corporate jet. The jet interior was fully loaded with faux skylights and even a fake crackling fireplace. Warm creams, gold accents, and honey-toned wood veneers created a luxurious and comfortable interior. Maurice buzzed around the jet, opening every compartment and tasting everything on the serving trays. He would be too drunk to talk to Isaiah if he kept up at this rate. Liza couldn’t seem to make herself comfortable despite the environment demanding it. She opened one of the many newspapers from around the country because they were the only thing on the plane to read save the safety instructions. AWall Street Journalarticle caught her eye.
UPHEAVAL IN THE DEVELOPMENT WORLD
A major disagreement between Pemberley’s (PMBY) board and the C-suite sparked the abrupt departure of acting CEO, Dorsey Fitzgerald. The move’sannouncement came from Robert Bradley, who is the chairman of Pemberley’s board. Bradley said the board and senior management “disagreed on strategy” about the company’s reorganization efforts. They have begun the search for an interim CEO.
Dorsey had lost his job. He had spoken so hopefully about revitalizing his mother’s charitable organization. And now he had lost it all. Could she dare to think it was for her? Had he been slow to act and slow to crush her protests? He had the resources to hurt her—no, bury her. But her movement grew in visibility. Now they would hire someone less squeamish about what it took to do business. They would plow right through the citizens’ protest and spit them out into homeless shelters.
Liza suddenly understood the enormity of what she and Dorsey were up against. How stupid they had both been to think they could have each other and sacrifice nothing. She took a deep breath. Maurice looked confused but rubbed his sister’s shoulder anyway.
“Sis, she’s not dead, just caught up in a scam. We’ll get her. We all should have been more vigilant.”
Liza said nothing but held his hand on her shoulder. Her little brother was growing up.
Liza absently stared out the jet window. She was irrevocably and deeply in love with Dorsey Fitzgerald. So in love that she could not allow him to sacrifice his mother’s legacy and his sister’s future for her. An unemployed wannabe who couldn’t effect real change if it came to bite her in the ass. Her family would always need rescuing. She would always be a liability to him and his mother’s legacy. She could see now that he wanted to live up to her work. His good work would always be overshadowed by the latest Bennett scandal.
Those moments dancing with Dorsey at the embassy made him seem different; august arrogance seemed replaced by shy reticence. Then the shyness boiled away again into a generous and powerful lover. Liza groaned at the memory of the way she had sobbed in his arms and screamed from the rooftops that she loved him.
He hadn’t responded.
And she had seen that signature cold facade snap back into place right before she left. They just didn’t make sense. She could see the gears turning as he rushed her out of his loft. She’d give it a month before the realization of what he’d sacrificed for her would start to feel like too much. That was the road to resentment and pain.
Liza sighed. She would remember the way he moved inside her for the rest of her life. Her body still buzzed pleasantly in the afterglow of their lovemaking. It hollowed her out without him, but they cost each other too much.
Maurice shoved a handful of grapes in her face. “You need to eat.”
“If I eat, it won’t be from your gross fingers,” Liza said. Maurice then catapulted grapes at Liza’s head.Did I just actually think he was maturing?
“So I asked around about our boy, WIC. Turns out he used to be a member of the Nation of Islam, and before that he was an Orthodox Mormon out in Idaho. He got over three hundred thousand dollars in donations, mostly from the pretty women he kept around him. Both communities kicked him out for constant gambling, excessive debt, misuse of funds, misuse of labor, and finally multiple complaints from his illegal wives. This dude has dotted around the country squeezing money out of any kind of believer.”
“I didn’t see any of this on Google,” Liza said weakly. Usingher sixteen-year-old sister to run a scam was low. She just hoped he had not taken advantage of LeDeya in any other way.
“You are not going to find it on Google. I told you I worked my networks.” Maurice thumped his chest.
“Have you ever thought of being a cop, Maurice?” Liza asked.
“Nope, but maybe a detective once or twice. Anyway, this guy lies low because he has a lot of people looking for him, looking for their money. I think there is a way we can scam the scammer. But we need Janae to meet us in Jersey. Remember she was on that banking scam task force. She knows how to move money quietly,” Maurice said. He stood up and pantomimed making a layup with a grape, which landed in Liza’s water glass.
“Little brother, you may be on to something,” Liza said. “I’ll call Janae when we land.” The plane began its descent. Liza cleaned up her face and attempted to control her demeanor. She called her sister as the plane touched down.
“Any news?” Janae asked.
“Maurice has a plan, but we need you to come with a laptop.”
“Mauricehas a plan?” Janae repeated. “Well, sit down, because this gets worse.”
“How?”
“Granny and Mom called in a panic. They know the money’s gone.”
“Oh no.” Liza’s heart drummed in her throat. “We have to find them. I’m gonna kill him, then turn around and kill her.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Can you meet us at Teterboro Airport in Jersey?”
“Liza, that’s a private hangar. How am I supposed to get in? Wait, how areyouthere?”
“We... may have taken a private jet,” Liza hedged.
