Page 15 of Pride and Protest
“She doesn’t think anyone is genuine,” LeDeya chimed in. “Didn’t you break up with a guy because he still kissed his mom on the lips?”
“And I’d do it again,” Liza said.
“Don’t listen to her, J, she got burned at the party by that big K-pop dude, and now she’s salty,” Maurice said. He shoveled eggs on everyone’s plates.
“Nobody gotburned, Reece.” Liza pushed down the annoyance bubbling up. “I would never dance with a man like that. And K-pop is fun and bursting with energy. That man was more like Special K.”
Janae stabbed her eggs. “Yeah, David thinks the world of that guy, but he was pretty standoffish with everyone.”
“ ‘Standoffish’? He was a snob,” Liza said.
LeDeya pulled out Liza’s laptop. “Okay, while you two are on Mars pretending that that man isn’t a snack, the internet says differently. And she’s got stories.” LeDeya easily reguessed her sister’s password and got to stalking. Liza leaned in to see what LeDeya found.
“The big guy is originally from the Philippines. His mother started like fifteen charitable orphanages all over Africa and Asia for AIDS and war orphans. WCO, I think.” Deya scrolled through pictures of a thin blond woman with her arms wrapped around three children. They looked like Colors of the World skin-tone crayons.
“WCO?” Years ago, Liza had written her senior thesis onPatricia Fitzgerald. She had even applied to serve in one of their orphanages for two years, but unrest broke out in Ghana. “Wow, his mother is Patricia Fitzgerald?” Liza couldn’t hold back her astonishment. WCOactuallydid great things. They had pioneered nonexploitative international adoptions and had incredible women-centered initiatives all over the world. The apple fell pretty far from the tree.
“His parents were like the nineties version of the Jolie-Pitts. He has a little sister from Kenya and another brother from like, Russia someplace, but the brother died along with the parents in this big accident.”
They all paused for a moment of genuine sadness—to lose one’s mother, father, and brother in one accident sounded terrible. They all avoided Janae’s eyes.
“Anyway, he’s loaded, dude. Like, he spells his millions with aB,” LeDeya said. “And, Janae, your David is big shit in society with old,oldmoney. He and his sister live in New York but they’re all from Maine. Like his granny came over on theMayflower. But they’re trying to get their money to stack like Dorsey’s—which is why they’re partnering with Pemberley.”
“So, the Bradleys aren’t developers?” Liza asked.
Janae shook her head. “They’re financiers. They manage and count the money.”
“Wow, so David understands your inner math nerd,” Liza said to Janae. “How sweet.”
“I’m an outer math nerd. People just refuse to see it because of this.” Janae flitted her hands around her face.
“ ‘Oh, I’m so beautiful. If only I could be plain so people could let me do math in peace,’ ” Liza teased.
Janae punched her sister. “I know how it sounds, okay?” In fact, finance whiz was only the tip of the iceberg for Janae. Inanother life, before tragedy struck, Janae had been part of a committee sent to investigate a major bank opening accounts for clients and moving money illegally. She knew all the ways to detect fraud on a financial account. Janae was appalled at how easy it all was. From that point on, she demanded to handle all of Bev’s and Granny’s finances. They had seen their savings grow and Granny even had a tiny bit to retire with. It was scary that the sweetest one of them all had the mind of a heist flick hacker.
The plates clinked noisily in the sink as Liza lazily ran dish detergent over them and returned to the table. “Imagine if you used your snooping skills for good, Deya.”
“She’d be unstoppable,” Maurice added.
“Wait, I’m not even done!” LeDeya protested. “They’re hiring financial managers in New York and Singapore. You get a discounted apartment, top salary, great benefits, and other perks,” she read. “For questions, call Pamela, assistant to David Bradley.”
“Oh no, Janae.” Liza saw the fire ignite in Janae’s eyes and immediately tried to stamp it out.
“Liza...” Janae’s eyebrows rose. “Don’t let this be like the time you forced us all to go vegetarian.”
“The worst three months of my life,” LeDeya howled.
Maurice held his stomach. “You watchedonedocumentary and put us all through hell!”
“Maurice, you got over that chubby phase because of me! How dare you.” Liza crossed her arms. “Janae, how would it look if you were working for Babylon?”
“Liza, I just want a proper job, not embarrassing guest appearances for two hundred dollars here and there.”
Maurice leaned on the table. “Why does my sister have to beheld hostage by your moral code? You want her to starve for your beliefs?”
“No, Maurice, I agree with Liza,” Janae said. “We’re all still in Granny’s house because we couldn’t afford rent, and the Bradleys of the world aren’t making it any better. I’ve just had this long gap in employment since”—she exhaled—“since the baby, and I want to flex my calculator again.” Everyone was silent. Janaenevermentioned the baby. They all exchanged looks over the top of Janae’s head. So David had sparked some joy in her sister? Had he done what the family had been failing to do for three years?
“I say since you have ol’ boy on the hook...” Maurice pretended to throw out a fishing line.
