Page 19 of Pride and Protest
“Let’s go, sissy. Let’s get out of here before the weather gets too terrible.”
“Too late.” Dorsey stepped out of a frosted-glass conference room. Lord, but this man could hang a suit. He looked dashing in his slick Italian clothes, and Liza had to look away for a moment as an uncharacteristic blush rose to her cheeks. Surely she was brown enough that no one noticed. She was vaguely embarrassed to see him after the meme fiasco. Though he must have been equally surprised to see her, he didn’t break his composure.
“Over a foot of snow has fallen,” Dorsey said. His gaze met Liza’s. She saw nothing but cool professionalism in his eyes. Whatever discomfort being the subject of a viral meme had caused him did not show on his face now. He looked up when the elevator dinged and a blank-faced Jennifer blew out of the double doors.
“The car is stuck. The trains are stuck. Everything is stuck.Weare stuck.”
“No.” Liza groaned. “Can’t you guys just helicopter out of here?” What was the point of being rich, after all?
“What kind of irresponsible pilot would helicopter here in whiteout conditions?” Jennifer asked.
“This will be over soon, Liza,” Janae cooed.
“No, it won’t. DC won’t get to shoveling this snow until at least tomorrow. Traffic and trains are at a standstill. And we all should hope the power stays on.”
“Sleepover!” David shouted cheerily. Then he and Janae chanted, “Slum-ber party, slum-ber party.” David stood up and looked around. “We have all of this leftover champagne from Jean’s retirement. We could play charades, raid the downstairs cafeteria, roast marshmallows in the toaster...”
“Leave it to you, Davey, to turn lemons into lemonade.”Jennifer’s tone was annoyed, but her eyes were loving as she chided her brother. She then eyed Liza’s wet feet. “Dear god, did you walk here? In those?”
“I needed to come and get my sister,” Liza said defensively.
“Your sister is fine, fine, fine,” David sang.
Janae echoed, “Fine, fine, fine,” and laughed.
Liza fidgeted. How much champagne had her sister already drunk? Was she already too late to ward off Janae’s downward spiral? Her face must have shown her worry because she looked up to find Dorsey eyeing her with a raised eyebrow.
“We won’t starve,” Dorsey said.
Did he think she was worried about her next meal?
“You could come downstairs with me to grab some salads and wraps from the cafeteria,” he offered.
Like Liza needed proof that there was food? How destitute did he think she was, or did everyone seem dead broke to a billionaire?
Jennifer held her finger up like a church usher. “Oh, I have a much better lay of the land and know where the baskets are. I’ll come with you.” She smiled tightly and followed Dorsey toward the elevator.
Liza looked at the two of them departing, his broad shoulders and her slim, elegant frame. They would have made an excellent stock photo under a “wealthy couple” search. If they were dating, they didn’t exactly seem hot for each other. But Liza imagined it wasn’t in Dorsey’s nature to be hot for anything.
BAD WEREWOLF PORN
From: [email protected]
I would like a briefing of our protocol for our Philadelphia building in case of weather emergencies. Blankets, food storage, generator policy, and cots. Especially cots. I shudder to think about our employees being forced to huddle together with no provisions.
Today just got interesting, Dorsey thought as the elevator doors swiftly opened on the bottom floor.
“Can you believe she walked in this snow with those little flats on? Poor thing. By the look of them, they’ll be torn apart in a week. Cheap shoes can’t take a lot of wear and tear,” Jennifer said.
“I’m sure...” Dorsey said absently. He could see Jennifer gearing up to try again.
“David told me about the Netherfield conversation.” She laughed. “When she overheard you say something about her hair.”
Dorsey did not answer. Something about seeing Liza again jarred him. He had fully expected that her Instagram would bethe only means of ever engaging with her. Yes, he wasverywell acquainted with certain pictures on her Instagram feed. But just like that, she popped up at his DC office, red-nosed, shivering, a halo of snow on the crown of her head—and gorgeous. Jennifer—Dear god, is she still here?—continued.
“I bet it was the first time anyone’s ever rejected her,” Jennifer said lightly. The cafeteria was gray and austere, and Dorsey remembered why he rarely came down here. It was downright depressing.
