Page 41 of Pride and Protest
“Not really.” Liza’s skin tingled.It isn’t a lie, is it? You never really knew anybody.
“Has he ever talked about me?”
“What? No.”
“Yeah, I used to know that guy.” WIC chewed the words out.
“Wow.” It was all she had. She didn’t want to share that she had creeped on him online.
“Yeah. I was in this young entrepreneur program and had a bright idea. You know, it was a great opportunity. His dad, who I had mad love for, promised to invest.”
“Like a venture capitalist?”
“Yeah, but when Mr. F. died, Dorsey just let me and my business twist in the wind. He threatened me with the cops. It was a bad situation.”
“Wow,” was all Liza could say again. This sounded just like him.
“He ended up doing me pretty dirty in the end.”
Liza kept quiet, but none of it surprised her. This type of thing happened all the time. She was glad that WIC already seemed so comfortable opening up to her.
“So you guys parted ways and you haven’t spoken since?” Liza asked.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bore you with my personal drama. It was just so...”
“No, it would have been weird to not talk about it, considering all the commotion.”
“So, when canIget you to the hotel?” WIC said, changing the subject.
“We weren’t at the hotel.” Liza’s voice was louder than it needed to be. “It was a bar, and I bumped into him.”
“Chill, Mama, I would never question your honor. I just want to take you out too—wanna know if my money’s gotta be this tall to ride.”
Liza smiled. He was jealous? “It doesn’t have to be the Hotel Washington, but I should warn you, my dance card stays full.”
“Oh, I saw that. If you had Dorsey smiling from ear to ear, you must be able to charm a snake,” WIC said.
Thinking of Dorsey’s smile stopped her short for a moment to check her phone for more texts.
“Are you still there?” WIC asked.Lord, what has this man been saying?
“Oh, WIC, I’m sorry. My reception went out. Could you repeat that?”
“I actually wanted to talk to you about your draft proposal. Everyone was really wowed by your idea, and I’d love to see it expanded. If we raise enough money, we can buy Netherfield ourselves!” Liza smiled; his enthusiasm was catching. The proposal was pretty meaty work too. It would normally cost thousands of dollars to hire someone to write one of these up. And he trusted her to do it.
“Oh, I wanted to tell you. We’re going to this event in Philly soon. My granny won this garden competition, and I want you to hang out.”
“Cool. I’m there,” WIC said without hesitation.
“Wait... But it’s Dorsey Fitzgerald’s company party.”
Long, cold pause.
WIC cleared his throat. “I don’t think I’d be a welcomed guest there.”
“We don’t have to stay the whole time,” Liza said.
“You told Dorsey I was coming?”
