“The car’s ready. Liza, you need to go.” Dorsey was turned away from her, on the phone, probably already filing away last night as a mistake.

TROJAN HORSE

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. A Wall Street Journal article 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’s announcement 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.