“What? It’s great! I get to help people, not just Casey. The other tenants in her building are safe too. And all those foster kids are going to get education and medical care. What’s wrong with that? I feel like I’m one of the good guys!”
“Okay, yeah, it’s great, but Mick. You fucking bought her home and bought her job. You own her. And she doesn’t even know it. Don’t you see how…fucked up that is?”
“Well shit. No, it’s not like that. I just wanted to help. I just wanted her to have a safe place to sleep and to be able to do her work the way she wanted to. With no limits just because of money.”
“I know you had good motives, but you just don’t do that. You don’t step into people’s lives and go ‘snip snip’ and fix everything!”
“Why the hell not? Is it the money? Because really, the building cost peanuts, and my investments earn ten mil every ten days. It sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t.”
“To you, it isn’t. What about to her?”
I sighed. I knew he was right. In fact I’d thought of every single thing he’d said before he ever said it. But I wanted to give Casey the world. There was just something about that girl.
“Mick, you gotta tell her,” he was saying. “You have to do it soon. The longer this goes on, the worse it gets.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You’re seeing her tonight, right? Come clean, Mick. Just do it.”
And I knew he was right.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Casey
I had put off seeing my mom long enough. I really hated hiding from her that I was dating someone, but what was I going to say? Still, she kept calling and calling, so I decided to go over there for a quick visit before meeting Mick for drinks. I was so excited for that that I was sure my impatience would show.
But Mom was pretty oblivious, and for once I was grateful. When I got there, she led me in to the dining room and offered me tea, as usual. We sat at the long shiny table and sipped from our fragile cups. Mom had a lot to tell me about everything that had happened in her social circle while I was gone. She was always bubbly and cheerful, so I tried not to hold it against her that she had so little curiosity about Africa, my new job, or much else in my life.
Some of her friends had gotten divorced while I was gone, and Mom clucked and tsked over it. I always wondered how her marriage to my stepdad worked. They seemed perfect for each other in a way, two people who always kept everything on the surface. No deep feelings, nothing negative. I wondered what Mom would think if she knew the big secret I was carrying. Would she approve, saying it was best to keep everything sunny and keep everyone happy? Or would she say that secrets themselves were destructive?
When she started talking about Mick, I suddenly brought my attention back to what she was saying.
“You should see your brother now, Kathy.” (Mom still called me by the name she gave me, of course.) “He sure is reaping the rewards of his success. He has the penthouse of the Ellington Building, he drives a Lamborghini....”
“What?” I said. “How can he afford that?”
“He can afford anything he wants, after winning the suit against the tobacco company. He got billions out of that one case.”
“Tobacco company?”
“Yes! He’s a lawyer.”
“I know he’s a lawyer! Environmental law.”
“No, personal injury. Since that one big win, he can pick and choose any case he wants.”
I was speechless while Mom rattled on about tobacco companies and medical malpractice. Did Tony have another son I didn’t know about? That would be crazy.
“Mick? You’re talking about Tony’s son Mick?” I finally said.
“Yes, who else?” She really looked at me then. “Kathy, are you okay? You look pale as a ghost.”
“I just thought.... I remember Mick saying he was going into environmental law, years ago, when he was in law school.”
“Not that I ever heard of. He went for the big money. He’s an honest-to-god billionaire now. After the tobacco verdict, he opened his own firm.”
I couldn’t process this. but the word ‘billionaire’ was echoing in my head. It made no sense. I heard my stepfather talking in the hallway, and I was grateful for the interruption, so I would have a minute to think.
“So you think that’s a good investment?” Tony was saying outside the dining room door.
“Sure is. It’s been performing for me.” That was Mick’s voice! Was he here? I actually looked under the table and thought about crawling down there for a second. This was a disaster.
Mick and my stepfather walked in. Tony came over and kissed my mom on the cheek she raised for him.
Mick noticed me. Pleasure and surprise battled for control of his face. “Casey!” he said. “What are you doing here?” He started towards me, and I prayed for the floor to open up and drop me into the basement.