“Lisa is heads above her but not for the reason you think. You ask me why her? I don’t know why; there are no words to explain why; it just is. If Lisa had nothing, I would still want to be with her because of her.”
“And what if we forbid her from seeing you?”
“I won’t let that happen.” Oh? Go, Cody!
“And how do you plan on stopping it from happening?”
“By doing whatever it takes to prove to you that I’m worthy of her.” His voice dropped there in the end, and I knew mom smelled blood in the water like the shark she is.
“You don’t sound so sure.”
“That’s because; that’s because I haven’t proven myself here lately. I didn’t protect her.” He hung his head, and my heart hurt.
“How could you protect her from what you didn’t know?” Now she looked at me like she knew all my secrets. How long have I known Melissa? There’s no way she could’ve shared…. Jessica.
“You’re right. But still, I should’ve seen it coming.”
“You say you had no idea about her wealth; how can I trust that?”
“Lisa doesn’t showcase her money. I figured the first time we met that she must’ve been somewhat wealthy because of where she grew up, but she could’ve been anyone, and I’d still have gone after her.”
“I knew her dad was a doctor, but how is that any better than a senator?”
“Yes, I heard that before we walked in earlier. So, you were trying to protect Lisa from Susie by not coming forward with what she’d done. Is that it?”
“Pretty much, yeah. I met Lisa the very next day after it happened. Knowing Susie, if I’d gone after her for that while pursuing Lisa, she would’ve caused trouble for her. I was trying to keep Lisa as far away from anything to do with her as possible. As you can see, I failed, but it won’t happen again.”
Mom opened her Hermes suitcase. It’s not a suitcase, really, just the biggest Birkin they have, which is about a fifty inch if I remember correctly. She only carries that thing around when she means business. I didn’t know what the folder was that she pulled out, opened, and slid across the table in front of Cody and me. Dad’s dossier. Oh crap, now he’s really going to bolt.
CODY
I imagined this day a million times, and at none of those times did I see any of this coming. The shock had worn off a little between the station and here, but I was still a bit wary of the outcome. Part of me was stashing away every bit of information for future reference, and the other half was in awe.
I’ve never been around a truly wealthy person before, and I’ve met hundred-million-dollar ball players. They were all serfs, and this woman is the landowner. The only thing that kept me calm was the feel of Lisa’s hand in mine and keeping my head on straight.
In my mind, the only thought I had was that no matter what happens, Lisa stays with me. I was thinking of all of my signing prospects in a few months and who would pay me the most so that she didn’t suffer too much if she lost her family because of me. Then I thought of ways to keep that from happening because sure as shit; I’d love to sit down across from these people for Sunday dinner.
It was like watching a movie, which is where I thought things like this only happened. Have you ever met a person that smelled rich? I’m not even sure that’s a term. Well, Lisa’s mom smelled, looked, and oozed wealth from every pore. Her dad was no slouch, but his wife outshone him by a mile, maybe because he took a step back and let her shine.
I want Lisa to be just like her! That strength that comes off of her in waves could withstand just about anything when I’m not there to protect her. I can’t say I was surprised when her mother slid the folder in front of me. These are the kind of people who do background checks, you can tell.
I was surprised, though, at how far back they’d gone. She had my footprint from the hospital. I couldn’t show fear or anger, both those things might cost me Lisa, so I just pushed the folder over to Lisa as if I had no interest in it.
“Don’t you want to see what’s in there?” Mrs. Davenport asked.
“Since it’s about me, I guess I already know.”
“Aren’t you upset that we did this?” She inclined her chin towards the dossier.
“You did it to protect Lisa; that’s fine with me.”
“I see. So, you want to play football. What about if you get hurt? What will you do then?”
“Lisa said she’d take care of me and the kids if that happened until I got back on my feet.”