Cliff's Good Deed

12 - Cliff Consults with Izzy

When Cliff returned home from his breakfast date, he saw his Corvette parked in the driveway. Good. He wanted to talk to his sister. He found the door to her bedroom closed.

He knocked. "Izzy?"

No answer.

He tried again. "Izzy, are you in there?"

When she still didn't answer, he eased open the door to peek. He found her on the floor in the lotus position doing yoga while wearing headphones.

She sensed his entry, turned his way, and threw a shoe at the door. "A little privacy, please?"

He pointed toward his room and motioned.

"I'll come see you after I'm done."

He flashed her the OK sign and left.

Cliff took a seat at his desk and read his email. After responding to a few client concerns, he spent some time reviewing a bid spec from a New Jersey municipality. While contemplating whether they should expand the business out of state, Izzy walked in, still dressed in her yoga outfit.

She plopped into the visitor chair beside Cliff's desk and declared, "I decided to keep the Corvette a while longer."

Cliff scoffed. "What do you mean you decided?"

"It's such a dick magnet. You wouldn't believe the swarm of guys who approached Kayla and me at the club last night while admiring your car."

"More like they were admiring two pretty girls in skimpy tennis outfits."

She shrugged. "Whatever works to get attention, right?"

"Aaron probably wouldn't approve of all the attention you're attracting."

"I wouldn't do anything with another man. He knows that. I'm helping Kayla get attention since you're not interested in her."

Cliff leaned back in his chair and changed the subject. "I met Hannah this morning for breakfast and made a date with her for Sunday."

She grew animated. "Way to go, big brother!"

It humbled him to ask for dating advice from his little sister, but he wanted to make sure he didn't mess up. "Sunday is three days away. Should I keep in touch with her between now and then or should I give her space? I'm afraid if I go silent, she might think I lost interest."

"Cliffy, that lady is red hot. She knows you won't lose interest. Give her space, otherwise she might suspect you're the clingy type." She paused a moment. "Although it would be acceptable for you to text her on Saturday afternoon to reconfirm your date. You can end your text by saying how much you look forward to seeing her."

Cliff thought his little sister's advice made sense. What he said next, he knew would please her. "I spoke with Dad earlier this morning about adding you to the payroll."

She went stock still as if in shock.

"I won't keep you in suspense. He agreed and told me it was a foregone conclusion. He always expected to hire you after you graduated. He told me has was proud of you."

She shook her head as if in disbelief. "He actually said that? He used those words? You're not paraphrasing, are you?"

"Those were his exact words."

"I wish he would tell me so to my face," she mumbled. "It would be nice to hear."

"Mom and Dad have never been very affectionate toward either of us, but it doesn't mean they don't care for us. They treated us well, put us through college, and are giving us this opportunity to run the company."

"You mean, they treated you well," she muttered.

Cliff regretted going down this path. His words had triggered her. "Hey, it was long ago."

Izzy wore a pained expression. She said nothing.

Cliff wanted to rescue her from dark thoughts. "Now that you're on the payroll, I could use your finance expertise."

She pulled her chair closer. "What's up?"

He shuffled some documents and found a real estate ad. "This warehouse in Harrisburg would be perfect for my proposed community outreach project. I was wondering if you could work up a payment plan scenario that wouldn't draw attention to the balance sheet."

Izzy cast a nervous glance toward the door and bent closer to him. She muttered, "Are you crazy? You couldn't hide a major real estate purchase from Mom and Dad. They already told you to drop your outreach project."

It was a serious point of contention between Cliff and his parents which left him frustrated, because the project was important to him. "They always say no. I run this company, and they need to trust me. What are they going to do if I go rogue for once?"

Izzy laid a hand on his forearm. "Cliffy, no. They told you in no uncertain terms to drop the idea the last time you asked about it."

"Just because it wouldn't be a profit center doesn't mean it couldn't be an asset."

"I agree with you and think it's noble, but now is not the right time."

He trusted her instincts. "Will there ever be a right time?"

"Let me become more entrenched in the business. Then you and I can approach them as a united front."

"Kiddo, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I'm gonna give you a big hug." She sprang from her seat and embraced him.

After a few seconds, he said, "Yeah, okay, okay."

She released him. "So, your new crush. Where are you taking her on Sunday?"

It took him a moment to shift mental gears. "The training course. Hannah wants to drive one of our trash haulers."

She rolled her eyes. "C'mon. That's about as far from a romantic date as I can imagine."

"Maybe so, but when I suggested it, she got really excited."

"You better take her someplace nice afterwards for dinner."

"She doesn't eat dinner."

Izzy shook her head. "I pity you. You're really going to have to think outside the box with this lady."

"Tell me about it. By the way, you'll need to give me back my Corvette key fob."

Izzy hung her head. "I was hoping to keep it a while longer. It's only fair. You get to drive it anytime you want."

Cliff chuckled. "What do mean fair? It's my car."

She folded her hands in front of her as if in prayer. "Please, Cliffy? Pretty please?"

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I'll let you drive it during the week, but I want it on weekends."

She squealed and gave him another hug. "You're the best big brother in the whole wide world."

"You mean the biggest push over. Hey, remember, don't let anyone else drive it. Not Aaron, not Kayla, nobody."

Something in the past having to do with their parents caused Izzy emotional trauma. Maybe she'll reveal it to us later. 🤔🤫🤐