FA+
Shop
198
Views
Views
3
Favorites
Favorites
Category
Artwork (Digital) / All
Species Mouse
Size 2560 x 1440
File Size 1.44 MB
Report this content
★
More from Shay
Listed in Folders
“Sweetie? We need to talk.”
Lisa’s father would say that to her often. “We need to talk” this and “this is important” that. Lisa made a habit of brushing Timothy off but today was different. After speaking to Ashely Nadeau about her name a few weeks ago, Lisa was left wondering if she should confront David about it. She had to know what the correlation was. But Lisa never did find the nerve to ask him. That and he would often switch lounges he’d be working at. One day it was the Demons Lounge in Arizona, the next it was the Daffodil in New York. Lisa’s chance to ask him became a battle of who was where, when. But Timothy, her biological father, caught her off guard.
It was December 24th, just before Christmas and two days before Lisa’s birthday. The league was on break and Lisa flew to Delaware to celebrate the holiday with her family. Coming from a win against Winnipeg, Lisa immediately hopped a plain home, where she was greeted by Timothy in a limousine.
“Hey, sweetie!” Timothy called with his window rolled down. He jumped out and hugged her tight. “Great to see you.” He kissed her forehead.
Lisa greeted Timothy back and got into the limo. With a sigh she rested her head on the back of her seat and closed her eyes. No one truly loved traveling and Lisa was no different. She was glad to be almost done with moving around for a couple of days. Timothy, however, sat straight in his seat with his fingers clasped.
“Sweetie?” he called softly. “We need to talk.” Lisa kept her eyes closed, unaware of where the conversation would go and gave a signaling nod for him to continue. “Have you thought about what we’ve talked about?”
“Hmm?” Lisa’s face was soft and relaxed. She was almost home and ready to lay in what would have been her childhood bed.
“About Master Devereaux?” Timothy answered. Lisa’s ear twitched at first. She heard him but it took a second for it to reach her brain. Once it did, she sat straight up and shouted at her father.
“What?!”
“The Lafebvre’s would like to know what your intentions are.”
“Father! I’m not...!” Lisa stopped. She never wanted to admit to him that she knew what Timothy’s double-speak actually meant. Since Lisa came back into her family’s lives, Timothy would bring up the name Devereaux Lafebvre, or just the Lafebvre’s in general. Hugo Lafebvre was Devereaux’s father and CEO of Nurture, a leading management consulting firm specializing in transformative reinvention. Soon Devereaux will inherit the company. Lisa knew Timothy was quite fond of the Lafebvre’s and their company. With the heir of the company having just turned 31, only two years older than her, Lisa had just one guess as to what Timothy wanted for them both. But he never outright stated this assumed intention. What she was told was much worse. “Father… No. I’m happy with…”
“Eliza, please. Think about it. You’ve gone to school for this. You’re this close to getting your doctorate for this. The boys can’t do it. They’re not even interested in science. But you are. But what are you doing instead?”
“Doing what I love, Father.” Lisa snapped back.
“Yes. I know you love basketball… but… sweetie. Its pennies compared to what ITCW makes.” ITCW stands for Innovated Technologies and Coders of Wilmington, the company Timothy owned and wanted Lisa to inherit. And basketball had stood in the way of Timothy’s plans since they reunited. Lisa fidgeted in her seat and scoffed.
“Father. Stop! I’m not giving up basketball.”
“Do you remember what you promised me?” Timothy’s voice went stern. “Do you? You promised me that if you didn’t get MVP at the end of last season, you’d retire!”
The limo was stuck in traffic. Most likely everyone coming home for Christmas. It was snowing lightly. The trees and streetlamps were decorated for the season. It was truly a festive time of year. But Lisa and Timothy sat tense in the limo.
“I was… almost MVP…” Lisa whispered.
“For how many years? You keep getting runner up, but no one seems to care enough about you to vote you as MVP.”
“Father…”
“At ITCW, you’d be MVP every year, making a difference, and hell, making a thousand times more than what you’re making now. And you’ve almost got your doctorate. You’ve worked so hard for this. I can’t see anyone better to take my place than you… But you’re wasting your time with a sport that doesn’t recognize your talents, where commentators can’t even remember your real name, where no one cares if you’re injured-“
“I’ve never been injured!” Lisa interrupted. “Never!”
“And how long before your luck runs out? You get hurt, you’re out for God knows how long, watching from the sidelines as others do your job for you. You won’t get that with ITCW.”
“Father…!”
“And you promised!”
“I only promised to get you off my back!” Lisa admitted.
“I spoke to Master Devereaux. He’s interested in merging our companies. But only if you head ITCW.”
“Then I guess you’re out of a deal.” Lisa crossed her arms and legs and turned her back as best she could towards Timothy.
“He does like you, you know… He think’s you’d be great to work with… and maybe even more than-“
“Stop! Just… stop.” This was the first time Timothy smiled. He turned more to face his disapproving daughter and put his hand on her shoulder.
“I think he’d be good for you…” he taunted.
“Oh my god! Stop!” Lisa forced his hand off of her with a shrug and turned even further away from Timothy.
“Okay, okay,” he laughed. “But. I’m serious about taking over ITCW.”
“Why can’t you run it?” Lisa huffed into her arms. “You’re already CEO.”
“Well... Because I’ve decided to run for governor of Delaware,” Timothy said proudly. “I think I’ve got a pretty good chance at it, too.” Lisa’s ears turned towards her father in shock. “See? Always moving up. It’s what we duPonts do. You’re not a kid anymore. You’re going to be 29 in two days. It’s time to start settling down and think about your future. I mean, what about kids? Do you even want to start a family? You’re starting to get up there in age.”
“Father… No! I don’t want children or a family or anything like that! I just want to play basketball…” But anyone who knew her knew what her heart truly wanted in the end. And Timothy saw right through her.
“It’s a fine hobby, sweetie… I won’t stop you from ever playing basketball… But I’m going to hold you to your promise.” He sighed. “You’ve already started this season. So… I’ll let you continue. But by the end of the season… you WILL retire.” Lisa turned her whole body in shock.
“You can’t!”
“You promised me. And I promised the Lafebvre’s. I’m going to announce your acquisition of the company once we finalize the merger. You won’t have time for the league then. So, enjoy your last season. ‘cause the rest of your life is about to begin. You’ll see. You’re going to love it.”
Lisa sat stunned. She wanted to fight back like she had in the past, but she made a promise. Was she truly going to retire at the end of the year, all because she didn’t make MVP last season? There has to be a way to convince him. Maybe a ring? Maybe getting MVP this year? Nothing seemed like it was in her paws to control though. And what if he was right? What if she was on the decline? The only thing Lisa could think of was getting a starting spot in this season’s All-Star game, especially since last season was the first season Lisa didn’t make it to ASW. It wouldn’t be enough to convince Timothy, but it’d be a start. It was decided. First things first: start at ASW.
Lisa’s father would say that to her often. “We need to talk” this and “this is important” that. Lisa made a habit of brushing Timothy off but today was different. After speaking to Ashely Nadeau about her name a few weeks ago, Lisa was left wondering if she should confront David about it. She had to know what the correlation was. But Lisa never did find the nerve to ask him. That and he would often switch lounges he’d be working at. One day it was the Demons Lounge in Arizona, the next it was the Daffodil in New York. Lisa’s chance to ask him became a battle of who was where, when. But Timothy, her biological father, caught her off guard.
It was December 24th, just before Christmas and two days before Lisa’s birthday. The league was on break and Lisa flew to Delaware to celebrate the holiday with her family. Coming from a win against Winnipeg, Lisa immediately hopped a plain home, where she was greeted by Timothy in a limousine.
“Hey, sweetie!” Timothy called with his window rolled down. He jumped out and hugged her tight. “Great to see you.” He kissed her forehead.
Lisa greeted Timothy back and got into the limo. With a sigh she rested her head on the back of her seat and closed her eyes. No one truly loved traveling and Lisa was no different. She was glad to be almost done with moving around for a couple of days. Timothy, however, sat straight in his seat with his fingers clasped.
“Sweetie?” he called softly. “We need to talk.” Lisa kept her eyes closed, unaware of where the conversation would go and gave a signaling nod for him to continue. “Have you thought about what we’ve talked about?”
“Hmm?” Lisa’s face was soft and relaxed. She was almost home and ready to lay in what would have been her childhood bed.
“About Master Devereaux?” Timothy answered. Lisa’s ear twitched at first. She heard him but it took a second for it to reach her brain. Once it did, she sat straight up and shouted at her father.
“What?!”
“The Lafebvre’s would like to know what your intentions are.”
“Father! I’m not...!” Lisa stopped. She never wanted to admit to him that she knew what Timothy’s double-speak actually meant. Since Lisa came back into her family’s lives, Timothy would bring up the name Devereaux Lafebvre, or just the Lafebvre’s in general. Hugo Lafebvre was Devereaux’s father and CEO of Nurture, a leading management consulting firm specializing in transformative reinvention. Soon Devereaux will inherit the company. Lisa knew Timothy was quite fond of the Lafebvre’s and their company. With the heir of the company having just turned 31, only two years older than her, Lisa had just one guess as to what Timothy wanted for them both. But he never outright stated this assumed intention. What she was told was much worse. “Father… No. I’m happy with…”
“Eliza, please. Think about it. You’ve gone to school for this. You’re this close to getting your doctorate for this. The boys can’t do it. They’re not even interested in science. But you are. But what are you doing instead?”
“Doing what I love, Father.” Lisa snapped back.
“Yes. I know you love basketball… but… sweetie. Its pennies compared to what ITCW makes.” ITCW stands for Innovated Technologies and Coders of Wilmington, the company Timothy owned and wanted Lisa to inherit. And basketball had stood in the way of Timothy’s plans since they reunited. Lisa fidgeted in her seat and scoffed.
“Father. Stop! I’m not giving up basketball.”
“Do you remember what you promised me?” Timothy’s voice went stern. “Do you? You promised me that if you didn’t get MVP at the end of last season, you’d retire!”
The limo was stuck in traffic. Most likely everyone coming home for Christmas. It was snowing lightly. The trees and streetlamps were decorated for the season. It was truly a festive time of year. But Lisa and Timothy sat tense in the limo.
“I was… almost MVP…” Lisa whispered.
“For how many years? You keep getting runner up, but no one seems to care enough about you to vote you as MVP.”
“Father…”
“At ITCW, you’d be MVP every year, making a difference, and hell, making a thousand times more than what you’re making now. And you’ve almost got your doctorate. You’ve worked so hard for this. I can’t see anyone better to take my place than you… But you’re wasting your time with a sport that doesn’t recognize your talents, where commentators can’t even remember your real name, where no one cares if you’re injured-“
“I’ve never been injured!” Lisa interrupted. “Never!”
“And how long before your luck runs out? You get hurt, you’re out for God knows how long, watching from the sidelines as others do your job for you. You won’t get that with ITCW.”
“Father…!”
“And you promised!”
“I only promised to get you off my back!” Lisa admitted.
“I spoke to Master Devereaux. He’s interested in merging our companies. But only if you head ITCW.”
“Then I guess you’re out of a deal.” Lisa crossed her arms and legs and turned her back as best she could towards Timothy.
“He does like you, you know… He think’s you’d be great to work with… and maybe even more than-“
“Stop! Just… stop.” This was the first time Timothy smiled. He turned more to face his disapproving daughter and put his hand on her shoulder.
“I think he’d be good for you…” he taunted.
“Oh my god! Stop!” Lisa forced his hand off of her with a shrug and turned even further away from Timothy.
“Okay, okay,” he laughed. “But. I’m serious about taking over ITCW.”
“Why can’t you run it?” Lisa huffed into her arms. “You’re already CEO.”
“Well... Because I’ve decided to run for governor of Delaware,” Timothy said proudly. “I think I’ve got a pretty good chance at it, too.” Lisa’s ears turned towards her father in shock. “See? Always moving up. It’s what we duPonts do. You’re not a kid anymore. You’re going to be 29 in two days. It’s time to start settling down and think about your future. I mean, what about kids? Do you even want to start a family? You’re starting to get up there in age.”
“Father… No! I don’t want children or a family or anything like that! I just want to play basketball…” But anyone who knew her knew what her heart truly wanted in the end. And Timothy saw right through her.
“It’s a fine hobby, sweetie… I won’t stop you from ever playing basketball… But I’m going to hold you to your promise.” He sighed. “You’ve already started this season. So… I’ll let you continue. But by the end of the season… you WILL retire.” Lisa turned her whole body in shock.
“You can’t!”
“You promised me. And I promised the Lafebvre’s. I’m going to announce your acquisition of the company once we finalize the merger. You won’t have time for the league then. So, enjoy your last season. ‘cause the rest of your life is about to begin. You’ll see. You’re going to love it.”
Lisa sat stunned. She wanted to fight back like she had in the past, but she made a promise. Was she truly going to retire at the end of the year, all because she didn’t make MVP last season? There has to be a way to convince him. Maybe a ring? Maybe getting MVP this year? Nothing seemed like it was in her paws to control though. And what if he was right? What if she was on the decline? The only thing Lisa could think of was getting a starting spot in this season’s All-Star game, especially since last season was the first season Lisa didn’t make it to ASW. It wouldn’t be enough to convince Timothy, but it’d be a start. It was decided. First things first: start at ASW.
Category Artwork (Digital) / All
Species Mouse
Size 2560 x 1440px
File Size 1.44 MB
Comments