Lucky 33 (Love in the District #2)

19. Due Diligence

CHAPTER 19

DUE DILIGENCE

A my had a feeling in her gut that Drew had something wrong that he was either hiding or hadn’t been honest about. The more time that passed, the surer of it she was. No one was this perfect. His career, looks, personality - they are all a little too just right. There had to be something.

Katie was being naive. In her mind, it was just a matter of time before she figured it out Drew’s flaws. Self-sabotage. Why would I do that? Katie was being unfair. Amy wasn’t the person she was in college when she self-sabotaged on a regular basis. Now, she was prudent. She wasn’t going to build a future with a man who had something to hide, which is certainly what was going on with Dr. Perfect.

She’d be happy to be wrong about this. She saw herself as being smart and protecting herself. She could rest easy if she did her due diligence on Drew. The hope was that he was exactly who he presented himself to be. If not, she’d rather know now than years in the future when the truth slips out and she’s too invested in their relationship to make a smart decision.

Amy had told Drew that she had a family event all day today. She felt bad about that lie; especially since she would want to invite him to something like that and his feelings would be hurt that she hadn’t. She had bigger fish to fry right now. She had some Googling to do.

Amy searched simply for “Drew Porter DC” but nothing helpful came up. There were plenty of Drew Porters that came up in her search. I guess that’s a common name. Who knew there were multiple Drew Porters walking around DC? Anything that showed the correct Drew came from those scammy background search sites that really only had his address and an old email. She tried variations, like “Andrew Porter DC,” “Drew Porter American University,” “Andrew Porter AU,” “Drew Porter Ph.D.” But all the results were work and academic related. He sure had a lot of publications and accolades for being young in his career. Amy felt a swell of pride. That’s my guy. Okay, not helpful.

She had to take this in a different direction. The dirt wasn’t going to come up in that kind of search. He had lived in two states and the District, so this might take a while. She should get her trusty reporter involved, but Amy wasn’t ready to ask for Laura’s help. She mostly didn’t want to deal with her lecture if she ended up agreeing with Katie’s point of view. She was going to do this on her own until involving her sister was absolutely necessary.

After hours of intense searching, Amy had nothing. Well, nothing negative. In fact, everything she found only served to endear him to her. She found the news segment Drew had mentioned about being bitten by the box turtle on the playground, an old roster for his high school basketball team, social media that hadn’t been updated in a while, his Rate My Professors reviews that she’d already scoured, and the conference proceedings from his trip to Charlottesville where they met. I should stop now. He’s only getting more attractive.

Amy finally grew frustrated enough to bring Laura in on the problem. This was definitely her sister’s wheelhouse. No one had Laura’s research skills, particularly with good gossip as an incentive.

“Hello, stranger. Are you still holed away with your lover?” Laura asked .

Amy sighed deeply into the phone.

“Was that a contented sigh or an Amy sigh?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Amy asked.

“You know exactly what I mean. You’ve found a way to ruin this, haven’t you? We like Drew. Whatever you’re doing to actively sabotage your relationship, stop it. If not for your sake, for Jake’s and mine.”

This might be harder than I thought to get her on board. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten Laura and Jake involved with Drew.

“You need to back it up, buttface. I’m not ‘Amy sighing’ or ‘actively sabotaging’ anything.” Mature. I’m clearly the older and wiser sister. I hate that she’s right, though.

“So, it’s a contented sigh. I love that for you. Thank goodness there’s finally a man in your life to help you destress, if you know what I mean.”

“I do. And gross.”

Laura sang porno music loudly into the phone, and Amy was mortified to hear Jake sing along in the background.

“Are you done?” she asked, trying not to give Laura the satisfaction of her laughing.

“No guarantees. So, what’s up?”

“I have a big ask. It involves research.”

“Ooh, tell me,” Laura said eagerly.

Amy laid down on the sofa, already exhausted before getting to the point of her call. “I need you to thoroughly check out Drew. Background search, social media, the whole deal.”

“Why?”

“I want to be sure he’s exactly who he says he is and who I think he is.”

“Why would he be?” Laura asked, her tone serious.

“The problem is that there’s no apparent problem. No one is this kind, sweet, accomplished, energetic, and, you know, perfect.”

“Why hasn’t this come up any of the times we’ve hung out? Why now? What happened? ”

“Nothing happened,” Amy admitted.

“So you’re looking for trouble.”

Why am I trying so hard to find dirt on him? I’m letting my anxiety and bad traits win again . Damn, I hate when Katie is right.

“Not in as many words. I want to be sure I know who I’m spending my time with and who I’m giving my love to.”

Laura was quiet for a long time. “For the record, I think this is unnecessary. You’ve been together non-stop for about four months and haven’t had a reason to doubt him. I know you very well, so it’s not a shock to get this request. I’ll do a Drew deep dive and let you know what I find. I expect there to be nothing, but I understand that you want to be sure. You’ve never given your heart away before, and this is all new and scary.”

At least Laura didn’t give me a talking to. I would have lost it on her if she had.

“Thanks for doing this. I’m probably being overly cautious, but I need the confirmation to be able to relax,” Amy said gratefully.

Amy needed a break. She couldn’t go anywhere in the neighborhood since she might run into Drew and have to explain herself. She hopped in her car and went for a drive. She needed to clear her head. It didn’t really matter anymore if Laura found something. Amy was satisfied that Drew was perfect.

She needed a break and getting ice cream down by the water in Old Town Alexandria would take her mind off of Drew and Laura’s investigation. It was always a nice way to spend a summer afternoon.

Amy settled in on a bench at the pier, ice cream threatening to drip down her arm. Laura’s text came in just as she’d relaxed.

Laura: Are you home? We need to talk ASAP.

Amy: I will be in about 20 minutes. What’s wrong?

Laura: I found something about Drew. You’re not going to like it.

Amy: You know my imagination is going to go wild. Just give me the summary, and I’ll see you soon.

Laura: Drew was in jail.