Jessica unlocked and opened her door, floating on a love high she’d never experienced before.
Barney bounded in past her, rushing to his toy box to root through all his plush toys and balls.
Derrick came in behind her and closed the door, setting their bags down. He laughed. “Does he always do that?”
“Oh yes. Apparently if someone broke in, they’d only be interested in his toys, so he must conduct an inventory. Normally, he doesn’t tear his toys up, but occasionally he will chew a small hole so he can get the squeakers out. I made the horrific mistake of throwing said toy out, and he figured it out during his random inspection.” She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, the attitude I got that night.”
“Smart dog.”
“Spoiled rotten.”
Derrick grinned. “That too, but I like that you spoil him. It shows what a wonderful mom you are.”
Crinkling her nose, she leaned her head against his chest. At thirty years old, she’d been thinking children wouldn’t be a part of her future. But now, who knew? Derrick obviously wanted kids. He’d told her all about his Saturday night ritual, giving Carter and Evelyn a date night while he spent an evening with his niece and nephews.
Would she be a good mom? She hadn’t had the best role model growing up.
Last night, while sitting in the hot tub watching the fireworks come off the mountain, Derrick had come clean about Fifth and Fifth, the twenty-story high-rise where they’d spent their first date, and his plans for gentrifying downtown Spring City. He was a principal investor but also organized a collection of investors in and out of the city. His and his brother’s company, BDG LLC, held the primary construction contract, overseeing the general contracting and infusing a dozen or more small business with work over the next few years.
They didn’t discuss dollars. He didn’t offer, and she had chosen not to ask.
Honestly, it didn’t matter to her how much he was worth. She had her own career with a good salary. She didn’t need his money, and in some ways, she was glad he avoided showing it off. With her upbringing, it definitely would have turned her off if he’d tried to win her over with his bank account before getting to know her.
“You know, we have forty-five minutes before our seventy-two hours are up. What should we do with our time?” She rubbed against him.
The rumble in his chest was all the answer she needed.
She smiled and took his hand, leading him into her bedroom.
An hour and a half later, Jessica rolled out of bed.
“Back to regular life?” Derrick grumbled.
She glanced over her shoulder. “You are insatiable.”
“Only with you.”
Laughing, she stood up and slipped an oversized T-shirt over her head. “I need to use the bathroom and we need water. And I would like to check my messages before tomorrow morning, so I can mentally prepare for the week.”
He rolled out of bed, pulling on his shorts and shirt. “I’ll go get our electronic leashes.”
“I swear, fifteen minutes of checking messages and then right back to bed.”
He nodded. “Deal.”
She slipped into the bathroom, taking a minute to freshen up her face. She’d gone all weekend without makeup, not that she wore a lot to begin with, and her hair had been up in a perpetual version of a ponytail, yet Derrick acted like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever had in his presence. She didn’t understand it, but she wouldn’t question it either, soaking up his love for as long as she could.
Walking into the kitchen, she found him scowling at his phone while hers continued to chime with incoming messages, emails, and voicemails.
“Jeez. What a racket these things make.”
He nodded, not looking up from his phone. “I’m going to use the bathroom.”
He left her with her phone, and she wondered what had gone wrong over the weekend to put a scowl on his face.
She grabbed her own phone, ready to scan through her dozens of missed texts and phone calls, when her phone rang.
“Hello?”
Mike snapped at her. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you.”
He had left her no less than thirty text and voicemails.
“I see that. I just got back in cell range and my phone went ape-shit with all the missed calls. What’s wrong? Did Elliad burn down?”
“Might as well. Please tell me you weren’t with Derrick Grayson.”
She blew out an even breath. “That is none of your business, and that better not be why you blew up my phone all weekend.”
“God dammit, Jessica. You have no idea who that guy is.”
“Actually, I know exactly who he is.”
“Oh? So, you know he’s one of the most powerful, wealthiest eligible bachelors in Spring City? The guy is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Okay, there was the dollar value she hadn’t asked about. “What does that matter?”
“He wields a lot of influence, especially over investors like Henry Chamberlin.”
“What are you saying?” She glimpsed Derrick walking back into the room, his expression serious.
In a low, careful tone, Derrick said, “Baby, hang up the phone.”
She frowned, her brow crinkled in her confusion. Laying her phone on the counter, she hit the speaker, broadcasting Mike to the room.
Her deputy came through loud and clear. “Everything the guy has told you is a lie. He came in posing as a laborer to get a bead on what our proposal was about, and then he used that information to propose a different investment opportunity to Chamberlin. He got it all, Jessica. Fifty million dollars, some furniture deal between Grayson’s Custom Hardwood and Chamberlin Hotels.”
She said nothing. Her thumping heart lodged in her throat cut off her words.
“Do you understand what I’m telling you? He used you to get to Chamberlin’s money.”
She watched Derrick’s shoulders sag as the realization of what Mike said sunk in.
“I’ve got to go, Mike.”
“Wait. Is that son of a bitch there now? Don’t hang up!”
She disconnected the call, staring at the stranger standing in her living room. Walls built as her heart broke in a million pieces. How could she have been so stupid? Derrick had said he was good at the wheeling and dealing—the fast business pace being the only thing he missed about living in New York—but he’d failed to mention the skill he had at weaving a web of deception.
“It’s not what you think.” His jaw was tight.
She narrowed her eyes. “It’s not? Sounds pretty clear-cut. GCH has a new business venture with Chamberlin Hotels, and Elliad Corp is ass out.”
“I didn’t even know who you were presenting to until I saw him on Friday.”
“You were there on Friday?”
“I came to check on you.”
“And when you saw us presenting to Henry Chamberlin, you didn’t think to tell me that you had your own business deals with him?”
“I thought I had taken care of it.”
“Oh, you certainly did. You kept me busy all weekend to make sure I couldn’t do anything to save my proposal.”
He took a step toward her. “That’s not the way of it.”
She put her hands out, stopping him in his tracks. “You need to leave.”
He shook his head. “Don’t do this. Don’t shut me out on a misunderstanding.”
Taking a deep breath, she steeled her shoulders, pushing her tears back. “Remember when I said I could turn it off like a switch?”
Derrick clenched his jaw. “Don’t.”
“Too late. Get out.”
Derrick saw the resolve in Jessica’s face, could see the armor plating her emotions every second they stood there staring at each other. Nothing he said right now was going to make a difference because she wouldn’t hear a word.
He walked into the bedroom and slipped his socks and shoes on, and then grabbed his duffel bag, removing the prospectus he’d written on Friday prior to picking her up. He’d meant to tell her about Chamberlin, but once he’d killed the deal, he believed there’d be no reason to broach the subject.
Turned out the text never sent. He’d had an error when he powered his phone back up, a giant red exclamation point declaring how fucked he was.
He slid the prospectus on the counter without a word. It read almost like a resume, outlining his professional pursuits with emphasis on the most recent one with Chamberlin Hotels, which had finished negotiations on Tuesday, prior to him coming out with a team to turn Elliad’s conference room into an interactive presentation suite.
At the door, he gave her a parting shot. “When you love someone, there is no on/off switch. You’re upset but you’re being unreasonable because if you loved me you’d hear me out.”
Derrick closed the door gently, his heart breaking with every step he took toward his Jeep. He tossed his duffel bag into the back and sat in the driver’s seat reviewing his text messages, the series from his family leaving him scratching his head.
He scrolled back and started with the first from Brett. Congratulations. Chamberlin is going to invest it all.
Then the one from his Dad. Heard the news, son. Sounds like everything will work out, just like you said. Congratulations.
Mom. Sweetie, be safe in your celebration. I’m so happy for you. I love you.
Alisha. Here’s to a whole new world, baby brother. Time to celebrate.
Carter and Evelyn. Hope you’re having an amazing weekend and this is the news you were waiting for. Congratulations.
Then a note from Carter alone. I know I should have read the prospectus, but is this the same Chamberlin we built a mock-conference room for?
Derrick rolled his eyes. Yeah, they both had bungled this up. But as the facilities manager, Carter wouldn’t have cared about the business reasons for remodeling the conference room. He wanted specifications and manpower, which was another reason why he’d never come on with Grayson’s Custom Hardwood.
And why was the family congratulating him? Shouldn’t they be thrilled for themselves? Mom and Dad could retire now, travel the world, buy an RV, or whatever else they wanted to do. Alisha would never have to worry about another debt collection phone call again. Whatever she wanted to do, wherever she wanted to go, she now had the resources to do it. Brett, too. And with no kids, they both had unlimited possibilities. Carter never had to work at Elliad Corp in the first place. He’d chosen to, but now he’d never have to work again. His children’s college tuitions were paid for, regardless of where they wanted to go, and pretty much anything else they ever wanted was covered too. This deal was the kind that would continue to pay dividends for future generations of Grayson’s.
So why were they congratulating him?
His last conversation with Carter nagged at him. His brother-in-law hadn’t exactly said, but rather implied, he was reverting to his old, wheeling and dealing, fast-paced ways. Sure, taking over the reins of the family business had given him a purpose, and growing it to the point of breaking small business limitations had infused him with the same competitive spirit he rocked in New York and Los Angeles, but negotiating the corporate shares and backroom dealings had been the ultimate rush.
In his high, had he missed something his family had been trying to tell him?
Checking the time, he tapped out a message to all of them. Emergency board meeting. Thirty minutes. Dining room.
Then he followed it up with another. I know it’s late. Please.
With one last look at Jessica’s door, he turned the key and threw his Jeep into gear. Before he fixed things with her, he had to make sure he hadn’t inadvertently ruined his relationship with his family because he was going to need their wisdom in the one area of his life where he continuously failed.