“Likely my brother, the all-knowing CEO,” he says in disgust.
When Derrick’s mother finally admitted her longtime boss was his father, he took it hard. When Keith Kelly made the formal announcement, things fell apart. Simon, Keith’s son from his first marriage, was livid. Derrick went from being part of the IT department to being his half-brother and the owner’s newly claimed son. “Have you talked to him about your concerns?”
“I tried, but apparently I should stay in my lane and leave the business side to him.”
“Fuck.” So, no help from him on this. What Derrick needs is someone familiar with the work to help him navigate the accounting. “I have Elena reviewing the invoices with me. Why don’t you try finding someone to do the same up there?”
“Hmmm.” He gives a snort of dismissive laughter. “I don’t have the de Marco name or the face that had droves of women in line to help you with homework and research, and anythingelse you needed.”
I laugh into the phone, but he’s not wrong. I coasted on a lot of support from the female population when I was a kid. Then one saw through my shit and called me out on it. “It’s not like that.”
“You have an admin going in on a holiday and through the weekend to help you review.” He gives an exaggerated sigh. “Don’t tell me—she’s looking at you longingly from her position on your lap.”
Only in my dreams. “More like, she looked ready to throw her mouse at me across the conference room table yesterday.” Though the spark in her eyes when she’s angry made it worth the effort. Unfortunately, in the long run, it may have cost me an assistant. “And so far, she’s a no-show.” I check my watch and tick off the two-and-a-half-hour mark. “I actually had to call her boss to make sure she hadn’t stood me up.”
“I like her already,” he cuts in. “Though I’m surprised our guy down there would put up with that kind of attitude. I met him when I set up their system, and he seemed like a no-bullshit kind of guy.”
“Nahhh. There’s history,” I admit begrudgingly.
“Then she’s probably justified in wanting to throw something at you.” I’m about to ask him whose side he’s on when he scoffs. “I’m living proof you need to keep your personal life and work life separate, playboy.”
Yeah, it’s a hard lesson he’s had to come to terms with. “It’s not like that.” I could only wish. She was the first to drive home the reality of life. While I had it easy when it came to the things I wanted, she put effort into every task.
“Of course not,” he says, derisively.
“We were in school together.” If my head hadn’t been up my ass, I would have thought to cover her college tuition. But after I ended up in trouble, my parents put me on a tight leash. I wouldn’t have been able to arrange anything, even if it had occurred to me.
“Oh, then maybe I should go down there and meet her. Just the fact she’s Elena and not an admin is enough to pique my curiosity.”
A dagger of jealousy slits my skin, digging itself under. While Derrick lives to ride me because of my looks, he’s pretending he hasn’t left his own line of broken hearts. Smart, reasonably attractive, and successful, I imagine he’d tick off all the boxes for Elena.
“Why don’t you put your energy into finding someone who can follow the coding.” Not one to pass up a chance to get a jab in, I add, “You should do okay. Nerds are in now, from what I hear.”
“Asshole,” he replies in good fun. After a beat, he adds, “But yeah, there’s someone who comes to mind.”
The one who comes to my mind is the woman with the coffee. I don’t know what she does, but she sure as hell had his attention. He may not admit it, but he took off after her as soon as she reached the elevators.
Pounding on the front door catches my attention. That has to be Elena. “Gotta go, man. My girl’s here.”
“Good luck with your girl,” he chuckles.
I smash the button. Damn slip of the tongue. But yeah, I’m gonna need it.