by Kade Charest
“What’s going on?”
Taylor, Nan, and Henry all turned away from their huddle and looked at Derrick, shirtless, wearing only pajama bottoms. He came straight at them.
“N-nothing,” Taylor stuttered, ripping her stare from his chest and taking an intense interest in her reddened hand. “I spilled coffee,” she murmured.
Derrick shouldered between Taylor and Henry and grabbed her hand. He gingerly turned it over in his. He threw his milk-chocolate gaze to her. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” Taylor whispered as she stared at him. What was it about him that had her so completely transfixed? It wasn’t his body because at that moment all she could see was his eyes, and the concern written all over his face.
“How did this happen?”
“Little Henry here was just telling her your penthouse was ready for you both to move back into,” Nan chimed in, looking not even subtly suspiciously at Derrick.
Derrick’s brow shot up. “It’s ready?” he asked Henry, as he continued to hold and examine Taylor’s hand.
“Yes, Mr. Fletcher. You can both go back whenever you wish,” Henry confirmed.
Derrick nodded, his eyes locked on Taylor. “Okay. I think I will stay there tonight and leave Taylor here,” he said. “She is still freaked about it not being safe enough.”
Taylor felt her mouth fall open.
“Sounds good, Mr. Fletcher,” Henry said.
Derrick held Taylor’s eyes as he ducked his head and kissed her hand, then kissed her lips, “Have a good day at work. I’ll see you at lunch,” he said.
Taylor felt herself nod. “Thank you,” she breathed, and then she yanked her hand away and strode to out of the kitchen, eager to get away from Derrick’s spell.
Derrick watched Taylor leave and then walked over to help Nan pick up the pieces of the shattered coffee pot on the floor. As he crouched next to her, Nan looked at him and cocked her head.
“What?” Derrick asked.
Nan curved her lips into a small, secret smile. “I don’t know about you yet.”
“Don’t know what about me?” he asked, trying to avert her stare by picking up the larger pieces of glass.
“I don’t know if you are good enough for her,” Nan said, bringing Derrick’s head up in frustration, “but the more I see you with her, the more I think you just might be.” She nodded. “Now get out of here and go put some bloody clothes on. This isn’t the beach,” she instructed and got up, heading for the broom closet.
“I love her, Nan,” Derrick said to the older woman’s back.
“Yes, my boy. You always have, but that hasn’t always been enough,” she remarked, continuing on her path the get the broom. “But we shall see,” she said. “Now go. You’re going to cut an appendage!”
Derrick left, but he was hurt from the words. Seemed everyone thought he wasn’t good enough for Taylor. He was spending more energy trying to prove to Taylor that he was good enough for her than he ever had trying to track her down. And now here he was, showing her he would give her space, staying away from her, and he still was getting flak from other people.
It was totally true what they say: nice guys don’t win. He was better off going back to his spoiled rich kids ways; he always got what he wanted then.
Well, everything except Taylor.
Taylor was surprised when Henry opened her door in the garage of Preston Corp. She hadn’t even noticed they had plunged into a darkened garage from the bright daylight. Her thoughts were totally with Derrick, the thought of living with him, and the decree. She had meant to check her emails on her phone during the ride in, but her distracted thoughts had kept her from them.
As she was shuffled in like the day prior, Taylor focused her attention on her phone screen. When they stopped outside a door, Taylor walked in ready to tackle the paperwork she had left in the boardroom the day prior.
But they weren’t in the boardroom.
Taylor looked around and found herself in her grandfather’s office.
“What are we doing here?” Taylor asked, waiting for one of the men behind her to answer.
Behind her, Henry cleared his throat. “Mr. Hammel said you would be working in here today, Ms. Preston,” he answered.
Taylor swallowed, “Why—”
“Because we need the boardroom, Taylor,” Todd’s voice chimed in, and then he was next to her. “You are the CEO, and this is your office now.”
“I don’t need an office,” Taylor said through her teeth. Todd always got her unhinged, always pushed her buttons. Just the sound of his voice, the smell of his cologne, or even the thought of him had Taylor edgy and mad.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Taylor, of course you need an office. You can’t just work in the boardroom. Besides, that is the main boardroom—it is needed to conduct the daily ins and outs and to accomplish all the things you have set in motion,” Todd reminded her.
Taylor was beyond irate with Todd, but as she looked around at the familiar space, she just couldn’t stay mad. She could smell Poppy in here, she could see him pacing the carpet with his silent footsteps and thoughtful gaze, and she could hear him on the phone, his quick and crisp tone getting things done. It should have made her feel sad, but instead Taylor felt peace, calm, and at home.
Taylor stood and took in the huge desk before her. It was a monstrosity of a desk to her even now, but as a child, it had been the best place to play under. She used to pretend she was in a cave, or play there with her dolls. It was hand-carved mahogany with intricate patterns and designs carved along the edges. Behind the desk were floor-to-ceiling shelves, in the same mahogany as the desk, lined with pictures. There were pictures of the Preston family, workers, and factories. Some were old and restored prints; others were more recent candid photos.
Between the shelves was a large glass window. Memories flooded Taylor of coming into this office and finding her grandfather rocking in his chair and looking out that window. She was never forbidden from coming in, never told that she had to wait; the door was always open for Taylor. And when Poppy was deep in thought looking out the window, she could run and jump into his lap, and he would jump in surprise.
“Didn’t Charlie talk to you about this?” Todd asked. “He was supposed to tell you yesterday before you left.”
“She was overwhelmed,” Charlie said, striding into the room, sending more memories to the front of Taylor’s mind. Charlie used to come in with the same serious expression to talk to her grandfather. And when his gaze met Taylor’s, it softened the way it always had. “Hello, Taylor,” Charlie said to her. “I’m sorry we sprang this on you. I thought maybe we could redo it—”
“No,” Taylor said, shaking her head and turning her attention back to the desk. “It’s perfect just the way it is,” she said in a tone just higher than a whisper. The emotion of the office and of the connection she had with her family was overwhelming.
“Are you sure, Taylor?” Charlie asked, coming in front of her and meeting her stare, his face a mask of concern. “You are taking on a lot.”
“I’m sure, Charlie. This room,” she said, spreading her arms and gesturing around, “it makes me remember why I am doing all of this.”
Charlie nodded, but he still looked unsure.
“Is, uh, is Dad’s still—” Taylor let the question hang and swung her eyes to a door on the side of the room.
Charlie and Todd nodded in tandem, and Taylor turned and left them, walking through the door. It was her father’s office. Her grandfather had added the door to his office after he had passed away and closed off the main entry one. The design in her father’s office was sleeker, with off-white tones and glass accents. They had never spent a lot of time in his office; he had always worked more with Taylor’s grandfather, done almost everything except hold meetings in there. He had meetings in his own office.
Inspiration struck.
Taylor turned and reentered the office that was hers now. “We make that room a boardroom, and we keep this the offic
e. I want a boardroom table that is identical to the desk,” she told the advisors before her.
Todd nodded, but Charlie still looked concerned.
“I got this Charlie,” she said, patting the older man’s arm as she made her way over to her new desk and sat down. “Now what are we up to today?”
Both men smiled and got their phones out, ready to start the day.
Chapter Nineteen
By the following Friday, Taylor was spent. She was so gung ho to get everything back in shape at Preston Corp. that she was going full steam ahead, clocking in early in the morning and staying until late into the night, with little rest in between returns. She had also worked straight through the weekend—the repair work and near collapse of Preston Corp. was deep. Derrick texted her throughout the day to check in and came by the office to make sure she was eating. Taylor wasn’t sure if it was for her sake or so that Nan didn’t kill him.
He had been staying at his penthouse. Taylor hated it, but she couldn’t deny that she missed him. They had spent each day together at a lunch that Derrick insisted Taylor put all work on hold for. They texted and had FaceTime calls while not staying together, but Taylor still missed him. She was trying to keep her distance, even limiting their lunches to be at the office so there were other eyes to keep her from going into la-la land with her thoughts, which often seemed to get jumbled when she was alone with him. She had gotten her hands on the decree, but the legal jargon was so thick that Taylor was having a hard time deciphering it. She needed more time to discover loopholes, but that was proving impossible. Until then, she was pushing full steam ahead to get the stage set for changes to happen at Preston Corp., changes that were contingent, of course, on her marriage.
That morning Derrick had FaceTimed Taylor to let her know he wasn’t going to be having lunch with her because he was heading to the East Coast for a meeting. And now she was missing his persistent, and at times annoying, reminders that she take care of herself, but she wasn’t about to admit it to anybody. Especially since without him there she hadn’t had anything to eat or drink, and now it was 2 p.m. Now she was hungry, tired from her sixteen-hour days with little sleep in between ,had a headache from all the reports and samples she had coming her way, frustrated by her lack of knowledge and the disarray of the corporation, and mad because she totally and completely missed Derrick. And she realized he was the one who had her keeping it together every day. On top of it all, she really had to pee.
But she couldn’t really blame her feelings on hunger and bathroom neglect, she had been that way since the morning. And everyone had noticed.
“Boy, you’re tense,” Nan had told her as she ripped apart a bunch of bananas before leaving for the office. Taylor had smiled. “I’m just fine,” she said through her teeth and scooted off with her security team.
When they came up on traffic, and the paparazzi mauled the car like they did every day, Henry commented, “Everything okay, Ms. Preston? You seem tense.”
And once she was in the office, her meeting with the new designers had needed revision. The young design assistant had assured her, “No worries, Ms. Preston. I will get all these changes in. We will make this less stress-inducing for you.”
And that was pretty much how the day went, with each and every person cluing into her extreme tension and no one being afraid to comment on it. So when Derrick called in the afternoon to check in on her, the fuse was just about out on Taylor’s patience.
“How is your day going?”
“Fine. Why?” she snapped.
“Whoa, somebody’s tense.”
Kaboom!
“So what if I am goddamn tense! I am tired and angry and frustrated and hungry and …” missing you, but I won’t say that because it sounds stupid even in my head. “And have had about enough of everyone telling me I am fucking tense. I know I’m fucking tense! Okay? I have a lot going on!”
Silence met her at the other end, and Taylor heaved out a breath and was about to apologize when Derrick finally spoke. “Okaaaay. Well, I am coming back tonight because this meeting has turned into a bunch of bullshit. So, I could take you out to dinner. We should talk about—”
“No.”
Everyone had been trying to subtly throw her pending marriage into almost every conversation. The paparazzi shouted requests for a date, the new Facebook page was loaded with needs on dress details, and of course Charlie and Todd were on her like a second skin about the decree.
“Come on, Taylor, we have—”
“No, I don’t have to do anything,” she said, which sounded like a temper tantrum even to her, so she added, “and I really don’t have any time. I am knee-deep in paperwork.” This was totally true, but that was probably a forever kind of thing. At that moment she was saved as Todd walked into her office, “and my favorite person just came into the room,” she sneered.
With a heavy sigh, Derrick went on, “Okay, well tell Todd I said hi, and we can talk when I get home. You need to relax.”
“I will relax when I am damn good and ready!” Taylor said, slamming the phone down and realizing that she was making absolutely no sense whatsoever. Todd had been there to witness it all and was probably smirking that stupid little smirk at her now, but she refused to look at him.
Taylor reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose. “What do you want, Todd?” She was met with silence. When she looked, up, Todd was sitting in the chair opposite her desk and was regarding her silently.
“Well?”
“Nice ring, Taylor,” he complimented calmly, and Taylor glanced at her ring.
“Thank you,” she answered curtly. She didn’t like where this was headed.
“It represents something, you know.”
She was desperate to maintain some sort of composure. “Yes, that I am engaged. What’s your point, Todd?”
“All good things come to an end.”
“Stop fucking talking in riddles!”
“Testy,” Todd said calmly.
Taylor’s blood was boiling, but at least he hadn’t said she was …
“Tense, aren’t we Preston?”
And there it was. Taylor stood, planted her palms on the desk, and leaned forward. “What. Do. You. Want?”
Todd took a deep breath and stood. “Taylor, you need to just bite the bullet and get married.”
Taylor stilled and felt all the boiled blood drain to her feet.
“Sit.” Todd was at her side, moving her into her desk chair before she knew he had moved. “Breathe.”
“I, uh, I just need I—”
“Look, it’s not just about you.”
Taylor nodded as she continued to take in even and slow deep breaths. “Yes. I know, I know. The company and the people and legalities. I just—”
“It’s about Derrick too.”
Taylor could feel herself calming with the breaths. “I know. He needs a better rep. I get it—”
“It’s not just that.”
Taylor picked her head up, all sense of relaxation fleeing. “Oh fuck, what now? What the fuck do I have to contend with now?”
“It’s about Derrick,” Todd said, and Taylor felt panic.
“What’s wrong?” Had he been with someone else? Taylor felt sick at the thought.
“The meetings, the phone calls, the stress he has been under. It’s a business deal, but they are jerking his chain.”
Taylor had noticed tension in him but thought he was channeling through her. How selfish had she been? It had never occurred to her that he could have anything on his plate. “Why are they jerking his chain?”
“Because they don’t think he is a reliable,” Todd explained. “They think he is just taking over Daddy’s business. But they called him there today because they said they would do it—finally sign the deal.”
“Well, great for them. I hope he … wait, he said the meeting was bullshit.”
“Yes, because he wouldn’t sign.”
“Why? You just said—”
�
��They said it was only a done deal if Preston Corp. would cosign.”
Taylor’s heart sank. “What was the company?”
“Sail-wind Productions.”
Oh crap. A production company. Directing. It was Derrick’s dream, and a huge production company.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you could help him. Marry him and you are pretty much a guaranteed cosigner.”
“Can’t we just cosign anyway?” Taylor implored.
Todd shook his head slowly. “You cannot make any purchases or mergers with any organization until you sign off as CEO, which cannot take place until—”
“I get married,” Taylor finished. “I got it.”
“Do you, Taylor?”
“Yes, Todd, I do!” she hotly assured him.
“Great,” Todd replied. “Then let me get a justice of the peace down here, and—”
“Get out.”
“Taylor—”
“Get out!”
“Fine. But all these plans and designs you are putting forward are going to be worthless if you don’t make some decisions,” he said as he got up and made his way to the exit, “and fast.”
Well, doesn’t this suck? Taylor thought as Todd disappeared through the door. She hated when he was right.
Just then, a text came in, Relax! Going into the air. Call you when we land. It was Derrick, and the tension crept right back up to full tilt.
He needed the public to take him seriously, to show that he had changed. Too bad he couldn’t be seen doing something like saving someone, be a hero. If that happened he could have his deal, and she would feel a lot less guilty about stringing him along. But how?
Light bulb!
Taylor picked up her cell, found her contact list, and dialed before she could change her mind.
“Hey, Marty? It’s Tay! … Yeah, I know, this running a corporation really diminishes my spare time … It does suck … Look, I need a break. Your brother thinks I need to relax … Dinner? Hmmm … I had something else in mind. Meet me at your house in an hour? Great. Oh and, Marty, I need clothes … yeah, for dancing.”