10. Derek
10
Derek
I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping on Maggie’s conversation with her friend, but I couldn’t help myself. And now, days later…I’ve been able to think of little else.
She’s falling for me, which was clear to me by Sunday night, even without hearing the words. Despite what she thinks, she’s exactly what I want and knowing that she wants the same thing—and is too afraid to go for it—gives me the confidence I need to go after what we both want.
She’s not worried about my money one way or the other, which is refreshing as hell, but the fact that she thinks I’m the one out of her league is something I’ll need to correct. Immediately.
I’ve spent all morning devising a plan so when Maggie taps on my office door, I turn my attention to the computer screen and summon her inside.
“You wanted to see me?” she stands on the other side of my desk with her hands clasped nervously. She seems anxious and I feel bad, but I have a plan.
“Yes. We need to talk.” My nerves are slightly getting to me and yet I’m never nervous. Not during billion-dollar business negotiations and certainly not with any woman.
Maggie nods, avoiding my gaze while she continues to fidget. She swallows hard and turns her focus to the floor. “I’ll call right now to see if my apartment is safe again.”
My heart aches that she looks so gutted, that the thought of her leaving was the first to cross her mind. But I won’t deny that this is playing out even better than expected. I’m a sick bastard and I know it. “Tell me, is that what you want, sweetheart?”
She’s nibbling on her bottom lip again. “Doesn’t really matter what I want, does it?” She shakes her head in frustration. “Do I still have a job?”
My lips curl into a reluctant smirk as her fire returns. “If you want the job, yes. But it would be strange, I think, to have you cleaning my house during the day and sharing my bed at night. Wouldn’t it?” I watch her carefully for that moment when my words sink in, when her eyes go wide and she stops fidgeting.
Her red brows dip into a frown and she takes a step back. “What are you saying, Derek?”
I don’t skip a beat. “You’re mine, Maggie. You have been since you showed up ten minutes late.” She flashes a shy smile my way. “Now that I’ve had you, I can’t give you up. I won’t give you up.”
“Derek...”
I’m not sure what’s running through her mind but I can’t let her go. “Don’t ask me to walk away because I can’t. Tell me what you want.”
She takes a breath, releasing it slowly as she looks me in the eyes. “You. It’s always been you, Derek. You’re all I want.”
Hearing it firsthand hits so differently. I stay silent, processing the emotions.
“Derek?” Maggie tilts her head to side, analyzing my face.
“I’m just taking it all in, sweetheart.” I’ll need a lifetime to do so. “You know you’re all I want, too. That’s never changed since the second we met.”
Her slow smile spreads across her beautiful face as she circles my desk, settling herself right in front of me. “Is this happening? Like, for real ?” She flings an arm and then the other around me, her smile growing bigger by the second.
I nod. “For real, baby.”
Her cheeks go red as she leans in, pressing her forehead to mine. “I love you, Derek Banks.”
Nothing has ever sounded sweeter. I pull her onto my lap and kiss her deeply, showing her just how much she will always be loved. “I love you too,” I whisper before locking the office door and proving it to her…without a single word.