He leaned back. “I find myself a bit more careful these days.”
“These days?”
“Since your brother stole from me then turned around a few days later and tried to throw the scent off him by taking public shots at me.” Derrick motioned toward the chair next to her.
“So, that’s it. The rumors, the photos, the fake social news suggesting we’re together.” She dumped her purse on the seat but remained on her feet. “You’re coming after me to get even. This is some sort of weird revenge.”
Derrick nodded. “A fascinating theory.”
That really was the only explanation. Even though money had always been tight, Noah wasn’t the type to steal.
“I see the dramatic streak runs in the family.” Derrick’s exhale filled the room. “Lucky me.”
Right. I’m the dramatic one. “Says the guy who has a private butler and an office set off from everyone else.”
“Security.”
Everything inside her froze. “Excuse me?”
“Jackson is my head of security.”
She relaxed but not much. Something told her she needed to be on her toes with this guy. He might talk smooth and look like he stepped out of her hottest fantasy, but that didn’t change the facts. He was a ruthless jackass. “Do that many people want to kill you?”
“My family has significant business interests. That sort of thing tends to attract trouble.”
She’d never been called that before. “Are you referring to me as the trouble?”
He shrugged. “Let’s hope not.”
She’d taken about all of the put-her-on-the-defensive moves that she could stand. It was time to get to the point so she could run out of there. “Mr. Jame—”
“I believe I asked you to call me Derrick.”
That’s what she called him in her head... “Do you think that’s wise?”
“I’m afraid you’ve lost me.”
“You and my brother are locked in some sort of public pissing match. You’re threatening him with lawyers. He’s making you look bad on the internet, which has bled over to traditional media.” She put her palms on his desk and leaned in. “What I’m saying is that fake rumors or not, we’re on opposite sides of this battle.”
His gaze skimmed over her. “We don’t have to be.”
He hadn’t moved but the heated words swept over her in a caress that had her shaking her head and standing straight again. She not only needed to be careful with Derrick, she needed body armor.
She blocked out every other thought and concentrated on the guy she’d come to think of as cold-blooded. “Has anyone ever pointed out your cryptic way of speaking?”
“Then let me be clear.” Derrick balanced his elbows on the edge of his desk and leaned in toward her. “Your brother took money out of my business accounts and is going to go to jail unless I step in and save him.”
“No, that’s not—”
Derrick held up a finger. “There’s nothing to debate. That’s a fact.” He let his hand fall again. “But I am willing to help him.”
She could almost feel a trap closing over her head. The need to bolt overtook her but she forced her legs to stay still. “Why?”
“Most people would ask how.”
She refused to be taken off guard by double-talk. “I’m not like everyone else.”
“I’m starting to see that.” Derrick watched her for a second. His gaze moved over her face in the silence. After a visible inhale, he began again, his voice louder and more firm. “I will help your brother but he has to do something for me.”
“You don’t like that he’s making you look like a complete jerk, maybe even a bit incompetent.” She got that.
Derrick fired Noah eight weeks ago, exactly two weeks before she lost her job. Noah’s videos started out as a way to let off steam. Then he gained followers. A lot of them. He even managed to make money off his internet work, but she had no idea how.
He’d become a symbol for the “little man” fighting against the corporate machine. As his following grew, so did his stories about Derrick and the company.
Blame it on Noah’s baby face or his sarcasm, but media and online sites had picked up the battle. Then Derrick’s lawyers had made contact...and so had the prosecutor’s office about the missing funds.
And now Derrick had the Insider and its gossip network working for him.
“I have shareholders and business associates,” Derrick said.
“So, this is about money.”
Derrick’s frown deepened. “Isn’t everything?”
Not an unexpected answer, but still... “It worries me that you don’t know how scary that question is.”
“I’m proposing a quid pro quo. I make your brother’s legal issues disappear. He shuts down his site and I assist him in finding other more profitable and appropriate ways to channel his technology experience.”
That sounded somewhat reasonable, which scared her. “That’s the entire deal you’re offering?”
“No.”
She beat back a wave of disappointment. She’d taken care of her brilliant brother for so long. Tried to keep him occupied and out of trouble. The idea of having someone else handle that job sounded really good to her at the moment. With her life in shambles and the need to find a new job nipping at her, she loved the idea of having one less stress to deal with.
“I haven’t told you what I get out of this,” Derrick said.
Her heart sank. She held in a groan before it could escape her lips. “You did. He stops running the site.”
It might sound easy but it wasn’t. Noah didn’t have anything else right now except for his anger at Derrick and the attention from his videos. It was the “thing” that kept Noah going. It also provided him with more attention and praise than he’d ever gotten.
“The damage is done. He’s lied and caused me what could be irreparable damage,” Derrick said.
His words pounded her but she kept her shoulders up and her back straight. “That sounds like a legal term.”
“Because it is.”
That meant more fighting. More lawyer fees on top of the ones for her employment attorney. “I thought you were worried about the lost money.”
“There are bigger issues here.”
She couldn’t imagine money being a side concern. “Noah is a kid.”
“Noah is twenty and a genius.” When she opened her mouth to respond, Derrick talked right over her. “You are twenty-nine, which means you’re old enough to know he’s looking at criminal charges and civil repercussions for the money, which I’m willing to overlook right now.”
“I’m going to pretend I know what that means and jump ahead. What is your part of the quid pro quo? Because you don’t strike me as a guy who does things to be nice.” That wasn’t quite true. He’d hired Noah and ignored his lack of a degree and questionable people skills. But he’d also had security escort Noah out of the building months later. Now that she knew how that felt, she had even more sympathy for her brother. “What do you want?”
“You.”
A weird,