“So, take it back.” Vanessa grabbed the bottle and refilled her glass. “Control, I mean. Start with one thing. You take a small piece, conquer that and then move on.”
The advice rolled around in Ellie’s head until it took hold. She knew exactly which battle to wage first. “Right. Derrick Jameson.”
“Um, no. I was thinking more like you could get a temp job and rebuild.” Vanessa topped off Ellie’s glass. “A guy like Jameson is not easily managed. Forget him. Handle what you need first.”
The suggestion made sense but Ellie couldn’t survive that way. She’d spent so much of her life fixing things. First, for her father, who had one pipe dream after another, and her mother, who had fought to keep them together as a family. Then for her brother. She didn’t have the energy left to tackle straightening out her life, but she would. Later. Once she’d dealt with Derrick and Noah was back on track. “I have to handle these other pieces first.”
Vanessa shook her head. “Ellie, you can’t fix everything.”
“I can fix this. If Derrick Jameson wants a battle, he’s going to get one.”
The DC Insider: The hottest romance in town just got more interesting. Ever wonder what happens when the lady in question calls our office to insist there is no romance? Well, we call the gentlemen for his comment. And Derrick Jameson did not disappoint. The usually demanding businessman chuckled and said, “You should listen to Ellie. I enjoy acquiescing to her.” These two are never dull.
She’d been summoned.
The call came at a little after nine the next morning. Ellie debated ignoring it. She wasn’t exactly the type to jump when a man ordered, but then Derrick was no ordinary man. He seemed to enjoy ticking her off.
Yet there she was, two hours later, walking along a long hallway on the fifteenth floor of the Jameson Industries’ office building. Pristine white walls surrounded her as her heels clicked against the polished hardwood floors. People moved in and out and around cubicle walls. They carried stacks of papers and shuffled with a sense of urgency.
She missed the energy of a busy office. Insurance underwriting wasn’t the most exciting topic but she’d worked in human resources, slowly taking on more responsibility. She loved coming into a pile of files waiting on her desk each morning and solving problems.
Everything went fine until the big boss took an overactive interest in her. She’d done everything she’d been trained to do. Documented his behavior. She’d known how hard it was to report that sort of thing up the chain of command without becoming the subject of gossip. Before her boss made his move she’d set up a system to handle the concerns. Then she got fired before she could implement it.
The attorney she contacted about the firing but could barely afford said she had a good case. But her former boss had the resources to drag the thing out and exhaust her.
She tried not to think about that as two men headed straight for her. She slipped to the side, banging into the wall and knocking the corner of a painting. One that likely cost more than her car. After that, one more turn and she moved into a quieter part of the floor. No one scurried here.
Sleek furniture made of unblemished leather with shiny chrome accents filled the open reception area. That, and a desk covered with piles of files, was all that stood between her and a set of closed double doors. Those and the guy next to her. She couldn’t remember her escort’s name, wasn’t even sure he’d offered it.
Before she could ask, he reached out and knocked on the door to the right in front of them. One brisk thwack then he opened it. Even gestured for her to step inside in front of him.
No, thank you.
Her legs refused to move, anyway. The threshold seemed innocent enough, but the man on the other side was not. Every inch of this place screamed money. Something she’d never had enough of and worked liked crazy to stockpile in case her life hit a bump...just as it had. More like a Himalayan mountain, but still.
She couldn’t see Derrick at the moment, but she did have an unrestricted view of his desk. The thing had to be eight feet long. Formidable, like the man who sat at it.
She refused to go one step further. Decided to call out instead. “What do you want?”
“Come inside,” the faceless voice said from some hidden corner of the office.
She noted the deep and commanding tone. Yeah, this was going to be a quick meeting.
“I’m fine here,” she said.
The security guy put his hand over his mouth to cover what sounded like a fake cough. He hesitated a second before saying anything. “You really should obey him.”
Apparently she’d gotten off the elevator and stepped back a century. “Did you use the word obey?”
“Don’t fight with Jackson. It’s me you want,” Derrick said, still without making an appearance.
She glanced at the man looming next to her. He stood well over six feet with brown hair and a lean athletic build. Attractive in a liked-to-run-along-the-Potomac sort of way, he looked far too amused by what was happening. “Is Jackson your first name or last?”
Before he could answer, Derrick stepped out of the room off to the side of his office and into the doorway. Hovered right in front of her. He nodded as a small smile played on the corner of his mouth. “Ellie, it’s good to see you again.”
The warmth in his eyes. That tone. A strange dizziness slammed into her when he got close. No way was she being reeled in by that charm thing he seemed to have flicked on. Nope, she knew better.
She managed a nod. “Mr. Jameson.”
“Come inside. Despite our argument last night, we have a lot to discuss.” He swept a hand toward the inside of his oversize corner office.
The very real sense she was out of her league slammed into her. “What would you do if I said no?”
He frowned. “Why would you?”
“You have this guy following me around the hallways...no offense.” She winced as she glanced at Jackson before looking at Derrick again. “Then there’s the part where you ordered me to come here. Today. Right now.”
“Ten minutes ago.”
“What?”
“I asked you to meet with me ten minutes ago. I assumed you being late was some sort of power play. Unless you have a problem with tardiness. If so, we’ll need to work on that.”
She glanced at Jackson again. “Is he serious?”
Jackson nodded. “Almost always.”
“Ellie.” That’s it. Derrick just said her name then turned and walked across the room, stopping next to his desk.
“Your manners need some work.” She didn’t bother mumbling as she followed him. If he wasn’t going to be subtle, neither was she.
“So I’ve been told.”
“Then there’s the very real sense you’re setting me up.” Not so much a sense as a fact. If he planted one rumor, he could plant many. And that seemed to be his intent.
“How so?” He had the nerve to look confused.
She refused to believe he was that clueless.
“I complain about a story on the internet about us