A Dose of Passion(4)

“Will do.” He slid the card into the front pocket of his pants, his gaze following her as she headed for the door. She had the type of body, curvy without being too skinny or fat, that typically made him take a second glance. She was always casually dressed whenever he saw her, but he could tell that beneath the clothing was a hot body.

He shook his head and chastised himself for allowing his mind to even go there. He didn’t need that type of distraction right now.

“You can stop faking sleep, old man,” he said when he approached Noah’s bed. “She’s gone.”

“Nobody likes...a smart-ass,” Noah said in a voice just above a whisper.

Derek smiled. He hadn’t been sure Noah was awake and had spoken the words just for the hell of it.

He took in the older man’s appearance. His once-full head of gray, wavy hair was very thin, and his sunken eyes made him almost unrecognizable. Once a large man, Noah barely tilted the scale at a hundred and forty pounds now, and the realization that he was looking weaker by the day unsettled Derek.

“Look out...for her.”

Noah’s words pulled Derek back to the present. “Excuse me?” He leaned in close.

“You heard...me.” Noah’s voice suddenly seemed stronger and he met Derek’s gaze for the first time in days.

Derek hesitated. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for his mentor, but he wasn’t exactly sure what Noah was expecting of him when it came to Macy. He knew they were close, but there was just so much Derek could do for her when he lived thousands of miles away.

“Macy seems pretty independent.” He shoved his hands into his front pockets and leaned his hip against the side of the bed. “I’m sure she’s going to be fine. Besides, you know I live in Cincinnati. Between my architecture business and Jason, I don’t have much time for anything else.” Derek shrugged. “I honestly don’t think you have to worry about Macy. She’s sharp. She’ll be all right.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“It’s time...start living.” Noah’s wheezy cough sounded as if it was painful, making his whole body shake. “That ex-wife did a number...on you,” he rasped. “But it’s time...to move on.”

Derek groaned and rubbed the back of his neck and strolled over to the single window that was on the other side of the room. Staring out into the night, the last thing he wanted to talk about was his ex-wife. The day she walked out on him and his son was the day he’d vowed to stay clear of emotional entanglements with women.

“Son...I’m tired,” Noah said. Derek glanced over his shoulder. Noah looked as if he had aged in only a few minutes. “I need to know...the two of you will be okay when I’m gone.”

Derek pushed away from the window and went to stand next to the bed. Yes, he knew Noah was dying. Yet he still couldn’t accept the idea of not having him around.

“Promise me...you’ll look after Macy. And that you...will start living again.” When Derek hesitated, Noah continued, “Promise...me.” His voice was almost haunting. Foreboding crept up Derek’s spine. “Promise me.”

Derek swallowed hard. “Yeah. Yeah, I promise.”





Chapter 2

Three days after Noah’s memorial service, Derek sat in his mentor’s lawyer’s office in shock. “He left me Price Architecture?” he said to himself.

No matter how many times Derek said the words out loud, he still couldn’t believe it. He rested his head against the high-back leather conference-room chair, trying to process all that Drew Ashton, Noah’s attorney, had told him. Noah and his wife had never had children and more than once, Noah had told him that he was like the son he’d never had. Derek now had a good idea just how Noah had felt about him.

Drew had gone through the specifics of the will as it related to Derek. Not only had Noah left him enough cash to live comfortably for years, but he had also bequeathed him a house in one of Atlanta’s suburbs. It was the knowledge that Noah had entrusted him with his multimillion-dollar company, his baby, that had Derek’s mind reeling, though. Never would he have expected to inherit the company. Sure, he had worked alongside Noah during the summers while in college and even occasionally after graduating, but Derek never expected he would one day be the CEO of the organization.

“Sorry about that.” Drew walked back into the luxury conference room and closed the door. The space looked as if the law office had spared no expense in its decor. The wall-to-wall bookshelves against deep taupe walls with dark wood trim gave the room a cozy feel, like a home library, fireplace and all.