A Dose of Passion(8)

“This is our new home, son. Ready to check it out?” Derek stepped out and walked around the car to open Jason’s door, but his son didn’t budge. Neither of them was overly thrilled about leaving their home and family in Cincinnati, but together they were going to embrace this new chapter in their life. “Let’s go, kid.”

“Is Uncle Keith here? He said he was coming to my new house,” Jason asked as he slowly climbed out of the Mercedes ML63 SUV. Derek’s new assistant at Price had surprised him with the vehicle when they departed the plane. He now understood why she had asked him a series of questions the day he met with her. One question had been about his ideal car. Who knew the car of his dreams would be waiting for him? Supposedly, it was part of his benefits package.

“Daddy, is he coming?” Jason pulled Derek back to the present.

Just then, Keith Logan pulled up in a rented SUV that he was using until his car, which he’d had shipped to Atlanta, arrived. Keith parked next to Derek and climbed out of his vehicle.

“Hey, Uncle Keith!” Jason ran to his uncle, who lifted him up in the air. “What took you so long?”

Derek chuckled at his son’s enthusiasm. It was as if he hadn’t just seen Keith at the airport. They had arrived to Atlanta in style, flying on the company’s private jet, a first for all of them, one that Jason would be talking about for weeks.

So far, the relocation was going great. Since his brother was in the midst of a divorce and ready for a new start, Derek had invited him to Atlanta. Keith jumped at the opportunity. It was a win-win for both of them. Derek would get some help with Jason, and Keith had a potential job opportunity with Price Architecture.

“Looks like a nice neighborhood,” Keith said. They stood on the front stoop with suitcases, waiting for Derek to open the door. “A little bougie. So you ought to fit in perfectly.”

“Ha, ha, ha. Whatever.” Derek pushed the front door open and deactivated the alarm system using the keypad just inside the wide foyer. His brothers had always called him “bougie,” claiming he was stuck up despite growing up in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Columbus.

Keith released a long whistle as the three of them stood in the foyer of their new home. Derek had to admit—it was a beauty. The semicircular staircase with ornamental wrought-iron railings and a chandelier made of the same material gave the space a rich, unique feel. A large area rug with a design and colors that pulled from the taupe walls and iron accents partially covered the dark hardwood floors. Whoever Noah had used to renovate the home had nailed his personal style.

“Dang, man, you said this place was big. Heck, it’s like three times the size of my house in Cincinnati. What’s the square footage?”

“Daddy, where is my room?” Jason started roaming around the empty lower level while Derek and Keith remained where they were.

“Upstairs, lil’ man. It’s the second room on the left.” Jason ran up the stairs and Derek wondered if he understood which room was his. “Oh, and to answer your question,” Derek said to Keith, “we’re working with over 3,500 square feet.” He picked up the luggage he had left near the front door. “Four bedrooms are upstairs and there are two you can choose from. I’m thinking I’ll use the one down here as a guest room.”

“I assumed I’d be getting the master bedroom,” Keith said with a straight face as they clumped up the carpeted stairs. Out of Derek’s four brothers, Keith was the laid-back one that kept the rest of them laughing and on their toes.

“And why would you assume that?” When they reached the top landing, they found Jason in the master bedroom. “Guess you’re out of luck, Keith. Looks like someone beat us to it.”

“Daddy, my room is big!” Jason said, trying to climb up on the king-size bed Derek had ordered weeks earlier and had delivered. With his assistant Louise’s help, he had ordered furniture for his and Jason’s bedrooms, as well as for the family room. He had everything delivered a couple of days earlier. Now they were just waiting for the movers to bring some of his furniture from his and Keith’s old houses, as well as a ton of boxes. Normally, Derek wouldn’t be looking forward to unpacking, but the movers had not only packed up everything for him, but they would also unload everything as well.

“Wrong room, kid.” Derek set his luggage near the closet. “Come on. I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

“Yay! I have two beds,” Jason said as he ran into the bedroom and climbed the steps to the top bunk. Since his son was into spaceships, Derek already had some ideas on how they would transform the area. “Look at my room, Uncle Keith.”