The Tycoon's Revenge(19)

“Have you seen Jasmine yet?” Drew asked. Derek started chocking on the sip of beer he’d just taken. Drew pounded his back, while he struggled to get his breath back. “I guess that’s a yes,” Drew surmised.

“She works for the corporation,” Derek finally managed to get out.

“Whoa, how’s that working out? Have you fired her yet?” he asked. Drew knew Derek wanted revenge from the girl who’d broken his heart.

“No, I haven’t fired her yet. I want her to regret her decision of throwing me out, before I toss her on her butt,” he said. The thought of tossing her out was less and less appealing to him. His cousin raised his brows, as he studied Derek.

“I see,” Drew said, as he pasted a smile on his face.

“What do you see?” Derek demanded to know.

“You’re falling for the girl again, instead of the other way around,” Drew goaded him.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Derek snapped. He was angry, more with himself than Drew, because he thought there may be some truth to his words.

“Hey, it’s been ten years and people can change,” Drew said.

“I won’t forget what she did to me,” Derek said to both Drew and himself.

“All joking aside, you’re a smart guy. Go with your gut and you’ll know what to do,” Drew told him. One of the reasons Derek loved Drew so much was because even though the world saw him as one big playboy who couldn’t take anything seriously he was actually highly intelligent and the most caring man he knew. He liked to project an image of himself as the carefree guy but both Derek and Ryan knew better. They were allowed to see a side of Drew no one else got to. “Besides, Cuz, I always thought Jasmine was a real catch and the two of you were meant to be together. Maybe fate is stepping in for the two of you, finally.”

“Okay enough of this emotional crap. Let’s get out of here, head back to my place and drink way too much,” Derek said. Drew agreed with him. They paid the bill, leaving the waitress a very generous tip and then headed out to the truck for the long drive back.

If people could see the cousins in their off time, they’d have no idea how much they were worth. They liked to wear old clothes, which were about comfort verses style and they liked the dive bars far more than the five star restaurants. They’d vowed to never forget where they came from and in ten years-time they had been true to that vow.

Derek quickly mellowed out as they made the commute home. He knew his cousin meant well and wasn’t trying to get a reaction but it made him think too much about what his intentions really were towards Jasmine. She was the one that got away and he hoped he was strong enough this time around to not let her break him.

He knew he was certainly more mature but he seemed to revert right back to his childhood when he looked into those sea green eyes of hers. She had a way of knocking his feet right out from under him. He’d harden himself back up by the time he returned to the office.

Hell, for that matter, he was only needed there for a few more days, before he could be sure the operation would be overseen by his competent staff. He could monitor the company from his main office and not have to see Jasmine much. That didn’t sound appealing. Damn, he was going to have to put some distance between them.

He decided he’d do that once he got her out of his system for the last time. He needed to take her to bed a couple more times and then he’d lose interest. He always lost interest once the chase was over.

He smiled to himself thinking he’d figured the whole thing out. He wasn’t in love with her still; he was just enjoying the chase.





Jasmine arrived at the school just in time to pick up Jacob. He came running down the hallway and gave her a big hug. She loved the rare moments when he let himself go and allowed her to hold him.

“How was your practice?” she asked him.

“It was really cool, I pinned Timmy in like three seconds,” he muttered excitedly.

“Good job, Little Man. Did you get up and give him a handshake afterwards?”

“Of course Mom,” he said with a roll of his eyes. She loved that she’d taught her son well enough that being polite was second nature to him. She hated when men, or women for that matter, gloated their victories. She’d taught her son having good sportsmanship was just as important as winning the game.

A few of his coaches had told her how impressed they were with him. They’d told her he was unusually respectful of his teammates and his coaches. She’d beamed with pride. She was a typical mother and thought her child could do no wrong but when someone confirmed that she floated on a cloud.