Taylor rolled her eyes. “It’s different here. I have to do certain things a certain way, I have to act a certain way.”
“No, you’re in charge, Taylor,” he reminded her.
“Show me how to turn this on.”
He nodded, accepting her brush-off and sitting next to her. “This button here will turn it on, and then it just needs a few seconds to power up to the home screen,” he explained. He showed her how to work the basic functions and helped her get music loaded.
Taylor called up one of her downloaded songs and smiled from ear to ear. “This is great.”
“That looks familiar,” Derricks said, and Taylor looked to the TV and then around the room.
“What does?” Taylor asked completely distracted.
“Your smile.”
Taylor looked quickly back down at her new phone; she was blushing.
“And so does that. You never could take a compliment.”
Taylor rolled her eyes and was about to tell him off, but Derrick beat her to it.
“You know you were the shit last night on that plane.”
That made Taylor smile. “It was pretty amazing watching those guys squirm like lab rats while I spoke.”
“You know you got this, right?”
Taylor shook her head. “I don’t have anything. I have no idea what I am doing,” she looked to the windows. “It was just the adrenaline. I was just in the moment. I can’t make decisions—”
Derrick suddenly grabbed her hand with one of his and forced her chin up with the other, “What are you afraid of?”
Taylor thought for a minute. What was she afraid of? “I don’t know,” she breathed at him.
“Yes you do. Say it,” he demanded.
Taylor swallowed. “I’m afraid I will make it worse. I’m afraid I’ll fail,” she admitted.
“You were never like that when we were together. You were never afraid of talking like that to me, showing me who was boss, running the show.”
“That’s because you’re you,” Taylor said quickly. Oh man, why did she say that? But that was it, wasn’t it? He was easygoing; he went along with everything; he trusted her. She did feel in control and able to see rationale from him and adjust. “And there was no pressure,” she said. Again she wanted to smack herself. What was with these group-therapy admissions? Did he have her hypnotized?
“And now?”
Taylor shook her head, getting Derrick’s hand off of her chin. Hell no, Dr. Freud, not this time. “Derrick, drop it. This is not therapy. I am not going to sit here and—”
“Listen to me,” Derrick said firmly, as Taylor tried to pull her hand from his. “You can do this, Taylor,” he said, more softly this time. “You need to trust yourself, listen to yourself. You were never unsure when we were kids because you knew what you were talking about. You could figure out what worked and what didn’t, and if it didn’t work out right, you could readjust. You knew when you needed help, and you still have all of that, you still possess all of that forethought. It’s in you. You just have to trust in yourself. And you have gotta trust me,” he said softly.
“You gotta talk to me, Taylor. I want to be there for you. I want to be a friend to you. A good friend like you have always been for me.” Derrick put a hand to her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb, “I screwed up—a lot. I know you don’t want to go there, but I was stupid and I wasn’t what you needed. But I want to be what you need now. I want to help you. This is a huge responsibility with lots of people depending on you. Of course you don’t want to fail. You would have to be crazy to not be scared, but if you keep it in, you’ll crack under the pressure. I won’t let you do that to yourself. You can totally do this. Not just because you are smart and beautiful, but because you are a take-charge person when you let go of all that fear you are holding inside.”
Taylor could not have been more shocked by his speech just now. She sat back into the couch, away from his touch, and took it all in. He was totally right. She could fail, and that would be it. She was it. She was the last of a line, a dynasty. If she failed she would fail not only a legacy but also thousands, if not millions of people, and it would be on the stage for all to see.
The most bothersome part of the whole speech, however, was how Derrick was able to get inside her head. How much he still seemed to know her and how she thought, better than even she could have put into words.
But he hurt you, a little voice said, and suddenly the pain of the memories came rushing back. Because even though she had told him she didn’t want to go there, a piece of her was still there. She was a woman; it was an evolutionary glitch that she would always go back to the past. Taylor closed her eyes and leaned back against the couch, “I just want to wake up from this dream.”
“You gotta face your fears, like you did last night,” he said matter-of-factly. “How did you come out of that bathroom last night and tell all those men with decades of business experience what to do? How?”
Taylor bit her lip, trying to dig back to that moment, “I just realized I need to hike up my big girl pants and do it. I realized a lot of people are depending on the success of Preston Corp.”
“Big girl pants?” Derrick asked, eyebrows high.
The laughter in his tone was about to break her. “Oh, Derrick move on,” Taylor snapped. “You either want to help me or give me a comedy routine.”
Clearing his throat, Derrick masked his smile, “Well, do it again.”
“Do what again?”
“Hike up your, um, big girl pants.” he replied smugly.
Panic filled her. “It’s not that easy, you know. I just … I don’t know, I just did it, and it just was coming easily, and …”
“Taylor,” Derrick silenced her, putting his hands on her arms, “you can do this. You just need to think like that, or don’t think—just do. When you think about it too much, you talk yourself down, you think ‘I can’t do this,’ you get things all messed up and you worry too much. Just do what needs to be done. You are a born leader. Thinking about it fucks things up because you don’t trust yourself. But when you use your heart, it all makes sense, you know?” he asked, looking into her eyes and nodding his head to try and drive the message home.
She heard him, but she also heard her grandfather. “What you need is heart,” he had told her. She had never told anyone that. She felt like he was there with her, trying to tell her she could do it by having Derrick say those words. Taking a deep breath, she leaned back into the couch and covered her face with her hands. God, where did she go from here? She tried to reach for a good thought, but then she thought about what Derrick said—she thought and then rethought and then she tore herself down. She needed to stop listening to herself.
“I’m going to need your help,” she finally said, acknowledging what he had been saying and opening her eyes to look at Derrick. “I don’t know shit about business. I don’t know anything about stocks other than they go up and down, and what I know from looking at them in the newspaper with Poppy. And profit margins and portfolios, God,” she said, cutting herself off and looking at her phone, shaking her head, “I don’t even know how to work a phone. How the hell can I do this?”
“I will help you, Taylor,” he answered quickly. “My dad helped me, and we both can help you. If I can learn it all, you can learn it all,” Derrick assured her, nodding. Slowly Derrick looked away and took a deep breath. He no longer looked confident and assured, he looked nervous. “Look, I have something else for you.”
Oh God, what now? Taylor thought. “What?”
He looked at her sheepishly, like he wasn’t sure it was good. It was a rare look for Derrick. He was not shy or timid or fearful.
“Oh crap. It’s bad, isn’t it?” Taylor asked.
Derrick shrugged. “Well, I guess you can tell me. Close your eyes. I’ll be right back.”
Oh god, it’s like a long lost cousin with three heads she has to bring out into public on top of everything else, Taylor thought. “D
errick, I—”
“Just humor me, Preston. Please,” he said impatiently.
Taylor blew out a breath and closed her eyes, letting her head loll back against the couch. She heard Derrick get up and open a drawer or cabinet or something. And then there was music. The smooth sound of Adele filled the room. Her voice was like magic, tension-relieving magic, and Taylor smiled in spite of her mood. Then she heard Derrick back in front of her. But nothing happened; he didn’t talk or sit down. There was just music and the feeling of Derrick’s presence.
“Weeeellllll?” Taylor asked, raising her brows but not opening her eyes. “Can I open my eyes now?”
Derrick took a deep breath and said, “Keep them closed for just another second,” and she felt him pulling her forward, then up to standing.
Oh, what the hell? Taylor thought, her patience snapping like dead branches in the wind. “What the hell is going on, Derrick?” she asked, the edgy anxiety she feels lacing her tone.
“Okay, open.”
Taylor opened her eyes. No three headed anything. But Derrick was on his knees in front of her. Her eyes bulged, her heart raced, her knees buckled, but Derrick braced them so she remained standing.
“Fuck,” she muttered.
“Taylor, I know that this is all crazy and not what you ever envisioned in your life, but you deserve to have a proper proposal,” Derrick said, his voice wavering a bit, his eyes warm but nervous.
“I’d rather have a three headed cousin,” Taylor whispered low.
Derrick’s brows shot up, “What?”
Taylor shook her head, “This is insane. Derrick, you don’t have to …”
Then he pulled out a small black velvet box and opened the top. It creaked as it opened to reveal a huge diamond, set high on an antique band with lots of intriguing details.
“It’s my grandmother’s setting, but I updated the diamond,” Derrick said, “and the stones around it,” he pointed to the small circle of diamonds around the major stone flashing at Taylor, “these are from our mothers’ diamond earrings,” he finished quietly.
Taylor sagged onto the couch. This time Derrick couldn’t keep her up, especially now that he was holding up the ring. She was slack-jawed; she couldn’t believe this.
“Taylor, you have always been my best friend. You have always known me better than anybody. And, like I told you, I want to return the favor. I want to take care of you. I want to make you happy. I want to marry you.”
Taylor shook her head. “No, Derrick, you don’t.”
Derrick frowned. “Taylor, I—”
“Derrick, a marriage is based on love, on passion, on more than childhood friendship. The right ones are at least. You deserve better than that.”
“Taylor, I love you,” Derrick said, still on his knees. “I have loved you since we were kids, and I have gone on loving you even though I pushed you away. I want to marry you. You make me happy just having you near.”
“I can’t do this,” Taylor whispered, dropping her head in her hands, ripping her gaze off the beautiful ring.
“Taylor,” Derrick whispered, but her head stayed down. “I really do want to be there for you and help you.”
Taylor looked up in complete disbelief, “By forcing me to marry you?” She was completely appalled.
“I won’t force you. You have to run your own life, remember?” he assured her. “But I want to help you, and you need to be married to be in accordance with the decree.” Derrick held a finger to Taylor’s mouth before she could interject. “You made a deal to be engaged, and I will take what I can get. Nothing will make me happier than to see this ring, the ring that represents the most important women in my life, on your finger, as a symbol that we are joined—however slight an arrangement it may be.”
He sure was smooth, and he had a point. She had told Simon they could be engaged. And he wanted to be her friend, and she could really use one. One who understood the whole backstory and could reel her back in and support her.
Derrick seemed to notice the change in her thinking.
“Taylor Elizabeth Scotts Preston, will you be engaged to me?”
Taylor felt like she was in a fog. She looked at the man before her and at the ring. It didn’t have to mean marriage, but it would appease her promise to Simon. Taylor decided this was what needed to happen, this was what she needed to do for Preston Corp. She slid her hand down her leg and let Derrick place the massive ring on her finger. She looked at the ring and then at him.
Derrick was no longer looking at her like a friend. There was something else there, and he was leaning in slowly. It just didn’t feel wrong; there was no red flag or panic, so Taylor closed her eyes and let it happen. But it was her call, her decision.
Chapter Five
Derrick couldn’t believe she was going to let him kiss her. It took everything he had not to jump on her.
The sound of the elevator coming up and opening into his entry stopped him.
Fuck.
There was only one other person who had the code.
And she did not belong here, not now.
Shit.
“Fuck,” this time he uttered it out loud. Taylor opened her eyes.
“Be right back,” he said and got up quickly, heading to the foyer, where the new visitor would be deposited.
* * *
What the hell just happened?
Taylor was left staring at empty space.
And then she heard voices, one was Derrick’s and the other was …
Oh, no way. A woman! He had been shooting his mouth off about all that being there for her bullshit, professing his love, and now this?
Taylor got to her feet and looked for a phone. She needed to get out of there. Oh, wait, he had just given her a phone. Now she just needed to remember how to dial out on it. Just who the hell was she supposed to call?
But first she had to know, what did this woman look like? Taylor slunk down the hall, her bare feet padding softly, though to her it sounded like a herd of elephants. But there was no way Derrick and the mystery woman could hear her, their voices were way too loud, argument loud.
Peering around the corner, Taylor looked into the foyer and to the door, where just a little while earlier Derrick was threatening the life of a delivery boy. Derrick was now blocking her from seeing whoever it is. Taylor craned her neck, but it was no use; he was like a freaking wall.
“Derrick, I need to know. Please!” the woman demanded. “Just tell me! I won’t say anything, I swear!”
“No. Now leave,” Derrick said in irritation. He made a move to shut the door, and she jumped to the side and slid into the foyer.
The grin that covered Taylor’s face was so wide it hurt; she recognized the tiny woman. Marty. Of course it was Marty. Derrick had asked her for a favor and given her nothing, what was a kid sister to do?
“Is she here?” she asked, all intrigued.
“Marty,” Derrick barked, and Taylor could tell he was trying to restrain himself.
Marty’s eyes widened, “She is! Can I meet her?”
“No. Leave,” he said and grabbed his sister’s arm, trying to pull her toward the elevator.
“Come on, Derrick.” Marty wrenched her arm free from his grip. “Let me make sure she isn’t a whore,” Marty said in a stage whisper.
Taylor leaned against the wall, out of sight, and tried not to laugh. She was older than the last time Taylor had seen her, but she was still Marty. Taylor hadn’t seen Marty since she left. And before that, Marty had been really busy. She was the cheerleader type, always on prom committee, serving as class officer, having no time for anything else.
“Marty if you don’t—”
Taylor finally intervened. She liked seeing Derrick worked up, but she was also eager to see his sister. “Hi, Marty,” she said quietly, and all eyes shifted to her. Derrick narrowed his eyes, and Marty was speechless. That was a huge feat—bigger than moving a mountain.
“Taylor,” Marty whispered, in awe as if w
itnessing a resurrection. “Oh my God, Taylor.” Then she looked to her brother and back to Taylor. It was like she was trying to follow a ping-pong match. “No way. You two? Oh my God, Mom would die. Well, you know she would be so … yeah, whatever.”
Taylor made her way over to the stuttering young Fletcher, and Marty launched herself at her. “Where have you been?” she asked, squeezing Taylor hard. Taylor squeezed her back just as hard. “I’ve missed you. I’ve been worried. Are you okay? You look thin. But gorgeous—still gorgeous. God, you just dropped off the planet. How are you?”
“Take a breath, Marty,” Derrick muttered.
Marty turned to her brother and glared, “How come you didn’t tell me?”
Derrick rolled his eyes, “That’s a stupid question.”
“I wouldn’t have said anything,” she said, causing Derrick and Taylor to snort in laughter.
Marty furrowed her brow, “I don’t say everything. I’m just so excited about some stuff that sometimes … oh, whatever.” She stopped when she realized she wasn’t gaining any ground. She turned her attention back to Taylor. “Are you really with him?” she asked, her eyes pleading.
Taylor took a deep breath. That was the question, wasn’t it? “Yeah,” she squeaked out, clearing her throat and adding, “We are together.” She hoped it sounded convincing. It sounded forced to her ears, but Marty didn’t appear to notice.
“Wow,” Marty said softly, looking back and forth between the two. She looked excited and pleased, and then she narrowed her eyes and looked suspiciously at the two of them. “Why are you guys so irritated then?”
Taylor and Derrick looked quickly at each other and then guiltily at the floor, and Marty caught the whole thing. But then again, people on the space station could probably have sensed the tension in the room. Marty released Taylor and put her hands to her hips, “What’s going on here?”
“Marty—” Derrick started, his voiced strained. It was obvious he was about to try and kick his sister out again.
But Taylor cut him off, “Okay, Marty, the truth is—”
Inevitable Inheritance: The Inevitable Series | Book One Page 7
