Page 30 of Crude Heir

She glances over, fidgeting in her seat. “Simon Kelly,” she confirms quietly.

“Of course.” Mr. High-and-Mighty wouldn’t like being second-guessed.

“I thought if I could get some examples together, I could show something to Mr. Kelly. The senior Mr. Kelly,” she adds in a rush. “I tried keeping a list, but there’s so much going on in South Texas. Running a report that large, even on a per-month breakdown, is taxing for the system. I’ve been able to run it, but I have trouble downloading it.”

I’m primarily why she’s having those issues. “Bottom line, you’re planning on going against Simon.”

“I didn’t mean it that way.” She stares down at the remnants of her chips. “Mr.… Keith Kelley…”

“My father.” This is the second time I’ve said it out loud in so many days. Although the words still don’t feel right when I’m putting them together, it had to be said.

“Yes,” she says, not hiding her relief. “He would sometimes come by to check on me. I thought I might bring it up to him.” She picks up a piece of a chip, breaking it in half, while she gathers her thoughts. “He’s always been so nice. Now that I know he’s aware, and your mom knows, I can maybe give it to her.”

I don’t know how to feel about this. Nicole is going to risk losing her job to help out a man who checks on her. Someone who has been nice to her. At the same time, here I am, his actual son, and I’m doing this out of curiosity. I can’t even say it’s because of Addler any more, he confirmed the wording in the contract keeps him safe.

“I’ll grab a laptop for you tomorrow, and we can work from here.”

“Are you sure?” The sheer excitement in her voice is enough to pull me from this mood.

“Yes. If the news report is accurate, you’re going to be stuck here until at least this time tomorrow, if not the day after.”

“Oh, that would be great!” She looks over at me sheepishly. “The laptop, not that you’re stuck with me.”

“For now, you’ll have to call it. I need to check the system and make sure everything’s okay.”

“That’s right. You had a long night,” she says, looking contrite as she starts closing windows. “Can I try saving the spreadsheet onto your desktop?”

“Set it to export. I’ll switch back once I’m done with my review.”

“Thank you.” She prepares the file.

“Go ahead and take the bed. I’ll stay out here.”

That finally curbs her enthusiasm. “I don’t want to put you out.”

“You’re not. Come on.” I stand. “I’ll get you something to sleep in. You can throw your clothes in to wash so you have something for tomorrow.”

It’s not like I’m going to get any rest, knowing Little Nikki is sleeping in my bed.

* * *

Nicole

I follow Derrick into his bedroom, stopping to linger uncomfortably at the doorway. He continues to the dresser, tension radiating from his shoulders. I cross my arms, hugging myself tightly, feeling like I’m a burden all over again.

Derrick opens a drawer, the rollers gliding along the rail sounding harsh in the heavy silence. He pulls an item from a neatly folded stack then goes on to another drawer, doing the same. It shouldn’t surprise me he’d be this tidy, considering he’s always so organized.

He turns, clothes in hand. “Sweats and a T-shirt,” he announces, setting the items at the foot of the bed.

“Thank you.” I manage to keep the note of guilt from filtering into my voice.

He gives me a terse nod, jaw clenched, then brushes past me, avoiding a glance in my direction. The door clicks soundly shut behind him, cutting through the tension that was building around us.

I let out a slow breath. The truce was temporary while discussing company fraud. Now we’re back to pretending he wasn’t kissing me like his life depended on it, not to mention how easily he brought me to orgasm. I press my thighs together at the memory of his touch.

My gaze climbs up the imposing bed dominating the room to the spot where the sheets are pulled back. His side. The place where he slept last night. The image of him, the hard planes of his body bare, lying between the sheets…

Stop it.Shaking away the image, I scoop up the clothes he left for me and head for the sanctuary of the bathroom.

---