Page 66 of Boss with Benefits

After Prathi left, I turned to Derrick. "I wanted to say?—"

"I've got a lot of work. I'll speak to you later," Derrick cut in, his dismissal stinging.

"Okay," I said, my voice small.

I opened the door and yelped. Standing there was Lulu. I whipped my head around to Derrick, ready to accuse him of setting this up, but he looked as shocked as me.

"Lulu?" I shook my head, still trying to process her being at Dreamary.

"Hi," she said, her expression unsure. She glanced between Derrick and me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

She took a hesitant step into the office, and Derrick rounded his desk, coming to stand beside me.

"I hoped we could talk." She smiled timidly.

"Oh, I... um, okay," I said because I didn't know what else to do. I glanced at Derrick, and he stepped closer. "We can talk in one of the conference rooms."

She shook her head. "We can talk here. I want Derrick to be here too."

"Okay," I said softly. "Let's talk."

Derrick pulled out a chair for Lulu, and we sat across from her on the sofa.

Lulu took a deep breath. "I only found out about you six months ago, and I've been thinking a lot about it. About my aunt, your birth mom, and how you were given up."

I nodded, my throat tightening. "How did you find out?"

Lulu looked at me, her expression full of sorrow. "It came up in the will, and when I pressed my dad, he told me everything. Your mom was a teenager when she had you. All I know is she had some secret boyfriend that my grandparents wouldn't have approved of because the young man wasn't Chinese. So cliché, right? She got pregnant, and my grandparents, who are very traditional, told her she had to give you up or be disowned. She was young and scared, so she did what they told her."

My heart clenched in my chest, and I rested my hand against it. I felt lightheaded trying to process this new information. "What about the boyfriend? My dad?"

Lulu shook her head. "He doesn't know anything about you. But in the will, Aunt Jessica stated she wanted us to find him and tell him about you. I shouldn't have, but I went digging through my aunt's things after she died when I was helping clean out her apartment, and I found some diaries and old yearbooks. She barely wrote about him or that time in her life, but she did write that he was heartbroken when she ended things."

Tears blurred my vision, and I faltered. Derrick took my hand and held it, and I clasped it tightly as if I was drowning and he was my life raft. Despite the heaviness of this moment, my heart fluttered at his touch.

"Do you know who he is?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"No," Lulu said, her eyes glistening too. "She never mentioned his name in the diaries or the will, and my dad didn't know either."

"Oh." My shoulders sank.

Derrick squeezed my hand. "We'll find him, Rachel. I'll use every resource I have to help. If that's what you want."

I looked at him; there was determination in his eyes. Despite how horrible I'd been to him, he was still unwavering in his support.

I was garbage.

Lulu smiled, though it was tinged with sadness. "I'll help too. Whatever it takes."

We sat in silence for a moment, the weight of the revelations settling over me.

"Well, at least I know where I get my rebellious streak from," I joked, but I didn't feel the lightness.

"Guess it runs in the family," Lulu said. "My grandpa would kill me if he knew I was here. But I don't care. I'm pissed at him. And I'm here for you, Rachel. I know you don't know me, but I'm on your side in this. On my aunt's side. She was always so sad."

"Where do we start?" I asked, afraid to hear any more about my birth mother.

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