Page 82 of Boss with Benefits

In the throes of my orgasm, I’d screamed I love him. He’d made no indication that he heard, and there was no way I was gonna ask him. It definitely wasn't the time or the place.

I followed Derrick and Valeria to their mom's room, my body still tingling from all the ways he’d touched me, and I couldn't help the smile that pulled at my lips, despite what I may have confessed.

A nurse stopped us at the door, her expression apologetic but firm. "I'm sorry. We're still running some tests. Wait out here a few more minutes until the doctor can speak to you."

"But she's out of the coma? No more seizures?" Derrick asked.

"The doctor will explain everything when he can."

Derrick's shoulders tensed, worry tumbling back into his features. I reached out to touch him, but he stepped back, his eyes flashing with something dark and conflicted.

"Rickie, it's going to be okay," Valeria said. "She's awake."

He shook his head, his expression a mix of frustration and helplessness.

"That's what they said before," Derrick growled. "And then I left, and she started having those seizures."

"That's not your fault," I said, gently. "Besides, you were really sick. The last thing your family needed was two of you in the hospital."

"I wasn't that bad," he snapped. "I should never have left her." He didn't say it, but it hit me like an accusation.

"I hate to tell you this," Valeria said, crossing her arms. "But you can't control everything."

"I've been selfish. I should've helped them more at the deli. It's too much for mom."

"Oh, stop being so patronizing." Valeria rolled her eyes. "Mom loves working. They don't need you. And they have six other kids who can help. Get off your self-important high horse and chill out. Besides, Mom's fine."

"She's not fine! She was just in a coma." Derrick shoved his hands in his pockets.

"You can't fix everything, Rickie," Valeria said softly, like she was calming a wild animal. "You can't be everyone's savior. Look at you. You're spinning out."

"I'm not!" he roared. A nurse came out of another room and shushed them. "Nothing I've done is right," he said, his voice taut.

"What are you talking about?" Valeria asked.

"Dad wanted me to take over the deli when I retired, and instead I did that podcast that miraculously turned into a huge business. But at what cost?"

"At no cost," Valeria said. "Yeah, Dad would've liked you to work with him, but that's because he loves you. It's not like he'd been training you for it your whole life. Dad knows you have other ambitions. He's really proud of you."

“Maybe. But that doesn’t help Mom.” Derrick's face went dark, and he turned to me, something like guilt or regret crossing his face. "Why are you even here?"

I blinked, taken aback by his sudden harshness. "What do you mean? We?—"

"What a fucking cliché," he interrupted, shoving a hand through his hair. "The boss who's screwing his employee."

I gasped, his words stinging. "Derrick, stop it. Everything we've done is consensual. You're just upset about your mother and it's skewing your perception of everything."

"She's right," Valeria said, raising her eyebrows.

He laughed bitterly, his eyes flashing with anger. "You don't get it, do you? My whole career I've seen how men hurt women. It's always the women who suffer. Men do awful things to them. Ask Valeria, she knows. She was almost kidnapped."

"Hey. Don't bring me into this." Valeria put her hands up in retreat. "I'm gonna grab some coffee and hopefully you'll have mellowed out when I get back. Tell Mom I'll be back soon."

Valeria left, giving me a sympathetic look, and I stepped closer to Derrick, my voice steady but firm. "You never hurt me. And we've never done anything I didn't want to do."

He looked at me, his eyes filled with a mix of anger and gloom. "I need you to go, Rachel."

The finality in his tone sent a chill through me. "Derrick, please?—"

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