Chapter 49

Derek's POV

I leaned into my chair and stared at the ceiling, ignoring the hundreds of things begging my attention.

I still couldn't understand everything, nor did Clara mention my mother. If anything, I don't believe in coincidence or in mistakes like that.

It meant my mother was back to her old tricks. I knew her too well to ever believe she'd stay out of my business.

The only question was, what exactly was she planning?

I tried to think back on everything. She had been uncharacteristically nice to Clara, unlike how she had threatened every other woman in my life whom she had ever thought would come close to me.

Something was up.

Could it be that she found out that Clara was pregnant? Having a grandchild has been my mother's dream since I moved out, and she realised she didn't have her hold on me anymore. Maybe that explains her extra involvement. But I knew her too well. She would have spread the news across town by now. It had to be something else.

I didn't want to press on it with Clara, and she would, and I was suspicious.

The more I pretended I had no idea what was going on, the more likely someone was to slip up.

Something told me there was more to this. I needed to find out.

"Are you still worried about those pictures in the tabloids? The whole thing has been sorted out," Luke said. He was now standing in front of my desk. I hadn't even heard him walk in.

I chuckled.

Worrying about that would mean that I competed.

"Why would I be worried about that?" You know how Vincent is. Tomorrow, he'll be in another scandal again, this wi, and this blowover." I answered instead.

He placed a folder on my desk.

"Just one question: if you're a mid-fifties woman with no job and nothing to do, what would you be up to?" I asked. I twirled in my chair.

He raised his eyebrows. "Don't tell me you suspect your mother now." He chuckled.

"No," I answered. "Suspension would mean that I'm unsure. I'm sure that she is up to something."

"If you are saying this, it's because you are thinking of something." He spoke. He pulled out a chair and sat down, staring at me amusingly.

I folded my hands, placing both of them on my desk. "I need you to watch her," I said.

His eyes widened. Several expressions swept across his face as he processed my words. "Are you crazy?" He finally whispered. "Your mother is the most suspicious person by nature. Do you know what she could do to me? I'd rather not get on her wrong side." He said, alarmed.

He looked around the room suspiciously, almost as if he was expecting there to be some secret security cameras hidden in the room.

"You are like her second child. Besides, I'd do it myself, but I have much to do." I insisted.

He shook his head no. "This was not part of the job description," Luke sighed.

"At least now you can add a private investigator to your resume," I answered.

"More like Derek's personal nanny." He chuckled.

"Think whatever you like, as long as you get the job done," I answered.

My mother has never lived a day without trying to get involved in my life. This shouldn't even be a problem, considering my age.

It was ridiculous that, at my age, I still needed to prove to my mother that I was an adult. This had to stop indefinitely.

"Is everything I asked you done?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Just as you instructed." He smiled.

"Good," I answered.

He shoved the folder he had placed on my desk earlier closer to me.

"Good news, after all those proposals. Leonardo has finally agreed to the deal. We can now proceed with the plans." He smiled.

I pulled the folder closer to me as I examined its context.

"But... there is a condition." Luke paused.

No more bad news.

"He wants a small stake in the deal, too. He is even willing to help finance the whole project." He announced.

This could cost nearly billions.

"Tell him I agree. We'll have to buy him out later." I smiled.

"I was surprised by the whole thing. He had made it clear the last time that he wasn't interested in selling," Luke said.

I spun around in my seat, taking a moment to think.

"I wonder what changed his mind," I whispered.

This was much better than I could have hoped for.

With such good news this early, what could go wrong?

All my problems were slowly resolving themselves. There was just one more thing I needed to deal with.

Luke left my office shortly after, and I continued with my work.

It was nearly an hour when I received a call from the receptionist downstairs.

"Your grandfather has arrived, sir," He informed me.

I thought of all the possible excuses to avoid him. I could always invent a meeting or say I had to be somewhere.

Immediately, his voice rang in my ear. "Coward," his voice said.

That wasn't me. Our conversations never lasted longer than ten minutes. This couldn't possibly hurt.

"Let him in," I answered.

I hung up the phone, putting it down.

It took him nearly fifteen minutes to arrive. The first thing I heard was his cane scraping against the floor. He pushed open the door to my office and walked in, wearing his usual sardonic smirk and dragging behind his injured leg.

"I see you've reduced yourself to this instead of being in your main office like a real working man should." He said sarcastically.

Today, he was clearly in the mood for a quick attack, jumping straight to insults.

"I'm so happy to see you too, Grandpa," I droned sarcastically. I leaned back in my chair.

He pulled out a chair and slowly lowered himself down to sit.

"No worries, son, I'm just making sure you don't become a stain on my legacy." He answered.

His cane slammed against my very pricey wooden floor as he finally settled himself down. "I've heard some rumours circulating. That you've been parading yourself around with a maid." He said vehemently.

What did I ever do to deserve two grown adults who failed to realise that I didn't want anyone interfering in my life?

If being old means having no life at all and constantly meddling in other people's business, then someone, please just kill me now.

I could tell him about Clara's pregnancy, but that was a surprise altogether for another time. It was the blow I needed to finally give him a heart attack and leave him in a coma. I couldn't use that card carelessly.

"I still fail to see how any of this is your business," I answered.

"It wouldn't be if I didn't constantly have to clean up every one of your messes." He said coldly.

"I never asked you to," I snapped back at him.

If anything, it was his fault that I was in this position. He was the one who handed the ring to Madison. It was hard enough trying to keep calm and not act as shocked as everyone else was. I found out the moment he smirked back at me from the crowd. I was meant to announce our new hotel opening in a few months. Instead, I left the podium as an engaged man. I should never have followed along with the madness.

"You wouldn't be the first rich man to have a mistress. It would be best to learn to handle your private business more discreetly. Just think about getting married to Madison—the kind of influence it would bring to you. Maybe I'd finally be able to respect you as a businessman. After that, you can sleep with whomever you want. Women like her know better than ever to expect men like you to be loyal." He smirked.

I laughed sarcastically. "Good thing I've never needed your permission to do anything. Even more so when it comes to my business," I answered.

He sighed theatrically. I knew his next words were about to be worse. "Do you intend on being this weak and pathetic for the rest of your life? Think about all the things you could achieve. Do you think you will continue getting lucky and landing deals like the one Leonardo foolishly handed you?" he paused.

Was he using the 'weak' card again? Didn't he get tired of doing that?

"You are just like your father. I warned him multiple times never to marry that mother of yours. I'm just here to prevent you from making the same mistakes he did." He continued.

"You didn't do a good job considering I'm here." I pointed out.

He ignored my remark, moving on to his next point.

"You should be getting married to someone like Madison, someone who can help to build our family's legacy," he stated in a calculated tone.

"Well, if you like her so much, why don't you marry her yourself?" I said.

He paused, smirking at me amusingly. "That doesn't sound too bad." He answered.

I looked at him in disgust. I didn't know if it was because he had just said that or that it was Madison, he was willing to get married to.

I turned my eyes away from him, trying to ignore his presence altogether.

He remained silent, staring into space. Having him quiet has got to be my top ten favourite moments with him. Why did I continue to entertain him despite all these comments?

Anyway, he probably didn't have that much time to live anyway.

"You bastard," he muttered.

I looked up, feeling more bored than ever.

"You and I are more alike than we thought." He laughed. "Don't tell me you finally decided to use that information I gave you. That's the only reason this deal would have gone through with Leonardo. Turns out you are not so dumb after all." He said.

He was now staring at me amusingly like he was staring at his reflection.

"I'm nothing like you," I replied.

This time, it was his turn to laugh. "You don't know it yet, but you will." He said. "That's why you've been parading around with that girl. You finally are doing what I taught you. I suppose you'll be through with that girl now that the deal has been approved." He answered.

I hadn't noticed that I was clenching my fist around my pen, my hands reddening as I increased pressure. It was nearly at its breaking point when I decided to let go.

It wasn't the fact that he was undermining me that made my blood boil, but rather the way he spoke of Clara. Had it been someone else, I would have punched him.

"Don't you think it's time for you to leave? At your age, it must be time for your diaper change." I spat.

He smirked. "Well, you can avoid me all you want, but you know I'm right." He spoke.

He beat his cane against the ground before using it to lift his weight. "Think about what I said," He said.

He gave me his signature smirk before walking out of my office. I heard my front door closing soon after.

My lungs were tightening. I was finally able to release the breath that I had been holding.

I trashed the folder he had mentioned soon after reading it. I was never going to resort to blackmail. It wasn't my style, but that would be a lie.

From what I figured, Clara had no idea about it. Why would she feel the need to hide it?

Leonardo, however, must have known something. It would be ignorant of him not to have figured it out. His body language said it all after I casually mentioned Clara in one of our meetings. It wasn't exactly my place to say that Leonardo was Clara's...

My phone vibrated on my desk, stopping me from my train of thought.

Madison's name popped up, followed by a text.

I paused for a second, reading through her text.

My grandfather's words replayed in my head. Maybe he was right about something. In his sadistic way, he had a point. After all, what's wrong with playing along in this game? Even just for a little bit.

I agreed to her dinner invitation.

I continued with my work. Minutes later, I received a call from Clara, along with a loud knock on my door. Lucky for me, Luke was in my office. He didn't open the door either.

I just knew I had to blow her off. Considering everything I was about to do, it was better this way.

"Are you going to leave the poor girl hanging like that?" Luke asked after our phone call.

It's best if she's out of here when the whole thing happens," I answered.