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Of course there was a round of “Oh you are fine” and “What bad mood?” but they were all quick to hang up.
“Well, that went well,” Charlie said positively, but when Taylor met him with a death glare, he cleared his throat. “Well, um, at least we are moving forward. All the things you have done are fabulous, Taylor.”
“Thank you, Charlie,” Taylor said, standing and stretching her back. “Okay, you two can get out of here. I think even you guys have had enough of my bad attitude.”
“It isn’t the first time we have had to deal with it. Why start apologizing now?” Todd asked.
Taylor gave him her middle finger and her best smile in return. “Good night,” she replied, saccharine sweet, and Todd gave her a small smirk.
“Okay, Taylor, we will meet with you in the morning,” Charlie said, giving Todd a nudge toward the door.
“If I am even allowed to leave, we will,” she said as she collected her papers.
“He is worried about you, Taylor,” Charlie reminded gently.
Taylor whipped her head up to say God-knows-what but was interrupted by the sound of Derrick calling her name from the outer rooms.
“We’ll let him know you are in here,” Todd said, now leading Charlie out of the office.
Taylor was so mad at Derrick. He knew better than anyone that her whole life she had been kept away, hidden, and sheltered from everything. And he was doing the exact same thing to her now. Where was all his “You’re in charge” shit today when he was telling her it wasn’t safe. She could have told him to buzz off, but truth was she was scared shitless about the press and him telling her to get out of there ASAP and Henry’s head turning flaming red had done nothing to help ease her fears.
“Hey,” came Derrick’s voice from the doorway.
Taylor turned with a scowl at her husband. But she raised her brow when she saw the white and yellow tulips in his left hand.
Derrick followed her gaze and cleared his throat, “I got you these to say I’m sorry,” he explained and held up the bouquet.
It was beautiful. “Yeah?” Taylor asked as she dragged her gaze from the bouquet to meet Derrick’s eyes. “What, exactly, are you sorry for?”
Derrick’s eyes got a little wide, but to his credit he recovered quickly. “Because of how upset I made you for making you go home early,” he responded. He looked confident, but his voice gave him away as he said the statement in the form of the question.
“You don’t even know why I am mad!” Taylor exclaimed.
Derrick sagged slightly. “Taylor I don’t know—”
“You are keeping me in a bubble, Derrick! You are doing exactly what I was trapped in my whole life, exactly what I ran away from! In one breath you tell me I am in charge, and in the next you are insisting that I leave the office!”
“Because I want to keep you safe!”
“But you are keeping me in a bubble!” Taylor told him, exasperated. “I can handle this. I have to handle this, but you only let me just far enough off your leash and then drag me back!”
“I have been in this world, around these people, and I’ve seen what they are capable of. You have no idea what can happen.”
“But I have to know about it. Can’t you see that? I can’t live in hiding anymore. I can’t be secluded away to a distant location every time there is a mob,” Taylor said, almost pleading with Derrick to understand her. “Ihaveto be at Preston Corp. Ineedto be part of the day to day there. That is going to have to include the media and press and paparazzi.”
“It is scary sometimes, Taylor.”
“Yes, and I am tired of being scared of it,” she said, her voice wavering as she responded. “I have been terrified of this whole thing, and bit by bit I have chipped away and faced my fears. But still you are keeping me from living, from dealing with it all.”
Derrick’s face became a mask of semi controlled fury. His right hand raked through his hair, pushing it all over. He was trying to choose his words, trying not to lose his temper. “There are people out there who might want to hurt you,” Derrick said.
“I know, Derrick. I know they will do crazy stuff to get at me to get pictures—”
“Taylor, people threaten your life on a daily basis.”
“I know that too, Derrick,” Taylor said calmly. “I have seen the social media posts that get deleted, I have heard about the letters that come in, and the phone calls and messages to the general voice mail of Preston Corp. I have had long, long meetings with Henry, I have had calls traced and the validity of the threats traced. I am a public figure, I am a leader, and I am making decisions and changes that not everyone is going to like. But I am handling it.”
“How did you know all that?”