Page 43

“Cedric died, and the marriage clause was discovered. Even then, though, Derrick wanted to let you be, let you find out like everyone else.”
“But …”
“But he realized, after a gentle reminder, that you would be much happier to come back to try and save a devastated company when you could help it before such a terrible feat occurred. I reminded him about his own feelings of responsibility and how you would feel.”
Taylor leaned forward, resting her head in her hands, rubbing her face. “God, Simon.”
“I am so sorry this is all being thrown at you, but he wants you Taylor and he wants to help. And I want him to be happy. Please let me die a happy man, and make my son happy.”
Taylor groaned into her hands. How much more could she freaking handle? Now she had to save a failing empireandfulfill a dying man’s last request. It was unfair. “I am not going to make him happy, Simon.”
Suddenly Marty burst through the back door, running full tilt with her phone raised in her hands. “You can’t get me,” she taunted a figure behind her, and seconds later Derrick exploded out of the house.
He was laughing, chasing his sister, and she bobbed and weaved among the hedges, dodging his half-heart attempt to catch her, before he finally grabbed the phone and tossed his sister into the pool.
Derrick spun back, grinning widely, and shook the phone at Taylor. “Don’t worry, baby, I saved you from further social media fall out.” Derrick bowed to Taylor but was the thrown backward as his sister hit his knees, making him spiral awkwardly into the pool with her.
“You already have,” Simon whispered to Taylor.
“What?” Taylor asked, as she smiled at the scene.
“Made him happy,” Simon said. “You already have, Taylor.” Simon tossed his head toward the pool. “I haven’t see him so carefree in years.”
“He is just doing what he thinks will make everyone happy. He’s a peacekeeper.” And probably out of guilt for how their friendship had ended, Taylor mused.
Simon shook his head. “Stop trying to find excuses. He wants you back here not just to fix Preston Corp., but because he loves you. This is right, and it is a win–win for you both.” Suddenly Simon had both her hands in his. Taylor looked into his face, noticing for the first time how gaunt it was, how thin his frame had become, how pale his skin around his eyes was.
Taylor started to think that perhaps she was cursed. People seemed to meet their demise around her at an alarming rate.
But even though she loved Simon and wanted to grant him what could very possibly be his dying wish, she just couldn’t lie about something like that.
“Simon I—”
“Don’t feel like you need to answer me, Taylor, I know you. I have known the kind of person you are for a long time, so I know you will do what is right for you.”
“Daddy, doesn’t her outfit look great?” Marty interrupted from the side of the pool. She swam over, very nonchalantly, in her clothes, looking completely comfortable. Taylor knew she had been through this before.
“She does, my dear. You are a fabulous fashion guru,” Simon complimented, and Marty beamed from the praise.
“That reminds me,” Taylor interrupted, eager for the distraction. “I need clothes. I don’t have any on the West Coast, and I need business stuff for work—”
Taylor stopped short when she noticed that Marty was jumping out of the pool like it had suddenly caught fire. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to go shopping!” she squealed, running to Taylor and planting a kiss squarely on her mouth. “I am so excited!”
And then she was gone.
“Uh, wow,” Taylor said.
“She never has outgrown that impulsiveness,” Simon remarked, looked at the invisible dust path that Marty had left behind in her exit.
“Where the hell did she go?” Derrick asked, getting out of the pool.
“Shopping,” Taylor answered, turning to him and getting sucked into the vortex of his incredibly hot body, which made her forget all basic functions, like breathing. Derrick’s shirt clung to him and showed off his extremely well-defined muscles.
Simon cleared his throat. “I need to be heading inside,” he said and gingerly got himself out of the chair.
Derrick made a motion to head over to him.