7

"No, he was my last, and since that whole break up, I haven’t had any interest in doing anything with anyone else. I’m being careful with that too. This is no time for me to get tangled up in romance or love or anything like the risk of a broken heart. Things are good in my life right now. I need to keep it that way. I don’t want to rock the boat. Ryan left because he wanted to take that job in San Francisco. If he was still here, then we’d probably be together. He wanted me to go with him, but I just couldn’t leave my city, you know? I’m a New York City girl, and I didn’t want to live in San Francisco. I didn’t want to lose Ryan, but I had just started my job with Derrick and it’s a great job. I had just gotten my new place, and things were just coming together for me. I wasn’t willing to make the move, and he wasn’t willing to stay, so we said goodbye and that was that. We’re still friends, I guess. We still care about each other a great deal. At least there’s that." Eva’s smile faded a bit. She had been sad to see Ryan go. She had thought for a little while that they might wind up getting married, but when he had gotten the opportunity to work on the west coast and they had discovered that it was all or nothing, they had both agreed to let their relationship go.

"What about long distance? Couldn’t you have done anything long distance with him?" Jamie asked with a slight tone of disappointment.

"No, because long distance relationships almost never work, and really, where would we be going with it? I’m never going to move out there, and he’s never going to move back here, so there wouldn’t really be any point to trying to stretch it out, would there?" Eva asked with the hint of a sad note in her voice.

"I guess not," Jamie agreed. "That makes some sense."

"Don’t get me wrong, he’s a really good guy and I miss him, but my future is here. My life is here. My whole new life… the new job, the new home," she laughed a little. "You, you’re here. Everything is here. This is where I want to be. It’s where I’m happiest. Other guys will come along, and I’ll have my life all set on my own. This is what’s best for me."

Jamie sounded pleased then. "I’m glad to hear it. I wouldn’t want you on the other side of the country either. I’m glad that you stayed, as selfish as that might seem."

"It’s not selfish. I totally get it. You’re one of the reasons that I stayed." Eva smiled again and reached for her coffee cup. "Now, tell me what’s going on with you and school. I can’t wait to hear all this news!"

They talked for a long while, and Eva filled her coffee cup twice while they visited. She was glad to have stayed in New York City, she was glad to have her elegant new condo looking out over northern Manhattan and her excellent new job as Derrick Madison’s private secretary. He was a beautiful man, and he was all of the things that she had told Jamie he was: smart, successful, and sexy as hell, and he was a flirt, but not over the line. He had given her a good future, and having him as a sweet and spicy part of that future as her boss was just an extra perk. She was looking forward to the future. It held all the promise of a dream turned real.

Chapter3

Eva was sitting at her desk the next day, wearing a form-fitting red sweater dress that reached just below the middle of her thigh and had a V neck which only offered the slightest glimpse of her curves. The dress covered enough, but the way that it clung to her body offered every subtle hint to what was beneath the material.

She slipped her hand mirror from her purse and gave her hair and makeup and quick glance to make sure that she looked good after having come in from the streets of the city on her way to work. She was beautiful. She gave herself an encouraging smile and tucked her mirror away.

She had to admit to herself that she had become much more aware of her looks and how she was dressing for work since she had begun working for Derrick Madison. She knew it was because she liked him and she wanted to impress him, but she didn’t for a moment think that anything that she was doing would go much further than being noticed once in a while. It also wasn’t that she was trying to seduce him or interest him in her romantically; it was solely that she liked him. She admitted to herself that she had a crush on him, and she wanted to look her best, just to look her best.

The phone on her desk rang, and she picked it up. "Good morning," she said with a genuine smile.

"Good morning to you, too!" Derrick’s smooth, deep voice came through the line. "I wondered if you had the Wainwright file."

"No, I sent it off to their office already. It’s done," she answered confidently.

He sounded a little surprised. "That’s great; thank you. Do you have the Dearborne file?"

She smiled to herself. "No, that one is already gone as well. I had it couriered over to the Dearborne’s this morning."

He laughed lightly. "Well, that’s wonderful! Thank you! You know, it’s nice to have someone at my front desk who is so on top of things. That means a lot to me. Thank you!" he was chuckling as he hung up the phone, and she was beaming with some self-satisfaction as she hung up on her end.

A thin gentleman, wiry with dark hair and horn-rimmed glasses, came into the office with his coat over his arm and a black briefcase in his hand. His black suit was impeccable. He came to Eva’s desk and gave her a light smile. "Is Mr. Madison in, please? I’m Gregory Davenport."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Do you have an appointment?" she asked, knowing full well that he didn’t.

"No ma’am. I’m sorry; I don’t. I was his father’s assistant. It’s necessary that I speak with him, if he isn’t too busy." The man looked honest, and she gave him a warm and welcoming smile.

"Please have a seat, and I’ll check in with him." The man sat, placing the briefcase between his feet, his hands clasped around the handle, and he cast his eyes downward.

Picking up the phone, Eva spoke quietly into it, telling Derrick who had come to see him. A moment later, she hung up the phone again and looked at him. "You’re welcome to go in, Mr. Davenport."

He gave her a nod and thanked her before striding through the door into Derrick’s office, and then closing the door behind him.

Derrick rose to his feet and extended his hand. "Gregory, it’s nice to see you. I guess this is a bit of a surprise. What can I do for you?"

Gregory shook his hand and sat down. "Well, I’ve com

e because while your father took excellent care of me after he passed, and I no longer work for the company as an employee, there is a final matter which he set to Mr. Levinson and myself to handle once he was gone. When that task is completed, I will be in full retirement, but until then, there is one last piece of business that I am looking closely after. It has to do with you and with the Van Buren family."

Derrick nodded. "Yes, I’ve spoken with Franklin. He told me all about my father’s plans for Felicia and me to marry and for the two businesses to become one." He sighed and frowned slightly, and Greg saw it, his dark eyes watching him like a hawk.

"I see. What exactly did Franklin tell you?" he asked pointedly.

Derrick shrugged. "Pretty much just what I’ve said. He told me that the two of them had been planning to combine our businesses, our estates, and our families for most if not all of our lives, and that it was what my father wanted more than anything, to have me marry Felicia and join it all together."

Gregory nodded. "Very well."

With a slightly lowered brow, Derrick leaned forward and looked closely at Gregory. "Is that what you know?"

Gregory pursed his lips and gave his head a subtle shake. "I am not here to tell you what I know; I’m here to find out what you want to do. Your decision determines my work. What is it that you are going to do about that situation?"

Leaning back in his chair, Derrick folded his hands into his lap and gazed back at Gregory. "Well, after Franklin spoke to me and gave me my mother’s wedding ring to give to Felicia, I went to see Felicia, and I asked her to marry me. She said yes. So, I guess we’re officially engaged, and that’s as far as it’s gotten."

"Is that what you want to do?" Gregory asked, his eyes locked on Derrick.

"It’s what my father wanted, and I want to do what my father wanted me to do. I don’t feel that I can let him down," Derrick replied quietly.