“I trust my staff,” he simply said and then buried his head in his lap top. Jasmine just shook her head at how truly different the man was. Money did not concern him anymore at all but when he was a teenager he had talked so much of his dreams and what he planned to do with his life. Times really changed, she thought sadly.

They arrived at the office and spent the first couple hours going over the applications Jasmine had pre-screened. Derek then had her spend the next couple of hours setting up interviews for the rest of the week. He said he wanted to get things settled quickly, so the company could do as well as it should’ve been doing all along. His statement was offensive but she let it go. She actually agreed with him on a lot of things. Her father had hired some questionable people and the company had been run into the ground.

The end of the day arrived before she knew it and for once Derek didn’t complain when it was time to leave. It seemed he liked having a son and was eager to pick him up.

“Derek, when Jacob isn’t doing sports, he gets out of school earlier. I was able to take some of my work home with me before, so I didn’t have to put him in day care. I know you run business differently but I really do work well from home and would like to continue doing that,” she asked him, afraid he was going to go off on her about her not being the owner’s daughter anymore and being entitled to special favors.

“You can quit all together if you would like, of course our son comes first and there’s no need for you to work,” he said matter-of-factly.

“I don’t want to quit. I enjoy working and I want to make my own money. Just because you have more than any one person needs, doesn’t mean I’d ever be comfortable spending it. If you don’t want me to work here, then I can begin searching for other work,” she said stubbornly, with her arms across her chest.

“I didn’t say I wanted to fire you, I just offered for you to be able to spend more time with our son. He will be grown before you know it and I don’t want you filled with regrets,” he said, exasperated. She decided not to respond, because she felt a tightening in her chest at the thought. She really would like to be able to go to the school more often. She’d always been slightly jealous of those room moms helping at the school during the week with their kids. She spent plenty of time with her son and was there for all of his special events but Derek was right that she was also missing out on a lot.

Jacob came running outside of the school as they pulled up and looked around with an eager expression on his face. He looked right past the SUV, so she stepped outside and called to him. He walked over, with his brows puckered, disappointed the Porsche wasn’t there.

They stopped by a moving company and loaded the SUV with a bunch of boxes, picked up some take-out and headed toward her house. Jacob helped his dad carry in all the empty boxes and the two men went into her son’s room to begin the massive job of packing his belongings.

She stood in the doorway and watched silently for several minutes, enjoying the sound of both of their laughter. They had bonded so closely in only a few short days. She was grateful she’d told her son about his father and he had a great image of the man because he really was a terrific dad. They paused in their packing and Derek tackled Jacob on the bed and tickled him until tears were falling from his eyes, he was laughing so hard.

Jasmine reluctantly walked away from the room and headed into the kitchen. She put together several boxes and started deciding what she’d keep and what she’d donate. She knew a lot of her things wouldn’t fit in with the new home, so the donation pile seemed to get bigger, while her packed boxes weren’t taking up much room.

Derek came out every once in a while and hauled her packed boxes out to the garage, where he was making a nice pile. He’d talked her into letting a moving company at least come in and transport the items. She was actually relieved about that as she hated the actual moving portion. She didn’t mind the packing at all, as it was an adventure, discovering items she’d forgotten she even owned.

There were certain things she wasn’t willing to part with, such as her thousands of books and her mother’s antique china but there were many items she let go of with no qualms. By the end of the night she was exhausted and had barely made a dent in her small home.

“Derek, there’s no way I will finish all of this in time if I’m working all day. I’m going to need to take the rest of the week off to get it done in time,” she told him, as she sat down on the couch, completely exhausted.

“I was thinking the same thing. We really just have a bunch of interviews this week anyway. Take it off and get everything done. I will help you when I get back. Don’t even worry about Jacob, I will stop and pick him up on my way home from work,” he said, sounding just as tired as her. It was really nice to have him there to help with Jacob; she wasn’t used to that at all.

“Thank you,” she said, before crawling off to her room to fall into an exhausted sleep.

Chapter Eleven

The week flew by quickly. Jasmine made incredible progress with her packing and had the local charity stop by twice because the items were piling up and filling her living room. It was a little sad to watch her items slowly being depleted and her home becoming so empty but she felt good getting it all done.

On Friday morning Derek was signing the final papers and the movers were coming to pick up her things at noon. She woke up with both a feeling of excitement and sadness. She found herself looking forward to moving to the new place. It was all a little bit exciting. The previous owners were already vacated and Derek had sent in the cleaning crew yesterday, so all that was left was getting the keys and moving in.

Derek went to the office and called her a couple hours later, letting her know all the papers were signed and they were clear to move. He’d be there in an hour to help her with the final things she needed done.

Jasmine slowly walked around her once homey place and couldn’t stop the tears that streaked down her cheeks. This home had been her and Jacob’s first sense of real security. She had been so proud when she signed her name on those papers and knew the place was hers and no one could take it from her and now she was walking away from it. She felt like she was abandoning her safe house.

Now everything was in boxes, or gone and she was off to a new adventure. She wiped the tears away and decided she was going to sell it. The thought of returning to this home all by herself was too depressing to even contemplate. She’d walk through the rooms and see Jacob in every corner and now she’d also picture Derek’s massive presence there too. It would break her heart a little when someone else occupied it but at least then it would be loved and new memories could be created.

She’d tell Derek to make the calls, since he was so good at it. Knowing Derek, it would be sold in a matter of days. The man just had a way of making things happen much faster than the average person could ever accomplish.

She composed her features just in time, because Derek stepped through the doors and took a look around. “I guess there really isn’t anything left to do but wait for the movers. I brought some lunch so let’s eat and I will call the company and have them get here early,” he said.

The moving company showed up about thirty minutes after his call. She was surprised they didn’t just teleport and land on her steps, while he was still on the phone with them.

The men were professionals and she didn’t have to say or do anything. They had her house loaded into the truck within an hour and were on the road toward the mansion where Derek had someone waiting to let them in. Derek was waiting for her, as she looked around the completely empty house, with a sense of total awe. She looked in every cupboard twice just to make sure she hadn’t forgotten a single item and to draw out her last time in her home for a few more minutes.

She had to give Derek credit because he didn’t say a word as she drug her feet. He even stepped outside to give her a few more minutes alone. One last tear slipped from her eye and then she squared her shoulders, wiped her face and walked out the front door, shutting it firmly behind her as she said goodbye to her old life.

“Are you okay?” Derek asked her, as they walked towards their vehicles. It was a rare and tender moment and almost started her tears right back up.

“I’m fine, it’s just a little harder than I thought it would be saying goodbye to this house. I know it’s not much but it has been home for almost nine years,” she said with a little sniffle.

“It’s a great place and you kept it beautiful,” he said a bit awkwardly.

“Thanks Derek, I appreciate it, although I know you don’t really like it,” she said with a slight role of her eyes.

“I can always have movers come and bring it to the property if you want. There’s plenty of room,” he said to her. She looked at him, with her mouth hanging open, in astonishment. She could tell he was completely serious. If she asked him, he’d actually pay the ridiculous price to have her home moved, just to make her stop crying.

She started to giggle at the thought, it was so ridiculous. They only moved houses when they were of historic value, they didn’t move a typical home, just because the person was attached. She laughed even harder when she really thought about how much money the guy spent in a single day. She was sure it was more than she spent in an entire year.

“Thank you for the laugh Derek, I’m feeling so much better now,” she said and then on complete impulse threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug. She hadn’t initiated contact with him once since they’d reunited. He stiffened for a moment in shock and then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tightly.

She needed the comfort and couldn’t pull back. Derek rubbed along her back and even though he was the reason her life was changing so drastically his comforting hands were making her feel better. She’d later think about the irony of the situation. It was kind of amusing.

His rubbing stopped being comforting and he started pulling her closer to him as his hand roamed lower with each pass. Her breathing deepened, as his touch started to send fire down her body. He brought one hand up to her chin, lifting her face up. Before she had time to blink, he brought his lips down to hers in a gentle kiss. If he’d been urgent, like he normally was, she may have been able to resist him but with this gentle side of him, she had no chance.

She threw her arms around his neck and leaned closer to him as he deepened the kiss, making her stomach quiver with need. She wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the feel of being held and the taste of his mouth, as he slipped inside. She couldn’t seem to get close enough.

“I didn’t know you were leaving,” a voice said, bringing her back to reality. Jasmine pulled back from Derek, who looked a little shaken up and turned towards the sound, to find her elderly neighbor standing a few feet from her. Either the woman was oblivious to the embrace she was just in, or didn’t care but she seemed unconcerned she’d interrupted the two of them.

“Yes Mary, it’s all happened so fast that I haven’t spoken to anyone about it,” Jasmine told her neighbor, feeling a little guilty about moving without saying goodbye.