Her Billion Dollar Man

“Are you?”

He had pulled up outside a massive wrought iron gate by then and she recognized it as the gate leading up to his residence. “I asked myself the same question over and over again and cannot seem to come up with the answer. I thought maybe you would.” He turned and was resting his hand on the back of her seat, his hand just inches from her neck.

“I don’t have time for this Derek,” she told him swiftly wanting to break down and cry. She had been looking forward to being with him and now all this made her want to just forget everything. “I would like to speak to Tyler to sort things out.”

“Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug and pressed a button inside the car to open the gate. She had seen the house in several magazines but up close it was very impressive. The lawns were immaculate and the sweeping driveway stretched for about a mile. There was a man tending to the well groomed flowers and there was a fountain sprouting water in the center of it all.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” he said mockingly as he opened her door for her to alight from the vehicle. Debra sent him a cool stare and went towards the front door. It was opened by a uniformed maid and she took her fall jacket off as soon as she got inside.

“Where is Tyler?” Derek asked the girl.

“He is up in his room Mr. Derek,” she said politely.

“I will take you to him. When you are finished talking to him, my office is further down the corridor, he is not going to want to look at me.” He told her grimly as he waited for her to precede him up the spiral staircase.

The place was beautiful and was not in the least bit flashy. She did not have much time to look at the furnishings before she was at Tyler’s door. The knocking did not yield any response and she could hear the sound of music coming from the room. It was her voice calling his name that had him telling her to come in. The room was huge and the large double bed was messy and unmade and there were clothes strewn all over the floor. He had a large entertainment center that dominated the room and there were several speakers and a CD player with both sides stacked with CDs on it. She caught a glimpse of a large walk in closet with clothes on both sides. He was sitting on a sofa with a TV remote in his hand. He switched off the big flat screen television as soon as she came in and muted the music.

“What do you want?” he asked her rudely.

“May I sit?” she asked him politely, ignoring his bad manners.

He shrugged and she took a seat at the far side of the sofa. “I wanted to tell you but I did not know how to do so.” She began.

“You wanted to tell me what? That you were screwing my brother?” he asked her angrily. “How hard was that?”

She took a deep breath and steadied her emotions, reminding herself that this was someone she cared about. “I am not screwing your brother as you so delicately put it.” She told him coolly. “We are seeing each other because we happen to be attracted to each other and it might very well lead to something else.”

“Are you that naïve?” he asked her incredulously. “You think the great Derek Mitchell can be interested in someone like you? A store clerk? Jeez you are gullible!”

Debra felt the wave of anger and humiliation washed over her. Those were the exact words she had been telling herself and from the way he was acting it might just be true.

“I never look at a person and judge them by what kind of work they do and where they live. I strongly believe that money does not make a person better off than one who does not have money.” She told him quietly.

“Then you are the only one who thinks that and you need to wake up,” he told her bitterly. “My brother will never be interested in you the way you want him to and I am very disappointed that you would think otherwise. I thought you were different from all the other empty headed women he usually talked to but you are not and that’s what makes it worse. I expected that sort of thing from them but I always thought better of you.”

Debra felt the words piercing her very soul and knew she had nothing further to say to him. “I am sorry we hurt you,” she stood up hastily, wanting to leave before she started crying.

“I am way past that but you are going to know what hurt feels like when he dumps you.” With that he turned on the television and turned up the music, effectively dismissing her.

She made it outside the door, her body shaking uncontrollably. She felt like throwing up but after taking several deep breaths she got it under control. It was several minutes before she could make her way to his office. He had his back turned to her as he scribbled something down on a piece of paper. The office was large and she could see the many awards he had won over the years displayed on the shelves. He turned as if he was aware that she was behind him.

“How did it go?” he asked her, leaning against the desk and folding his arms over his chest. He looked so unapproachable that she wanted to say or do something to make him seem human again.

“Not well,” she said through wooden lips.

He shrugged and just looked at her. “He will come around eventually.” He said carelessly.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she burst out suddenly, wanting to slap him hard across the face.

“What do you mean?” he asked her, one brow raised.

“Why are you behaving like this Derek?” she had come further inside the room and stood in front of him. “Are you trying to push me away? Do you want me to leave, is that it? If that is what you want just be a man and say it! I have been through a lot in my life and trust me this is something I can take as well!”