Derek clenched his fists as the bitch spoke about his mother. Not even her big tits and curves were enough to make up for her attitude.
“Trina’s right. If Marisol took so long, my mom would fire her ass.” This from Anna Davis, the redhead of the group.
Derek glanced over the top of the bushes in time to see Cassie glance between her two friends. But she didn’t say anything. Didn’t defend his mother.
He’d wanted to like her, had liked her last night. But just the fact that she’d hang out with these girls told him all he needed to know about what was inside the pretty face and hot body. And Derek was less than impressed and really fucking disappointed.
He continued to watch them in silence, unnoticed.
Cassie chewed on her fingernail before finally speaking. “If Marie doesn’t come out in five minutes, I’ll go in and see what’s keeping her.”
God forbid she should pour the drinks and carry them outside herself. Poor little rich girl, he thought in disgust. What had he been thinking, asking her to meet him tonight?
Cassie pulled her hair off her neck and secured the long strands with a ponytail holder she’d been wearing around her wrist.
Without warning, Derek sneezed, calling attention to himself. He ducked down, hoping they hadn’t noticed him staring.
The giggles that followed told him he’d been busted, and his face flamed hot with embarrassment.
“Did you see that? He’s watching us,” Anna said and not in a whisper.
“He’s so hot,” Trina added. “I’d totally do him,” she said, loud enough to make sure he heard.
Derek wasn’t sure whether to be proud or pissed at the way they spoke about him. As if him listening didn’t mean a thing.
“He’s totally fuckable,” Anna agreed. “But not the guy you bring home to meet your father. Isn’t that right, Cass?”
Derek stiffened. This was her chance to prove she wasn’t like her bitchy friends. She knew he was listening.
“Cass?” Trina pushed her for an answer.
“No, definitely not good enough to bring home to Daddy,” she said, dutifully and as expected.
A sucker punch would have hurt less.
Fuck her. Fuck them all, Derek thought.
He couldn’t wait to get the hell out of here at the end of the summer. Thank God he had the brains to get a scholarship that let him go far away from here. He’d miss his parents, but he was grateful for the chance to start fresh somewhere.
Where he wasn’t the gardener’s kid.
Chapter One
All of Cassie Storms’ dreams were about to come true. All the hard work for Storms Consolidated, the family multimedia company, the long hours, the fight for the right to do more than the home and gardens section, were about to reach fruition. Her father, Christopher, had called a meeting of the board of directors. The rumor mill said he would be stepping down as chairman and handing over the reins to the most qualified person. Not even Cassie knew for sure, but her gut told her the time had come for him to retire.
She sat in the boardroom, the first one to arrive, waiting for the rest of the members to take their seats and for her dad to make his announcement. She didn’t know for a fact that he’d give her control. After all, her father wasn’t one for personal pats on the back or to reveal his hand, but Cassie had worked harder and longer hours than anyone else.
She was the only family member on staff, her brother, Spencer, roaming Europe under the guise of getting himself together. In reality, he was carrying on with women and hanging out with other … degenerates was too harsh a word. But if there was a mess to be made, her brother tended to make it, and her parents, her father in particular, stepped in to clean things up and sweep them under the rug.
Cassie had always been interested in the media empire started by her paternal grandfather, Alexander, a man Cassie respected and emulated. A man she missed terribly. Ten years ago, he’d been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and had handed his company over to his only child. And Christopher hadn’t been as good a businessman as Alexander had hoped. Alexander passed away long before her father’s choices hurt the company, but Cassie saw. And it broke her heart.
Her grandfather had been more like a parent than her own father, caring about her goals and her choices. She’d promised him she’d work for the company he loved and do great things there, just as he would have. She was determined to keep that promise, no matter how hard her father often made it.
And he did make it tough. Christopher was old-school. He hadn’t understood technology or the impact e-reading and online subscriptions would have on the business. He had no idea how to manage the sheer volume of sources from which the American public now collected its news. He had been too slow to advance with the times, and as a result, Storms Consolidated was in deep trouble.
Maybe her father now understood this and that was why he’d decided to retire. No matter the reason, Cassie already had a plan in place to reposition her beloved grandfather’s company, starting with their technology magazine.
Over the last six months, she’d been creating a portfolio of interviews with high-profile men and women who had made a major impact in the tech world, slowly rebuilding the company’s online presence and streaming the information on social media sites. Something her father had neglected. She hadn’t gotten an interview with everyone she wanted though, because her contacts were limited, due in good part to the magazine’s lack of reach.
Then the idea had come to her. She’d called him and requested a meeting, speaking to his assistant. To her never-ending surprise, Derek West had agreed to see her.