Open For Him (BBW / Billionaire Erotic Romance) by Karolyn James

Derreck Hagan’s desk.  He reached his hand out to shake Derreck’s hand.  Macy felt her body cringe, fear racing through her veins like a poison.  If she had to watch Derreck shake that hand, she would leave.
    No questions asked.
    She would leave.
    Derreck looked at his hand and refused to shake it.  Macy could see that Derreck sensed something about the man.
    Good.  That’s what Macy needed.
    Getting out of this mess wasn’t going to be easy.
    “Sit,” Derreck said.
    The man started to sit but looked over his shoulder.  He must have sensed Macy staring at him.  When their eyes met, Macy felt the wave of fear hit her again.  Her nerves were paralyzed.  She was taken back to a place she never wanted to be again.  It wasn’t so much hiding as it was forgetting.
    “Macy?” he asked.
    “Dan,” Macy whispered.
    “You know each other?” Derreck asked.
    He was mad about that fact.
    “Of course I know Macy,” Dan said, standing back up.  “She’s... my fiancée.”

 
    Macy felt trapped.   Her back was literally against a wall, well, a bookcase.  She had two sets of eyes upon her, both with powerful looks, one dangerous and one protective.  She never spoke of Dan because she never thought in her wildest imagination she’d see him again.  He was supposed to be a thousand miles away, at least, working for his father’s accounting firm.  He was supposed to be successful, hiding all his secrets, traveling the world, and most importantly, he was supposed to never see Macy again.
    Ever again.
    But there he stood, his face in shock - but with a subtle happiness for finding Macy - and he stared with those rattlesnake eyes, those dangerous eyes Macy had to face time and time again.
    And then there was Derreck, his arms slowly working their way into a folded stance, his shoulders looking a mile wide, unsure of what to think.  While his eyes held their command, Macy could see small lines forming at the corners of his mouth.   He was disappointed, maybe even hurt.
    “I wasn’t anyone’s fiancée,” Macy whispered, trying to find strength in her words before her mouth went deadly dry.
    “Tell that to my bank account,” Dan said and laughed.
    Macy winced.
    She hated that fucking laugh. 
    That was his cover everything up laugh, the one he used when he was lying.
     “Somebody better tell me what’s going on here,” Derreck said.  “I have a company to run.  I’m about ready to throw both of you out of here.”
    Macy stepped forward.
    No! she thought.
    She couldn’t be thrown out, not into her personal world that would include Dan. 
    Dan turned and cleared his throat.  “I apologize, Mr. Hagan.  You’re right.  This is about an interview.  I’d rather focus on that than past personal issues.”
    “Start there and we’ll go back to business.”
    Derreck wasn’t going to back down, now peeling the last secret - the last hidden part of Macy - from Dan.
    “Macy and I were together,” Dan said, “and we were engaged.  Then she left me a note... and left.  I haven’t heard from her since.”
    Derreck looked at Macy.  She had no reaction because most of the story was true.  Only one word set her version apart from Dan’s.
    Engaged.
    “We weren’t engaged,” Macy said.  Her voice cracked and tears filled her eyes.  She lost it, forcing her to turn around.  She tried to take a deep breath, needing to catch herself.  She couldn’t just break down like a baby, not in front of Derreck and certainly not in front of Dan.  That would just give Dan power.
    “Oh, Macy, please,” Dan said.  “I just want to know what happened.  To us.”
    Macy wouldn’t turn around, wishing that Derreck would just take Dan and throw him out.  Macy waited for Derreck to say something but he didn’t.  And to her horror, Dan’s voice started to get louder.
    “It’s been a long time,” Dan said, “but there’s no reason why we can’t be adults now.  What happened... that was just college