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

pointed to them.
    When Dan reached for the money, Derreck clamped his hand on Dan’s wrist.  Dan cried out in pain.
    “Don’t ever let me see you near Macy or myself.  Ever.”
    Dan nodded, his face twisted in pain.
    Derreck let his wrist go and Dan took the money.  That didn’t surprise Macy, that’s how Dan operated.  He would work his way in, get what he wanted, show his true colors, and cash out.  He’d be desperate and alone for a little bit then find a new adventure. 
    When Dan left the office, most of the tension was out of the room.  Then Macy turned her sights to Derreck.
    “I’m sorry,” she said.  “I should have said something about...”
    “Did he hurt you?” Derreck asked.
    Macy nodded.
    “Beyond his words?”
    Macy closed her eyes and continued to nod.
    “That’s why you’re hidden?”
    “Among other things,” Macy said.
    Derreck turned to face the large window.  His hands worked their way into his pockets.  The tension came right back into the office.  Macy stood, uncomfortable, unsure of her next move.
    After a minute, Derreck said, “There’s a limo in the basement parking garage.  You can use my private elevator to get to it.  Get in the limo and go to my loft.  I need to think, Macy, for a little bit.”
    Macy pushed from the bookshelf.  “Derreck, please, I need you to listen to me.  It’s not what you think...”
    Derreck shook his head.  “I’m not interested in listening to you right now, Macy.   All I ever wanted was for you to be open.  To destroy your fears and make you understand how much I need you.  When I close my eyes all I can see is a curvy silhouette of yourself.  It’s burned in me.  But it’s always a silhouette because I’m wondering if I have ever seen you before.”
    The words were honest yet cruel, slicing through Macy with a pain that took her breath away for a few seconds.
    There was nothing left to say.
    Macy turned and walked from Derreck’s office, never looking back.  She held hope in that she was going to his apartment.  There, she told herself, would be her last chance. 
    Her last chance to be open.
    Her last chance to be honest.
    Her last chance to show Derreck just what kind of woman she really was.
    Macy just had to figure it out before he came home.

 
    The allure of the limo, the ride through the busy city with eyes looking at the long vehicle, wondering if a celebrity or movie star or high paid athlete sat in the back, along with the allure of the apartment building, and the loft itself meant nothing to Macy.  She floated through the motions, her eyes focusing on nothing, her mind focusing on everything.
    She was escorted from the limo and into the building, even to the elevator and up to the loft apartment.  A man in a suit opened the door for her and assured that if she needed anything she could simply pick up the phone, dial *1, and ask. 
    The one thing Macy wanted, a phone couldn’t give her.  Nor could a man in a suit, a limo ride, or even money.  What she wanted was Derreck Hagan to be with her.  She wanted to explain what happened with Dan and she wanted to discover him.  For a man who spoke of hiding and coming forward, Macy still had plenty to learn about him. 
    It wouldn’t be fair for things to just end like this.
    Even though she paced the large loft, inhaling the air, catching subtle hints of Derreck’s perfect scent, Macy’s stomach churned again and again.  All see could think about was Derreck finding another woman.  Someone who looked like Macy but didn’t have such fear and urge to hide from the world. 
    Macy opened the curtains on the back window of the loft.  Looking across the city, she felt as high as she did in Derreck’s office, able to see for miles upon miles.  It could have been twenty stories, maybe thirty.  The world hustled and bustled, everyone contained in their own lives.  Their own goals, dreams, loves, and hatred. 
    Somehow watching the traffic and the movement