DERRICK’S POV
I sat at my desk, staring at the stack of papers I wasn’t reading. Santi and Ace were talking from across me but I barely heard them. My mind was elsewhere-on her.
Joan.
It had been days since I’d seen her. She hadn’t crossed my path in the mansion, and as much as I hated to admit it, I missed her. The way she glanced at me when she thought I wasn’t looking, her quietness, and, dammit, even the way she seemed to avoid me sometimes.
Why the hell was I thinking about her?
I’d never let a woman occupy my thoughts like this before. Women came and went. They were mere distractions in my world of deals and power. But Joan wasn’t like the others. She was innocent, beautiful and …different. I couldn’t put my finger on it. And the way she’d stormed out of the dining room that night when the stripper danced on me…
A feeling of guilt tightened my chest. I hadn’t cared then, but now? Now, it irritated me to know I might’ve been the cause of that flicker of hurt in her eyes. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Boss!” Santi’s voice snapped me back to the present. I looked up, realizing both he and Ace were staring at me expectantly.
“What?” I snapped.
I leaned back in my chair and lit a cigar. The familiar taste of it calmed me, though the taste felt unusually bitter today.
“We were saying the drug shipment failed,” Santi repeated.
I frowned, blowing out a plume of smoke. “What do you mean, ‘failed’? That shipment was a locked deal. It was airtight.”
“It was supposed to be,” Ace cut in, his arms crossed. “But the product never made it to the Italians. It disappeared.”
“Disappeared?” I growled, leaning forward. “How the hell does an entire shipment of cocaine just vanish?”
Santi sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. The jet left on schedule, the pilots were checked, everything was clean. But somewhere between here and their airstrip, it was intercepted.”
Silence.
My mind raced, piecing together what might have happened.
“This means someone on the inside tipped them off,” I said “Someone who knew the route, the timing-everything.”
Ace nodded “That’s the only explanation. And it has to be someone close enough to us to know those details.”
The thought of a mole in my operation made my blood boil. I couldn’t tolerate betrayal. Trust was already scarce in this business, and to have someone working against me?
“What do the Italians know?” I asked.
“They’re waiting,” Santi replied. “But not patiently. This shipment was supposed to go out today. We’re already running late, and if we don’t deliver soon-”
“They’ll think we’re playing games,” I finished for him. My jaw tightened. “And that’s a reputation we can’t afford.”
The Italians were people I didn’t want to cross. The Italian mafia I knew were ruthless. They ate people’s hearts out.. literally. I’m not scared of anyone but I’d prefer a life without being at war with them. There were too many risks. And if there’s something the Italians hate, it’s betrayal.
Ace leaned forward “So what’s the plan, boss? We need to handle this before the Italians start questioning our reliability.”
I was quiet for a moment. I tapped the ash from my cigar into the tray.
“We find the mole,” I said “And we make an example out of them.”
Santi nodded “And the Italians?”
“They’ll get their shipment. We’ll figure out a way to replace what was lost. But first, we make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Ace leaned back, satisfied. “Understood. We’ll start digging. Whoever it is won’t stay hidden for long.”
“We’ll have to reroute the next shipment,” Santi said “And double-check everyone involved in the last run. Whoever the mole is, they’ve got access to critical intel.”
Ace nodded. “We’ll need to bring in someone to test loyalty. Maybe pull a few names for questioning.”
“Do what you have to” I said “We can’t afford another screw-up like this. The Italians are already breathing down our necks. One more mistake, and they’ll-”
The door to my office flew open with a bang.
Irene stormed in. Her eyes were blazing with anger and from the way her body was positioned, I knew she wanted a confrontation. Why? I didn’t know.
Santi and Ace exchanged confused glances, but before either could speak, Irene pointed a finger at them.
“Out,” she snapped.
Ace raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“I said, out,” she repeated “Leave. Now.”
Santi looked at me for confirmation.
I waved a hand. “Go. Apparently, she’s got something urgent.”
The two men stood and left without another word. Once the door closed behind them, I turned my gaze to Irene. “You’ve got five seconds to explain why you just interrupted an important meeting.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she marched up to my desk, slamming her palms onto it. “You’re hurting her, Derrick.”
I frowned “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb with me,” she snapped. “You know exactly who I’m talking about. Joan.”
The sound of her name made something tighten in my chest, but I masked it with indifference. “What about her?”
Irene scoffed, crossing her arms. “You’re an idiot, you know that? She likes you. Hell, anyone with eyes can see it. And you? You’re just stringing her along, acting like you don’t care, but I know you do. So, stop being a coward and let her in.”
Her words hit me harder than I expected. I stood to face her “This isn’t your business, Irene.”
“Oh, but it is,” she retorted. “You’ve been walking around this mansion like a brooding puppy and she’s been avoiding everyone because she’s too embarrassed to face you. You think I haven’t noticed? I care about her, Derrick. She doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.”
I stopped pacing and turned to face her. “It’s not that simple.”
“Yes, it is!” she shot back. “You’re just too damn scared to admit it. You’re scared because you think letting someone in will make you vulnerable.”
Her words struck a nerve. A memory surfaced in my mind-my ex, laughing with another man, the way she looked at him like I never existed. The betrayal, the humiliation, the pain.
I clenched my fists, my jaw tightening. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Irene’s expression softened “I know enough. Whatever happened in your past, it’s not fair to punish Joan for it. She’s not that woman, Derrick. She’s not going to hurt you.”
“She will,” I snapped, my voice rising. “They always do. They lie, they cheat, they-”
I stopped myself, breathing heavily. The room felt suffocating. The walls felt like they were closing in as flashes of my ex invaded my mind.
Irene stepped closer, talking softly “Derrick, not everyone is like her. Joan isn’t like her.”
I shook my head, unable to respond. The memories were too vivid-walking in on my ex with another man while I had an engagement ring in my pocket, the excuses, the betrayal that cut deeper than any blade. I grabbed a paperweight from my desk and threw it against the wall. The sound of it shattering echoed through the room.
“I can’t,” I screamed. “I can’t do this again.”
Irene placed a hand on my arm. “You can’t keep shutting people out, Derrick. Not everyone is out to hurt you. You deserve happiness too, even if you don’t believe it.”
I pulled away from her touch “Leave, Irene. Just… leave.”
She hesitated. Her expression was filled with concern, but eventually, she nodded. “Think about what I said, Derrick. You owe it to yourself and to her.”
When the door closed behind her, the silence was deafening. I sank back into my chair.
Joan’s face flashed in my mind-her touch, her lips the way she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t paying attention.
Maybe Irene was right.
But letting Joan in meant opening old wounds, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.