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Dereck’s hand went down as his fingers slid inside her. Alina clung to him even tighter, widening the space between her legs. She wanted no resistance to hamper the enjoyment. She preferred Dereck’s manhood inside her, but his fingers were just as effective in completing the job.
Not giving her a chance to recover, Dereck gripped Alina’s ass, lifting her off the ground so that she wrapped her legs around his waist. He was about to claim her properly when his cellphone vibrated in his pocket, halting both their movements.
“You should take that,” Alina instructed as Dereck dropped her to her feet and reached for the device. Alina fondled with the container of brushes she hooked on the pegboard.
“Dereck speaking,” he answered. After that there was a series of yeses and nos, then he announced. “I will be there shortly.”
Alina put some distance between them when Dereck initially took the call. Now she returned with a slow and unsure stride. “You should leave,” she told him before he had a chance to make the announcement.
Dereck looked at Alina. His upturned face turned into a frown. Then he picked up his shirt and began to shield his chest. “I will be back as soon as I’m through. Have a work waiting for me. And you better have that painting finished.”
“Definitely,” Alina declared. “I’ll be waiting.”
* * *
Dereck did not wantto leave Alina. Not after what they’d started, but the meeting was important. Following his conversation with Lee and Martin, he contacted a lawyer, who then wrote to management, demanding that they release his accuser’s name. The person on the cellular phone was his lawyer, who received the information and asked that Dereck joined him in his office.
Dereck watched as the digital number in the elevator changed, the high-pitched music a distant annoyance until the elevator stopped on the third floor. He followed the signs which led to his lawyer’s office.
“Go ahead,” the woman at the reception desk said. “He is expecting you.”
Dereck’s lawyer was a tall, balding man with beady eyes which he kept hidden behind frames.
“Good day, Mr. Blackman,” Dereck directed his greeting towards the man wearing a dark gray suit. “Do you have it?”
The man presented a white envelope from the chaos on his desk. Dereck was actually surprised that he didn’t lose it between those folders and documents.
“Apparently,” the man walked around his desk to where Dereck stood. “It’s an artist. She wasn’t your patient. Maybe that’s why you don’t remember her. She was just accompanying a friend.”
Dereck’s jaw tensed. That scenario sounded familiar, but he couldn’t discern where he had heard it before. Nevertheless, in a few seconds, he would know exactly who was trying to ruin his career.
“Your superiors didn’t want to release the information to me, claiming that the woman had already recanted her complaint. But I insisted they released the information.” The man held his hand out to Dereck, the envelope within.
Dereck took the envelope and opened it, tearing the top of it in one swift swoop. Then he pulled out the paper inside. At first, he thought he was mistaken and that his infatuation with the woman caused him to see her name, but he wasn’t. There was no mistaking Alina’s name on the paper.
His body wavered, causing his foot to move backward in order to steady himself. The news had come as a tremendous blow to his heart and it pained from betrayal. Dereck’s sight faltered, so he closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again.
How could she do this to him? How could she pretend to care about him, then stab him in the back? How could Alina, the woman he loved, betray him like this?
Mr. Blackman looked at Dereck with curiosity in his eyes. “I take it that you know this person.”
Dereck raised his head to the lawyer, his eyes wild as if just remembering the man was in the room. “I thought I did,” he said as his jaw tightened and the bulging veins in his forehead became more prominent. “I guess I was wrong.”
“What are you going to do now?” The man’s words were laced with curiosity.
“What I have to,” Dereck said, crumbling the paper with his lover’s name written on it.
* * *
The moment Alinaput the last stroke on her painting, she darted off to the shower to prepare for Dereck’s return. He could arrive at any moment, and she was going to be ready.
She dressed simply, in a tan shirt dress with a leather belt. Below this, she wore nothing. After all, Dereck admitted to preferring her with nothing on.
For her makeup, she went a little extravagant, applying bright green eyeshadow and bright red lipstick. It was meant to highlight her lips and bring all Dereck’s attention there. Alina kept her hair free, framing her face in a loose curl. It was both sophisticated and sexy, even without extravagant accessories.
When the doorbell rang, she rushed to it, hoping it was the food she ordered. The shrimp linguine would be superb with the bottle of cabernet she had chilled in the fridge. But it wasn’t the delivery, it was Dereck and the expression on his face told her he was in no mood for pasta.
“Dereck, are you…” Alina began but was cut short when Dereck brushed past her and barged into the apartment. His face was tight, stretching into a snarl, and his shoulders tense and neck tight. Dereck stood with a rigid stance as he glared at Alina from head to toe.
