Page 150 of A Very Naughty Christmas

“I didn’t invite you in!” Kendra yelled.

Derek looked down at her, studying her closely. Kendra flushed and crossed her arms over her chest, knowing all too well he was taking in the unwashed hair hanging in stringy hanks all around her face, her dirty sweatpants and swollen eyes.

“What the hell is going on?” he demanded.

“Don’t talk to me like that, you asshole!” she yelled.

“Watch yourself, little girl,” Derek growled. “I drove straight here from Denver and I’m on my last thread of patience. So don’t push.”

“You don’t get to dictate to me! Go dictate to your little chippy at the office! Maybe you can spank her!” Kendra yelled, holding the door wide. “Get out of my apartment!”

“Chippy? What are you talking about?” he asked as he walked up, took the door out of her grasp, and pushed it closed.

She sighed, crossed her arms back over her chest, and stood ramrod straight. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Dr. Don Juan!”

“Don Juan! You decided to be jealous and threw a fit? You quit because of a temper tantrum?” Derek asked incredulously. “You didn’t call me to check on my mother because of another fit of self-doubt? I’m really shocked… I guess I didn’t know you nearly as well as I thought I did.”

Kendra felt a lump in the pit of her stomach. “Something happened to your mother?”

He frowned at her. “She had a heart attack. Mary told you and gave you my cell number but you never called.”

“What? Is she okay?” she asked, grabbing his arm worriedly.

“Thanks for the belated concern,” Derek said sarcastically.

“Derek, I swear… I didn’t know. Mary said you’d gone to a conference in Denver that had been planned for weeks,” Kendra told him in a rush, hope beginning to bloom in her heart.

“But she told me she’d tell you about my mother and give you my number. She wouldn’t give me yours, said I would be opening the clinic up to a sexual harassment lawsuit,” Derek scowled. “What else did Mary tell you?”

Kendra licked her lips. “She said you and Serena had been dating for months and that you were getting serious and I shouldn’t take heart with anything that might have happened when we were snowed in because boys will be boys.”

Derek cursed roundly and turned around to slap a hand against the wall.

“That’s why I quit. I couldn’t bear the thought of working there and watching you and Serena…” Kendra ended on a sob.

He turned back around at her sob and pulled her tightly against him, rocking her toand fro. “Shhh… it’s okay, baby. I’ve got you. I have never dated Serena or been interested in dating Serena.”

She sniffled and lifted her head up from his chest, looking up at him. “You haven’t?”

“How could I when I’ve only had eyes for you since the moment we met?” Derek asked earnestly, planting a kiss on the tip of her red swollen nose, which made her want to die in embarrassment.

His words warmed her heart and sent her into another crying jag. Picking her up, Derek carried her to the couch and sat down with her cuddled against him while she cried out all the despair she’d felt the last few days.

“I’m sorry… I just felt completely gutted… like I’d died inside and I…” she stammered against him. “And I’m so mad! Y-you needed me and I wasn’t there.”

“That’s not your fault. Mom is going to be fine. I have no idea why Mary lied to you like that but I can promise that I’ll get to the bottom of things first thing Monday. You trust me to handle it?” he asked.

Kendra smiled tremulously at him. “Yes, sir.”

“I also came to tell you I do not accept your resignation,” Derek said darkly.

She blushed. “I hated giving it. I loved that job.”

“You still have it. However, you and I still have a few things to settle, don’t we?” he asked as he tipped her chin up so she was forced to meet his eyes.

Kendra squirmed in his lap. “Yes, sir.”

“Good girl, I want you to go take a shower while I find us something to eat. After dinner we’ll have a little chat, you and I,” Derek told her, lifting her off his lap and pointing her toward the bathroom with a light pat on the butt.

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