Page 20 of Irresistible Valentine

"Can I get back to work now?" Malcolm asked.

"Yes," was all Derrick said and he turned away from him.

Going back to his desk, Malcolm couldn't shake off the feeling of betrayal. The false accusation left him feeling so hurt and angry. For Derrick to think that he would betray his trust like that, it was an insult.

And he thought things were bad before Derrick came in. Malcolm's chest hurt from sadness and anger, his eyes stinging with unshed tears.

He tried to tell himself that it was better this way. He was delusional about Derrick, and now he felt as if he had been punched in the gut. There had never been anything there, just Malcolm wishing for something that was never real.

Chapter 15

As Malcolm lay in bed with no hope of sleep, he told himself that Derrick wasn't his whole world. He was just his boss and Malcolm should push all thoughts of him out of his head when he wasn't at work.

But he could still see the way Derrick had looked at him, the way his eyes had hardened. In his head, he could hear his voice so cold and accusing. It all still hurt too much.

The pain of it came at him in waves. He imagined going into the office to curse and scream at Derrick, but that was just a fantasy, like everything else that had to do with Derrick. Malcolm couldn't afford to act like a crazy person at work.

Despite everything, he wanted to keep his job and that meant acting professional. He should have never allowed things to get personal between him and Derrick. In fact he needed to go back to Calling him Mr. Argent and thinking of him that way too, make things formal and all business between them just as Mr. Argent wanted.

He wasn't sure if he could go back though, but he wondered how he could have been so wrong about Derrick. He had always seemed a little cold-hearted to him, but also fair and levelheaded. Then when it came to Malcolm, he didn't even bother to find out the facts.

Malcolm threw his arm over his face and told himself he better not fucking cry. But if he didn't have Paula, Malcolm would have been wallowing in his misery. Instead of playing with her and making her a spaghetti dinner and eating with her, he wouldn't have eaten a thing. Instead of snuggling with Paula on the couch and watching a cartoon with her before she went to bed, he would have stayed up all night sitting on the couch or gone to bed with his clothes on. In the morning, instead of wishing Paulaa cheerful good morning and pouring colorful cereal in her blue bowl with clouds, he would only drag himself out of bed to get ready and go to work in a dull stupor. Or maybe he would call in sick.

That last one was still tempting him even as he was approaching the front doors of Argent Holdings. He texted Candy asking her if she wanted to skip work and hang out.

"What's this about?" she texted back.

"Derrick doesn't trust me not to sell him out to anything with a dick," Malcolm told her.

"Sorry your boss hurt your feelings, but you can afford to get fired even less than me," she pointed out to him. "Get your butt into work."

She was right, but going in was agony, and then Derrick made it worse by being there. Seeing him behind his desk was such a painful reminder of how hot Derrick was and how unfair.

Malcolm was barely through the door when he called him into his office. Derrick looked grim, and that could only mean one thing. Derrick changed his mind and he was going to fire him.

Malcolm froze outside his office door then slowly went in, bracing himself so he could take the blow without flinching. When he paused in the doorway, Derrick stood and motioned for him to come in.

Dark and intense, his eyes were fixed on Malcolm, and he had to fight not to get caught up in his gaze. He did notice that Derrick looked more serious than angry. Coming around from behind his desk, Derrick got right to the point. "Malcolm, I spoke to Warren. I confronted him about his lies."

"Were you expecting to get the truth out of him this time?" Malcolm asked, his voice full of bitterness.

"I got plenty," Derrick said, but his deep voice wasn't as harsh as yesterday. "When I told Warren I knew he lied, he thought Iknew everything and confessed the whole lie. He admitted that you never told him anything, that you never slept together, and that you two never went out at all."

Malcolm groaned inwardly. So this wasn't Derrick admitting he was wrong. This was Derrick blaming him for not telling the whole truth. But then he surprised Malcolm.

"I'm sorry I accused you. I should have believed in you." Derrick sounded sincere, and Malcolm was ready to accept his apology, but he wasn't done. "You never gave me any reason to mistrust you. Until you lied to me about being with Warren."

Now Malcolm felt mad all over again. "I didn't lie!"

"You made me think that you went out to lunch with Warren," Derrick pointed out. "When I accused you, you never told me the truth."

Even though Malcolm realized he was right, he was sick of being accused by him. "Fine. I didn't go to any hotel with Warren. I didn't go anywhere with him. But you seemed so eager for me to go out with him, you practically pushed me at him."

Derrick looked appalled. "How can you say that? That's the last thing I want. I just didn't want to stand in your way."

Malcolm wanted Derrick to stand in his way but kept that to himself. He did like hearing that Derrick didn't want him to go out with Warren. Cooling off a little, Malcolm was ready to let him off the hook but once again, Derrick wouldn't let him.

"Warren couldn't have convinced me with his lies if they weren't built on yours," he pointed out.

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