A Hard Man to Love by Delaney Diamond Page B

work.” Then she added with a wince, “You and Derrick were together at the time, weren’t you?”
    “Well . . .” Eva hedged. She didn’t want Celeste to feel bad. Derrick chose to go with her because he wanted to. Eva’s feelings on the matter were irrelevant, and Celeste’s disclosure proved once again that she had not been as important to him as he had been to her. “Actually, we stopped seeing each other around that time, so really, it’s not even an issue.”
    “Oh, that’s why he said his plans fell through and he had to find another date.”
    The words caused a sharp stab of pain in her chest. Even before Celeste, there had been someone else he planned to take?
    “Good, because this conversation was about to get awkward. And I’m glad the two of you worked out your differences and found your way back to each other.”
    “Thanks.”
    Eva put on a brave front for Celeste, but inside, her heart seized up with pain. What reason could there be for him to share his life with other women in such an intimate way, but not with her?
    Over an hour later, Celeste and Cassidy drove away in their respective cars. With Svana’s help, Eva trudged upstairs with all her purchases. Derrick wasn’t home yet, so she took a shower and donned a peach nightgown.
    By now, her hurt had transformed into anger. The more she thought about the conversation with Celeste, the more upset she became. She walked over to the door leading into the sitting room of their suite and cracked it open so she could hear Derrick when he came in.
    He would not ignore her tonight.
     
    ****
     
    Derrick rose from behind the desk he’d been practically fastened to all day. Across from him sat his vice president of operations and his CFO, both of whom he had come to rely on heavily in recent weeks. With their help, he expected to distribute a package about the financial health of the company to all the firm’s employees and leak key elements to the top business outlets in print and digital media.
    The purpose was to show the stability of HLC as they moved toward expanding their reach by entering a strategic alliance with a key player in the Greek shipping industry. If he could ink the deal, a negotiation his father had been working on before his death, it would expand HLC’s interests abroad and capture a significant percentage of the international logistics market.
    “All right,” he said. “That’s enough for today.”
    “Do you need us this weekend?” his VP of operations asked.
    Derrick stuck the pages he’d been writing notes and figures on into a file. He couldn’t tell if the tone of her voice was hopeful because of the hefty additional wages she earned for working on the weekend, or because she looked forward to getting a break.
    “No, I’m good. Let’s take the weekend to think about what we discussed today. We’ll meet in here first thing on Monday morning and tweak our plans if necessary.”
    After they left, he dropped the files in his briefcase and snapped it shut.
    He didn’t relish going home and sleeping next door to a wife he couldn’t touch. Before Eva moved in, he never stayed this late at the office. He took the work home and finished up there.
    Derrick shook his head. He was running from a woman half his size, and all because he’d agreed to give her time. It was just as well. He got plenty of work done and felt a lot better about the direction the company was going in than he did when he first took over.
    In the outer office, his administrative assistant was logging off her computer. Her head snapped up when she heard him.
    “Do you need anything else, Mr. Hoffman?”
    She’d been his father’s admin, too. Since she was young and attractive, he’d had his doubts about his father’s decision to hire her, but having worked closely with her, he grew to appreciate her work ethic and professionalism. He’d been tempted to sleep with her when his father was alive, but now he was glad he hadn’t. He would have