Sleeping With The CEO
Chapter 117: In A Jam

Chapter 117: In A Jam

Derek did not know what it was about Emily Molson, and facing her that made him want to run away from his problems. But he did not like it at all. He was not a coward and all of this constant dodging around the topic that he usually would be able to just face and get over with, was really bothering him. Cowardice, just did not suit him. How did perpetual cowards who had no spine to speak of, live with themselves? If this state continued, Derek was not sure he would be able to stomach being in his own presence.

If he could have, he would have booked a flight to get away from himself.

But even as he thought that, he was already doing something that just screamed cowardly. When he had left to go to work early in the morning. He had made a promise to himself. A simple pact that when he went to see Emily that night he would instantly jump to the heart of the matter, and apologize to her. Explaining his actions and letting her know that he was alright with whatever punishment she saw him as being worthy of. Even if it meant that she never talked to him again or even if she demanded that he run through the streets naked yelling out his apology. Or if she wanted half his fortune, Derek would do anything. Okay the last one would be more of a problem. Not with him, but with all of the stuff it would entail.

There would be all of the attorneys to consider, and his mother and uncle(he would no doubt make it his business. So maybe the money thing would be more trouble than it was worth, but still the point stood Derek was willing to pay for what he had done. The moment he walked through the diner door he would handle it.

That was what he had told himself, and that should have been what he was thinking about.

But somehow during the cause of the day while he had been attending meetings reprimanding a whole army of personal assistants, and generally just trying to get himself to be a functioning human being who could pull off his job perfectly. Derek’s mind had come up with terms of its own. Wriggling out of the agreement that he had made with himself, through a loophole that he had not even noticed was there.

Why did he have to be so good at spotting weakness?!

Derek had promised himself that the moment he walked through the diner doors he was going to fix things with Emily. But it seemed his mind, still fearful of the outcome had found a way out.

And its solution was to not walk through the diner doors at all. After days of keeping tradition, and going to the diner every night, he had decided that he was not going. Instead, he would be staying late at work, and then he would be heading straight to the penthouse where he would swim until he could not anymore. Then he would go downstairs to his room, lay down and do absolutely nothing. It would be a very boring evening, but he would not be going to the diner to apologize to Emily.

The thought of what she might do, if he brought up what it was exactly that had led to her working at the diner, was just too much to bear. He could deal with all of the physical stuff . Things like maybe having to compensate her, but what he could not even imagine having to deal with. Would be not seen her again, or worse if she looked at him differently. Having her direct a look of great sorrow, and disappointment at him would hurt badly. She was one of the few people in the world that he never wanted to look at him like he was scum. So Derek was once again being the one thing that he did not like...a coward.

Haven group headquarters was quiet, haunting. It was so late that, as usual the majority of the people had gone home, and Derek’s office was the last one with the light still on. If anyone were to look in from the outside. They would think that he was hard at work when they saw a piece of paper in front of him that he was furiously scribbling on. But that could not have been further from the truth. Instead Derek had drawn a face that looked suspiciously like his own(without a beard) and was busy scribbling a villain moustache on it, because that was what he felt like.

A villain...and in this case that was what he was.

He finished his doodle and stared at the paper. Taking it in both arms, Derek tore it in half. Then just to be sure, he tore it into more, and more pieces until he no longer had the strength to cut it up anymore. In that moment he wished that he smoked. At least then he would have had a lighter to burn the thing to ash. But since he had no such thing on him, he had to be content with just throwing the pieces in the trash. If he’d had the means to burn it, he might have accidentally set off the smoke alarm, and that would have been a complication that he did not need.

With the paper thrown away, Derek collected his things and made his way home. The drive this time was shorter since he took the actual route that he was supposed to take. But instead of just leaving his car in the garage, and going upstairs, he stayed there for a while longer. His intent had been to just gather himself, and then go upstairs and rest. But he ended up staying in the car for way too long, lost in thought. The next thing he knew, it was almost half past five in the morning.

Emily gets off at six, his mind supplied.

Before he could second guess himself, and make things more complicated, Derek shed the cowardice that had been holding him down, and did something brave. He started up the car and drove out of the garage.

His destination...Bee’s diner.

If he kept on prolonging things then he would never know. Maybe Emily would be willing to hear him out. Willing to forgive him, but if he kept on being a coward. The he would never know her response, and he would always be tormented by not knowing. That was a fate worse than Emily deciding to just give up on him altogether. He had to know whether she forgave him or not.

It was very brave, and would have been even braver if he actually got the chance to talk to Emily. But a few blocks from the diner, Derek was caught up in a traffic jam.

By the time he got to the diner, Emily was gone, waitresses that he did not know were on duty. Defeated, he got back into his car. Derek never realized that he had passed her by when he had been pulling up to the diner.