He raised an eyebrow, wondering how.
“I’ve been evicted by my own family,” she said, lifting the glass and taking a long sip of wine.
“Seriously?” he asked, joining her for a drink.
She nodded. “I … um … I’ve been staying in the guesthouse, where you used to live.” She glanced down, aware of the awkwardness she’d injected into the conversation.
No wonder she hadn’t wanted him to pick her up tonight, he thought, stiffening at the reminder of their pasts, the status differences between them growing up. Of her father’s role in hurting his family.
But, he reminded himself, he’d known these things going in. If he was going to spend any time with Cassie, for whatever reason, even if it involved his dick, he was going to have to deal with the facts. And not be put off every time she mentioned something that brought up past pain.
“What do you mean you were evicted?” he asked, focusing on the conversation.
“My father asked me to move out so my brother could move in. A man needs his space,” she said in a mocking imitation of her parent.
“Are you kidding me?” What kind of father threw his own child out? Derek’s family looked out for each other. His mom didn’t play favorites between Derek and his sister, Brenda, nor would she hurt one in favor of the other.
“I’m completely serious.” She raised one shoulder in a delicate shrug. “I’ve had the rug ripped out from under me. Twice.”
“That sucks,” he said, feeling sorry for her, something he doubted she would appreciate.
She laughed. “That’s an understatement. But I’m not giving up,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “The company means as much to me now as it did when I was younger. More so. Before my grandfather died, I promised him I would do great things at his company, and I’m determined to fix what my father let go wrong. I want to make my grandfather proud,” she said, her voice thick.
Derek knew what it was like to make a promise to a sick person you loved. Studying the set of her jaw, the stubborn lift of her chin, he admired her for not falling apart when other women might crumble.
“I’m going to right the ship despite losing out to my brother,” she said, a determined glint in her eye.
There was something inherently sexy about her commitment. And though he despised her father, he liked what he was learning about Cassie. She was nothing like the spoiled brat he’d decided she was all those years ago.
In fact, she was similar to the girl he’d pegged her for initially. And his gut was usually right.
“How do you plan to fix things?” he asked, genuinely curious.
“I’m going to start by making Take a Byte a force to be reckoned with.”
“Then interview me. That’ll give you a leg up on any of the competition,” he said, shocked when the words came out of his mouth.
He hadn’t planned to give in, and she hadn’t yet asked him to. He was offering. Helping her succeed would be a fuck you to the man who didn’t believe in her. The same man who’d screwed his family over. It didn’t hurt that Derek wanted to sleep with her and he’d just given himself a reason to spend more time with her.
“And here I was waiting for dessert to ask,” she said, laughing. “Derek, thank you. Are you sure?”
“We can work something out,” he said, uncomfortable with the idea but willing to give up his privacy for the cause.
“As for a place to live, what are you looking for? A rental or something to buy?”
“A rental. I think I should see if I like living in the city before I commit to anything permanent there.”
He could help her there too.
“I own a few buildings with empty apartments for rent. I’m not sure what your budget is, but you can take a look and decide.”
Her eyes opened wide with delight. “Really? Because I’ve been completely overwhelmed. I’m not sure where I’d want to live or how to begin to look. I was going to call a Realtor, but I’d rather take the word of someone I know than do a full-blown search. Something tells me my brother will want me out … oh, yesterday.”
She frowned and he wanted to kiss the scowl off her pretty face. Before he could react to that thought, she leaned over, placed her arms around his neck, and hugged him tight.
“Thank you. You’ve turned around an otherwise awful week.”
She took him off guard, even more so when her full breasts pressed against his chest and he inhaled the fragrant, delicious scent of her hair. His dick stood at alert, desire taking hold.