“Want to wait outside?” Derek says to Janie without looking at her. It’s more of an order than a question, but he doesn’t seem to care that his assistant dims before knocking on the front door and slipping through it when Hunter lets her out.
I didn’t dislike Derek the other day—I didn’t like him either—but there’s nothing about his demeanor today that would sway me in his favor. Either he’s in a bad mood and taking it out on anyone around him, or this is the real Derek Riley. I liked the confused and bumbling man I helped better than this version of him.
“NDA,” Spencer says, frowning at the paper in his hand. “This seems a bit extreme.” It’s not, but I can see why he thinks so.
Derek huffs an unamused laugh as he settles on one of the stools in front of the desk. “Not for me.”
“If you don’t mind me asking…” Without looking away from the contract, Spencer sits in the chair opposite Derek, and I would praise his professional manner if I wasn’t on the verge of freaking out. If I thought I was panicking in Chuck’s shop, it’s nothing to the fear I feel now. “Why wouldn’t you figure this all out ahead of time? Tell us you were coming? We would have, I don’t know, accommodated your needs better.”
“If I could have reached out sooner, I would have, but I have to take certain precautions when it comes to trusting strangers.” His gaze darts to me, eyebrows pulling low, before he looks at Spencer again. “I’m sorry if this causes any problems for you or your guests, but doing this last minute was the only way I could make coming on the trip possible.”
He didn’t take any precautions when he trusted me, and if he hadn’t booked the trip months ago, I might have wondered if he came here because of me. A shiver runs up my spine, and I shift my weight to one foot as instinct tells me to get as far from this man as I can. Maybe he’s not here for me, but that’s not going to make me any less nervous having him around.
“I’ll make it worth your while,” Derek says, leaning forward and keeping his gaze fixed on Spencer.
Better than having him look at me. It’s the perfect time for me to go outside and let Spencer handle the logistics, but I can’t get myself to move. Maybe, if I stay, I can convince Derek to change his mind about coming on my trip so I won’t have to worry about him invading my safe space.
My stomach twists. Something tells me Derek isn’t the changing his mind type.
Spencer looks up from the paper with interest. “What do you mean?”
“Since I’m complicating things for you and the other guests, I’ll cover all the costs of the trip and then some. You can reimburse what the others have paid, and I’ll add on a bonus for your guides.” He looks at me again,only this time it’s more than just a glance. His eyes trail over me slowly, leaving me queasy.
I tug my hat lower, as if I can hide my face enough to make him forget what I look like. “How much of a bonus?” I ask, unable to hold the question back.
He doesn’t even blink. “Twenty-five.”
“Dollars?”
“Thousand.”
Spencer chokes. “Oh, that’s—”
“Each,” Derek adds, narrowing his eyes at me as if daring me to challenge him.
With my knees threatening to buckle beneath me, I gape at the man and try to make sense of what he’s saying. “There are four of us,” I croak, feeling like my boat just went over a rock submerged in muddy water and unexpectedly dropped three feet.
Derek tilts his head as he studies me, and I really hope he can’t see how completely off-kilter he’s left me. “Great. So an extra hundred grand on top of whatever the other guests paid. Assuming everyone agrees to sign.” He taps the NDA on the desk between him and Spencer, turning his focus back to my cousin. “Does that sound fair, Tate?”
I’m pretty sure Spencer has stopped breathing. He’s now doing his best impression of a largemouth bass, gaping at Derek and looking like he might pass out. I don’t blame him. If Derek is serious, he’s willing to pay us the equivalent of fifty guests. No, more than that. Taking into account the cost of food and the permit and paychecks for the guides, he’s basically covering our entire season in one fell swoop.
I wished I had a way to save Red Earth, but while I’m grateful for the offer, this isn’t what I had in mind. I’m not sure I can endure a week with Derek. He’s too…much. His life is too much. One consolation is that everyone is going to be too obsessed with their famous tour compatriot tobother paying attention to me, but that doesn’t feel worth enduring the likes of Derek Riley for a whole week.
Whether he knows it or not, Derek threatens my entire way of life.
“That sounds more than fair,” Spencer says eventually, nodding eagerly.
My voice feels stuck in my throat as I try not to envision my quiet world crumbling around me. “Why would—”
“I have one other condition,” Derek says, and his eyes shift to me, staying there. Intensely blue and piercing. If this is the way he normally looks at people, I suddenly understand why the internet doesn’t mess with Derek Riley. I feel like he’s seeing right into my soul, at the same time silently telling me that he’s as perfect as everyone seems to think. I hate everything about it and want to run more than ever, but I still can’t move.
“Anything,” Spencer breathes.
Derek’s still holding me captive with his gaze when he says something that makes my heart drop into my stomach. “Someone needs to teach me how to row.”
And something tells me thatsomeoneis going to be me.
Chapter Six
