Hearsay (7 page)

"Did you tell them about Robbie's allegations? Do they believe them?"

"They say they don't, but that won't make a difference if push comes to shove. They won't risk customers boycotting their products as a result of their association with me." Tyler took a deep, shaky breath that Derrick felt in his own chest. "The Coleman Safe House depends on those companies' generosity and support. The
kids
depend on the money coming in from them. I can't afford to pay the mortgage and feed and clothe them all on my own, Derrick."

"I spent the weekend reading case law," Derrick told his friend. "You know criminal defense isn't my area of expertise, but I think I can do it."

"You think you can represent me?"

"Only if I have to and with Noah's help. He's busy trying a case right now, but he said he'd assist me every step of the way if I need him." Derrick rubbed the back of his neck and let out his breath in a rush. "I know you can't afford to retain good counsel, but I'll be damned if I'm going to put your fate in some mediocre attorney's hands. We can't risk some half-assed job. I'd rather do it myself. And, if things take a turn for the worse, I'll retain counsel for you."

"Man... I…
shit.
"
 

Tyler was having a hard time getting the words out. That was fine. Derrick didn't need to hear them in order to know his friend was relieved beyond belief.
 

"I gave you my word," he said, swallowing his own apprehension and nerves. "We'll get you through this."

I'll get through this.

"Thank you so much," Tyler managed to say with a raspy voice.

"Don't mention it."

"Can you come over?" He swallowed so hard Derrick heard him through the line. "I'd like you to come over."

"Tyler—"

"I know where we stand," Tyler noted before Derrick could turn him down. "But I don't want to be alone tonight."

Which translated to
I need to fuck my brains out and forget that I'm in the middle of a shitstorm right now
.
 

Derrick threw his head back and stared at the ceiling, knowing he should say no, but incapable of verbalizing his feelings.

They'd gone out for a while before Derrick and Roman started meeting for lunch in Central Park. It took them two months to accept nothing would ever come of it. Tyler wanted a lot, and Derrick didn't have much to offer. That's when he'd realized he was hopelessly half in love with Roman Bradford. But he and Tyler genuinely liked each other, so they'd remained close friends, and for the past three years Derrick had contributed to Tyler's cause by providing legal assistance for the Coleman Safe House. He had helped dozens of gay and transgender kids who came through its doors every month and didn't plan on stopping anytime soon.

Tyler was a staple in Derrick's life. Hooking up whenever one of them needed to escape reality was something they'd done several times after calling it quits. Derrick had no problem admitting, that for a couple of hours, sex did the trick. But the problems never disappeared, and they were always left feeling awkward with each other for a bit afterwards. That was the reason Derrick had refrained from engaging in such practices for the past seven months. Sex he could get whenever he wanted, but real friends weren't as easy to come by.

"Please, Derrick."

Tyler never asked twice. The fact that he was doing so now only attested to how desperate he was.

"I'll be there around eight," Derrick agreed, ending the call before he could change his mind.

He dropped the phone on his desk and put his head between his knees, taking deep breaths while he waited for his blood to rush north. If he stayed in that position long enough maybe he'd stop feeling like he was about to pass out.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Go away, Tashana," he groaned when his friend's voice made its way through the haze in his head.
 

"Why are you under your desk?"

"I'm having a moment."
 

"Lift up your head." When he didn't do as she'd ordered, Tashana grabbed him by the hair and yanked him back. "From the door it looked like you were blowing yourself."
 

"Owww!" Derrick massaged his tender scalp and glared at her. "One of these days I'll have your ass locked up for assault." He wasn't amused when his friend about died of laughter right in front of him. The woman had no respect. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Casey called." Tashana planted her ample butt on the corner of his desk. "She said you looked like you're having a meltdown."
 

"Can't a man have an anxiety attack in private around here?" he said, loud enough for Casey to hear him.

"Not on my watch, boss," his assistant yelled back.

"Anxiety attack?" Tashana repeated, gently patting him on his back. "Does that mean you already heard?"
 

"Does that mean I already heard
what
? What the hell are they saying now?"
 

"That boss Bradford is going to France to get medical treatment for his addiction to opiates," she whispered, leaning down towards him. "I feel so sorry for the guy. Apparently he's been taking them since he was in a skiing accident last winter."

"For fuck's sake," Derrick snapped, getting up from his chair. "Why are you even telling me this? You can't possibly think there's any merit to that allegation." He got up from his chair and went to stand by the window again. "You know how many different reasons for his departure I've heard in the past few days?"

Tashana tapped her index finger against her lips. "Around two hundred?" she guessed.

"That was a rhetorical question," Derrick growled, sitting on the window sill.
 

"There's got to be some truth to the allegations about Bradford leaving," she said in a serious tone. "I know the employees tend to go a little overboard but—"

"A
little
?" The sarcasm in his tone was so thick it could've been cut with a knife.
 

"…there's no smoke without fire, Derrick," she finished.

"I don't know about that fire." He rubbed his scalp again and took a deep breath. "There are enough inconsistencies to create a question of fact."

"Oh boy," she muttered under her breath. "You're in denial, then. Refusing to believe he's actually leaving and—"

"What I am is freaking the hell out," Derrick cut her off, unwilling to discuss his feelings on that particular subject.

"Why?"

"In case you've forgotten, a kid accused me of having sexual encounters in front of him, and, like that isn't bad enough, I just told Tyler I'm going to represent him," was all he said, refusing to discuss his feelings over Roman Bradford's alleged departure. They didn't make any sense.

"You said that you couldn't take on a criminal defense case."

"I know. But Pro Bono hasn't gotten back to me. Tyler hasn't been formally charged with child molestation, but the probe is public enough. We know people talk, so I expect the backlash will start any minute now."

"I just don't think this is a good idea."

"Neither do I, but what am I supposed to do? Let him fend for himself? Watch quietly as all his sponsors drop?" he asked with a dramatic gesture of his hand. "I could never do that to my friend."

"I know that, hon." Tashana walked over to him and hugged him tightly.

"And that's not even the worst part," he mumbled against her big breasts. "I agreed to go over there tonight."
 

"Go over where?"

"Tyler's place."

"What?" She pushed him away, studied his eyes, swatted him on the head, and hugged him again. "Didn't we agree it isn't a good idea to have sex with your ex?"

"We did," he whispered, not really caring that Tashana was probably about to lecture him on the subject one more time. He just took a deep breath and settled in on her breasts. It was comfy there. Her bosom felt like a safe place. "But we're both single and a little desperate right now, and he has such a pretty cock."

Tashana swatted him again. "Every time you go and get your rocks off with the guy you avoid each other for the next four weeks," she said.

"It'll be the last time," Derrick promised.

"That's what you said three months ago," she reminded him.

"It was way longer than that."

"You were doing so well, boo," she added. "Why'd you go and ruin it?"

"He's under a lot of stress." Derrick looked up at her. "He needs to blow off some steam. And you know what?
So do I
. This week's been hell and if the guy thinks that sucking me off and fucking me through the mattress will help him, who am I to object? Plus, I'm horny. I'm so horny I could fuck a tree. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I got laid?" He shot her a warning look. "Don't answer that."

"Why not let her answer?" The unexpected voice was husky; the tone scolding and dripping with derision at the same time. "After all, isn't that what this firm pays its employees for? Discussions on all sorts of personal, intimate subjects while on the clock?"

Chapter Five

Derrick's voice caught in his throat. He didn't dare breathe, but he slowly moved his head from Tashana's chest to her shoulder until he was able to take a peek.

This was not the kind of thing that happened to him. He didn't suffer from foot-in-mouth syndrome, and, as daring as he could be at times, he had never been caught with his pants down. But today his luck had obviously run out because, lo and behold, that was Roman Bradford looking at them from Derrick's office door.

All of a sudden the atmosphere changed, and the office seemed to be brightly lit, as if the clouds had moved to give way to the sun right outside his window. Derrick felt a hot burst of electricity run through his body and a buzzing in his ears. He hadn't felt this energized in a year.

"Please, tell me that's not him," Tashana whispered in his ear.

"Afraid I can't," Derrick whispered back.

He was incapable of looking away from Roman. Incapable of processing how much of a predicament they probably were in. Incapable of even feeling mortified over that bit of too personal information his boss had overheard. He couldn't. He was too busy worrying about what the other man would make of it. He knew it was presumptuous on his part to think Roman would care, but Derrick didn't want this man he admired so much to have a bad opinion of him.
 

"I'm not as much of a slut as that statement made me sound," Derrick blurted before he could stop himself.

Fuck.

Looked like he was also incapable of filtering his words.

Tashana winced.

Derrick groaned.

Roman didn't even blink behind the thick, black-framed glasses he wore.
 

Lord, but he was gorgeous.

Forty-four years old, and guys half his age couldn't hold a candle to him. Tall and elegant; powerful and sophisticated in that kind of understated way that screamed
I own this joint
without having to say a word. It was the first thing he'd noticed about Roman the day of his job interview with the senior partners of ABC. Six years later, it was the number one personality trait that made Derrick crazy horny for the man, closely followed by his work ethic and how modest and humble he'd remained despite his professional success. Add the physical attributes and no wonder Derrick was toast within minutes the first time he had a private conversation with him.

Roman Bradford was perfect… but there was something different about him.
 

It wasn't that his dark brown hair was liberally sprinkled with gray now, or that he seemed to have lost weight and gained some muscle, which in turn made him look taller than six-foot-two. It wasn't that, whereas he was usually calm and composed, he was now so tense that a muscle in his jaw was jumping.
 

Derrick perused him quickly, and that's when he realized that even though there were substantial physical changes, it wasn't even Roman's appearance that was different. It was something more intangible. His demeanor, maybe… or was it his aura?
 

"Don't let my presence make you feel like you need to get back to your own office, Mrs. Woods," Roman said, bumping the folder he was carrying on his thigh a couple of times. His voice was soft, but there was no mistaking the disapproval behind his words.

Although Roman was addressing Tashana, he didn't look in her direction once. Instead he kept his olive green gaze glued on Derrick's face.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Derrick managed to ask.

Roman squeezed the yellow folder, opened his mouth, and seemed to give his words careful consideration before he said, "Meet me in the conference room in five minutes."
 

The second Roman was out of sight, Derrick buried his face in Tashana's neck and took a deep breath. "I sounded like an ass."

"A little bit," Tashana agreed.

"I can't believe he was just here."

"I can't believe you're still holding me."

"I need to be held."

"He called me Mrs. Woods."

"Huh?"

"I'm nobody's Mrs.," she complained, as if she seriously expected for the boss of one thousand employees to know that detail of her personal life.

"It's been weeks since the last time I saw him," Derrick whispered, ignoring Tashana's nonsense and thinking about the time he ran into Roman at the courthouse at some point in late August. It'd been brief, and no words were exchanged, but Derrick could've sworn his boss had wanted to talk to him.

"Last time
I
saw him was at the firm's picnic." Tashana turned her head until she was able to look at Derrick in the eye. "Is that wood I feel against my leg?"

"You're a sick woman." He pushed her away. "He looks different."

"He's lost some weight," Tashana agreed.

Derrick shook his head. "When I started working here, he was a pretty cool guy. He was always authoritative but very easy going at the same time. Later on, I noticed he was looking stressed out of his mind, although that got better last year. Matter of fact, he looked happy for a while." Derrick shook his head again. "I don't know what's happened to him, but sometimes he looks like he hates the world and…
sad
. He looks extremely sad."