Derek's face changed — no calculation in it this time.
"Claire—"
"And Vanessa understood the company," I said before he could soften it. "That's what you told me once. I understood you. That just stopped being useful."
His phone rang before he could respond. He answered, mostly because he needed something to do with his hands.
"Yes?" A pause. His expression sharpened. "What do you mean they're early? How many?" Another pause. "No — keep them in the lounge, don't take them to the auditorium yet." His eyes flicked to me. "I'll be down in ten."
He hung up. "The investors are here."
"Some of them."
"Kingsley Holdings?"
His silence was the only answer I needed.
I almost laughed. Of course. Of course the one investor Derek had spent years trying to impress was the one sitting in a conference room with proof of exactly how he treated the people closest to him.
