Hello, Derek
1875 Words
Mia POV
I woke up thinking about Derek.
Not the words he'd said, the ones he hadn't.
The pauses between sentences. The careful way he'd said we have history, as if it was something I was supposed to remember fondly instead of something I'd survived.
I had known Derek Holt for three years.
At least, I thought I had.
Now I wasn't sure I'd ever met the real man at all.
The version I'd fallen in love with had been polished. Charming. Predictable.
The man who'd called me yesterday didn't sound like any of those things. He sounded like someone trying very hard not to say the wrong thing. And that bothered me more than if he'd threatened me outright.
By the time I'd finished getting dressed, I'd already made up my mind.
I was going to find Cole.
Cole was in his office.
His jacket hung over the back of his chair, sleeves rolled to his elbows. Three folders lay open across his desk, and the morning light spilling through the window caught the black ink of the Ravens tattoo on his forearm as he turned another page.
He looked up when I stopped in the doorway.
"Derek called again."
"I know." He closed the file in front of him before meeting my eyes. "Ghost flagged it."
I frowned. "You knew?"
"I knew he called."
I stepped inside and dropped into the chair opposite him. I'd stopped waiting for an invitation sometime during my first week.
"You have someone monitoring my phone?" I asked shocked.
"I have someone monitoring calls from flagged numbers." He rested his forearms on the desk. "There's a difference."
I folded my arms. "Is there?"
"There is." His voice stayed maddeningly calm. "One is surveillance. The other is security."
"You still could've told me."
"You're right."
I stared at him. "You... agree?"
"I should've told you." One shoulder lifted in a small shrug. "That's on me."
For a second, I forgot the argument I'd walked in here ready to have. "I wasn't expecting that."
"No," he said, and there it was—that almost-smile that never quite committed. "You usually expect me to argue first."
"I usually have to."
"I've noticed."
The corner of my mouth betrayed me.
It twitched before I could stop it.
His eyes caught the movement, but he was kind enough not to mention it. Instead, he leaned back slightly. "What did Derek want?"
I exhaled slowly. "I honestly don't think he knew."
Cole didn't interrupt. He simply waited, giving me the space to untangle my thoughts.
"He sounded different this time," I said, choosing each word carefully. "Yesterday he was smooth. Confident. Today..." I shook my head. "It felt like he'd decided to call before he'd figured out why."
His fingers found the pen beside the folder, rolling it once between his thumb and forefinger. "Something changed."
"I think so."
"What?"
"The injunction." I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "Or maybe not the injunction itself. Maybe how quickly we got it."
Cole watched me for half a second. "You think that's enough?"
I shook my head. "No."
"What, then?"
"I think someone told him something he wasn't expecting."
"And what's that?" Cole asked quietly.
I met his eyes. "That I'm not as easy to corner as he thought."
Without a word, Cole turned the middle folder around and slid it across the desk. A map of the Merchant District filled the page. Two properties along the western boundary were circled in red.
He tapped one of them with his finger. "Vael flagged these for Thursday's meeting."
I leaned forward, studying the map. "They back onto Portside."
"They do," Cole said with a nod.
I followed the boundary line with my finger, letting my eyes travel across the streets and warehouses. At first it looked ordinary. Then something clicked.
"If someone wanted control of the shipping routes..." I murmured, almost to myself, "...they wouldn't start with the docks."
Cole stayed quiet.
He knew I'd keep going.
"They'd start here." I tapped one of the circled properties. "Buy the surrounding land first."
His gaze never left me. "They'd create a legal foothold," I continued, the pieces falling into place faster now. "A zoning dispute looks harmless. Slow. Bureaucratic. Nobody pays attention until they've already secured everything they came for."
The office fell silent. I looked up and Cole was still watching me.
"What?" A faint smile tugged at one corner of his mouth.
"I was wondering how long it would take."
My brows drew together.
"To figure it out."
"Oh."
His smile lingered for a second before he closed the folder with a quiet thud. "Turns out it wasn't long."
I looked away, pretending to study the map again even as warmth crept into my cheeks. "So Thursday isn't really about zoning."
"No." Cole folded his hands on the desk. "It never was."
I leaned back in my chair, letting everything settle into place. "Derek wants the shipping routes."
"He does." He answered.
"And the Syndicate?"
"They want the same thing." Cole's voice was calm, matter-of-fact. "Vael's just the face they're putting in the room."
I nodded slowly. "So Thursday's meeting is a test."
"It is."
"They're trying to figure out how much I actually understand."
"And," Cole added, holding my gaze, "how much you don't."
A slow smile spread across my face. "Then let's make sure they leave disappointed."
For the first time that morning, Cole smiled back. It was small. Barely there. But I caught it anyway.
"So," I asked, breaking the silence, "what happens now?"
Cole reached for the folder between us and closed it with a soft thud before stacking it neatly on top of the others. "Ghost will brief you tomorrow."
I raised an eyebrow. "On what?"
"Portside. The boundary properties." He rested his forearms on the desk, his fingers loosely intertwined. "What they'll ask. What they won't. Everything you need before Thursday."
I nodded, but the answer didn't sit right.
"I want you to do it."
His hands stilled. For the first time since I'd walked into his office, he hesitated.
"Ghost knows the operation," he said carefully.
"I know."
"He'll answer every question you have."
I shook my head. "I'm sure he will."
Cole lifted his eyes to mine, waiting for me to explain.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "But you understand the business."
Silence settled between us.
I took a breath. "Ghost can tell me how people fight." I held Cole's gaze. "You can tell me why."
His expression gave nothing away. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, studying me with the same quiet focus he gave contracts and strategy meetings. "You've thought about this."
"I have."
"You know Ghost's going to be offended."
A smile tugged at my lips. "I'll buy him coffee."
Cole's eyebrow lifted. "I don't think coffee's expensive enough."
"Depends where I buy it."
For a second, he just looked at me then a quiet huff escaped him. Not quite a laugh. Close enough that I smiled anyway.
"When?" I asked.
His eyes drifted to the clock on the wall before returning to me. "Tomorrow."
"What time?"
"Seven."
I stood, smoothing the front of my blazer. "I'll be here at six fifty."
"I know you will," Cole replied, reaching for another file.
I paused at the door. There was something different in his voice. Not softer. Not warmer. Just... easier. Like somewhere between arguing over security protocols and discussing zoning maps, we'd learned how to meet each other halfway.
Neither of us mentioned it.
Maybe that was why it mattered.
Nora was waiting outside my room with two takeaway coffees. She handed me one with a grin. "I come bearing caffeine."
I smiled. "You're my favorite person today."
"I know."
We walked inside, and she flopped onto my bed like she owned the place. "You were in Cole's office."
"It was work," I said.
"Mmm."
"It was."
She pointed her coffee at me. "He could've sent Ghost."
"He was going to."
"But he didn't."
"Because I asked."
She smiled. "Exactly."
I sighed. "It doesn't mean anything."
"Maybe not." She stood and headed for the door. "I just think it's nice that he listens to you."
"He listens because it's business."
"If you say so."
She reached the door, then glanced back. "Oh... one more thing."
"He watches you."
I frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"This morning. Before you knocked." She shrugged. "He already knew it was you."
"Nora..."
She only smiled.
"Think about it."
Before I could answer, she slipped out and closed the door.
I looked down at the untouched Portside folder in my lap. For some reason, I couldn't remember what I'd been trying to study.
That evening, the house was unusually quiet.
I'd changed into sweatpants and an old university T-shirt, the Portside files spread across my bed. I kept rereading the same page without taking in a single word.
He watches you.
I sighed and reached for my highlighter. "Focus."
A few minutes later, my phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
Not Derek.
I frowned and answered. "Hello?"
Silence.Then breathing.
A chill ran down my spine. "Who's this?" I asked.
A man's voice answered. "You look like your mother."
I froze.
"She was brave too. Right up until she wasn't."
The line went dead.
For a second, I just stared at my phone. Then I was on my feet, hurrying down the hall before I could think twice.
I knocked once.
Cole opened the door almost immediately. One look at my face and his expression changed.
"What happened?" he asked.
I held out my phone with unsteady hands. "Someone just called me..." My voice caught. "About my mother."
Cole took the phone from my hand.
"What did they say?" he asked, already checking the number.
I swallowed, and told him.
His jaw tightened. He pulled out his phone. "Ghost," he said, his voice calm. Too calm. "We've got a problem."
There was a pause.
"No. Bigger than that."
His eyes found mine. "Conference room. Everyone. Now."
He ended the call and handed my phone back.
"My mother died when I was four," I said quietly. "I don't even remember her."
"I know."
"You knew her?" I asked.
A brief pause. "My father did."
"And you?"
"Some."
"Cole." I snapped.
"Not tonight." He held my gaze. "Right now I need to know who made that call and how they knew exactly what to say."
"You know something."
"I know this wasn't random." He crossed his arms.
My stomach tightened. "They're testing me."
"They're testing how you react." He muttered.
His phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen before slipping it back into his pocket. "Ghost's on his way."
Then he looked at me. "Go back to your room. Lock the door."
"You think they know where I am?"
"I don't know what they know yet. I'm not taking chances."
I hesitated.
He stepped closer. "You did the right thing, Mia."
"For coming to you?"
"Yes."
Something in my chest loosened.
I nodded. "Okay."
I turned to leave.
"Mia." He called.
I looked back.
He was still standing in the doorway. "We'll figure this out."
For the first time since the phone rang, I believed him.
- Writer
