A bet that changed their lives

Part 2 - Derek

A buxom woman screamed in the throes of passion, the man's each wanton move making her reach the height of ecstasy. Their groans and moans, along with the sound of skin slapping, echoed in the dark room. Derek smirked as the video played, deriving pleasure from what was unfolding on the screen. It had been a tough day at work and he needed to get the stress of the day out of his system. He could've gone to a club to loosen up, but the constant female attention and attempts at seduction would have definitely gotten on his nerves today. He could have called Mark for a game night, but it would have been futile as Mark had plans that included excitement and screaming of other kind.

While the pair on the screen were done with their deed, Derek was done with his. Getting up from his couch and moving towards his bathroom to get cleaned up, he was glad he didn't opt for a club outing, a decision of his he had temporarily question. But sensing how great he was feeling right now, he was grateful he didn't give in to his second guessing. He exited the bathroom and glanced at the clock, which showed thirteen past eleven. He let out a sigh as he turned the TV off and laid down on the bed. He had a couple of important meetings lined up for tomorrow. Not to forget the interviews that were lined up for the position of his PA.

His previous one had turned out to be a dishonest person who was caught embezzling funds. Melina was her name. He could still remember the way she would never miss out on any opportunity to make him notice her, purposely trying to maintain skin contact whenever possible, being flirty and innocent one moment and immediately apologizing the next when he wouldn't reciprocate. Truth be told, the girl wasn't that unattractive. Heck, she knew how to carry herself well and make men dance to her tunes, which was as easy for her as snapping her fingers. Why, Mark had almost fallen for her charms but he had been wise enough to realise that he was being taken for a fool. The vicious woman sure knew how to get her claws in, be it one CEO or the either. After she was unceremoniously fired, the incident had been quite a spectacle as many employees had a lot of things to say about her, Derek's receptionist was filling in dual roles and it was getting tough for her. That's why the need to have a PA so that everything could fall back in order again.

He looked at the clock again, making a mental note of what all he was going to avoid this time around while hiring a PA. Apart from the fiasco in the office, he had been at the receiving end of his mom's wrath too. She had called him gullible for having fallen for such a cunning person but what his mom didn't know was that Derek had known of his former PA's nature all along. He had simply allowed her to think that she was succeeding so that he would know what exactly was her plan.

Derek glanced at the clock and sighed. Having cleaned up and turned the TV off, he laid down on the bed and tried to sleep, making a mental note of work that had to be dealt with the next day.

***

Derek Jones was a self-proclaimed self-made man - ambitious, stubborn and too full of himself. His father had been a businessman in his prime, but even he couldn't taste the success Derek had achieved in such a short time. His mom, Deborah, was a homemaker, full of warmth and happiness. Though theirs had been a love marriage, the love and passion was lost shortly after his father had been too busy with his business, barely taking time out for his family. The two, who were college sweethearts, had simply drifted apart, something that had deeply affected Deborah. The love of her life had made his business his everything, while she was reduced to an object that no longer was capable of getting his attention.

Derek had learned it the hard way that marriages were nothing but an inconvenience to success; and his parents' failing relationship had done little to prove him wrong. Despite his mother's attempt at making everything appear hunky dory, Derek had known since he was a school-going kid that things were far from great between his parents. He could say that with conviction because he rarely saw his dad in the house, and even if he was, he would be busy in his own world rather than spending time with his wife and only son. His father had also been oblivious to the amount of time Derek spent with one of his friends, who would also often come over to their house to play.

Post his father's death, he had encouraged his mother to indulge in hobbies that excited her, learn new things, meet new people. In fact, he hadn't voiced it out but deep within he was okay with her mom finding someone new to spend her life with, to feel alive again. But he knew better than to say it out loud. Despite the kind of man his father had been, and he hated him for it, his mother had always been deeply in love with him. Too loyal, in her own words, to even think about anyone other than him.

When it came to his mom, he was a big softie at heart, willing to do anything and everything to always keep her happy. But for the world, he was a shrewd, calculated businessman who remained elusive of the media spotlight but still managed to have his name splashed across different publications - from business magazines to gossip columns. Not that he cared, as long as his mother wasn't targetted. He thrived on the attention that the opposite s*x showered on him, but tried to avoid crossing the line lest his mom would be upset with his behaviour.