Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 61851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Just as Claire no doubt intended.
* * *
Sitting at his desk at work, Derek sent off an email and opened another to respond to an inter-office question from the contracts department. His cellphone rang and he glanced at his sister’s name flashing on the screen. He immediately picked up. She was one of the few people in his life he’d put everything aside for, including business.
“Hey, Nikki, what’s up?” he asked, reclining in his chair.
“I know you have zero connections or interest in the online fashion industry, but you need to know that Jessica and her upcoming lingerie line are being trolled on social media.”
He frowned, trying to understand his sister’s words, which confused the hell out of him. “What are you talking about?”
She took a deep breath to calm down before speaking again. “Someone got ahold of unedited photos of the models wearing Jessica’s lingerie designs and leaked them to social media and fashion influencers. They’re untouched pictures,” she stressed. “I don’t know how to explain it any better, but every stretch mark, fat bulge, and dimple is out there for the world to see. Which means catty bitches are having a fucking field day raking Jessica and these models over the coals. It’s like bullying to the nth degree.”
His sister rarely cursed. Their mother had seen to that, but she did now to express the importance of what had happened. Derek straightened in his chair and attempted to make sense of the situation. “How do you know this?”
“Because I’m a former model and most of my social media is fashion stuff and it’s splashed all over my accounts!” Her voice rose with her impatience. “And the demeaning, offensive comments are awful and I can’t imagine how devastated Jessica must be over this smear campaign. I wanted you to know because it’s bad, Derek. Really bad.”
The urgency in his sister’s voice left no doubt in Derek’s mind that she wasn’t exaggerating. He swore under his breath and immediately knew what he had to do. Get to Jessica as soon as possible and find out if she was okay.
“Thanks, Nik. I’ll call you later.” He ended the call and tried reaching Jessica, but she didn’t pick up her phone, so he immediately started for his office door, pulling up the Uber app. A car would be the quickest way to reach her.
“Hey, where are you off to in a hurry?” Ben asked as Derek passed him in the hallway.
“To see your sister,” he said, not bothering to stop and waste time explaining things. Jessica was his priority.
Ben followed him into the receptionist area. “Wait, you can’t leave. We have a marketing meeting in twenty minutes.”
“I don’t give a shit,” Derek said over his shoulder. “There’s an issue on social media involving Jessica and someone sabotaging Curvy Girl Couture, and she needs me.” Even if she didn’t know it or wouldn’t admit it. It was important for him to be there for her through this crisis because, sure as shit, her mother wouldn’t offer any kind of support.
“Oh, hell,” Ben said, concern deepening his tone. “You’re right. I’ll handle the meeting. Keep me posted and let me know if you need me for anything.”
By the time Derek rode the elevator down to the ground floor of the building and walked out of the lobby, his car was waiting for him at the curb. He slid into the back, and while the guy navigated traffic to Jessica’s store, Derek clicked on the few links that Nikki had forwarded to him so he could see for himself how online trolls took such delight in tearing other people down.
Nikki was right and Derek’s stomach twisted into knots at the sight. This was huge and possibly damaging to Jessica’s upcoming lingerie launch and campaign. It was the kind of coverage that would cause a major brand to pull out and walk away.
When he arrived at the boutique, he stormed inside, grateful that the only person he encountered in the showroom was Maddie, who looked completely stricken, her eyes filled with unshed tears.
She pointed to the back area of the store, obviously realizing why he was there. “She’s in the back.”
He didn’t stop his stride until he reached Jessica, who glanced at him with red-rimmed, pain-filled eyes. Her eyeliner was smeared and his heart ached, seeing her utterly destroyed.
Ignoring Avery, Derek pulled Jessica into his arms. She didn’t resist his embrace, for which he was grateful. Instead, she sagged against him, seemingly absorbing his comfort and strength, which he was more than willing to give.
He held her for a long while, nodding at Avery when she motioned to the front of the store and left them alone. He rubbed her back until he felt the tension ease from her body.
After a few more moments, he let her go and stepped back, needing to know the details so he could figure out how to handle the problem for her. The desire to protect her was overwhelming, and he’d do whatever it took to find out who was responsible and defuse the toxic mess. He had the money, the resources, and the connections to make the perpetrator’s life fucking miserable.