BREATHE: A Billionaire Romance, Part 3 by Jenn Marlow

though, I was excused less than half way through so that Derek could go on with his treatment. Although I wanted to be there for Derek, I was glad that I didn’t have to listen to any more of his smugness.
    Since I was so thankful that I didn’t have to listen to him, the appointment went pretty quickly for the most part. I thought that because of that, Derek might be able to get into bed earlier and rest for once.
    Especially after the grueling treatments I knew he underwent.
    But it was clear, as soon as we got into the car, that that wasn’t going to be the case. He had other plans. Fredrick was driving in a direction opposite of Derek’s penthouse apartment.
    We were headed out of the city.
    “Where are we going?” I asked, my eyes fixated out the window.
    “You’ll see.” Derek smirked.
    And see I did.
    We drove for an hour outside of the city, to a rich neighborhood that I knew had to belong to his family. I knew because as soon as we crossed into the gate, there was a giant SHOLTS sign, as if advertising that the premises was owned by filthy rich people.
    Such an advertisement made me feel a bit weary of meeting his family, but as soon as I saw his mother, I knew that my weariness was misplaced.
    She was gorgeous. Short, with a curvy figure, kind demeanor, and soft flowy clothing which seemed to highlight her body without over-embellishing it, she was stunning. Her movements were fluid, as she walked down the stairs, into the foyer, towards me. With classy whitish, grey-colored hair, perfectly done, light makeup, which seemed to accentuate her features perfectly, the woman looked like she could have been related to Helen Mirren.
    “I’m Lauren.” The gorgeous older lady extended her hand out to me, and I took it graciously. If the word graceful and poised needed a picture beside it for a description, I felt that this woman would be a perfect candidate.
    She smiled sincerely up at me, her small stature endearing, and I could tell immediately that she was a kind person.
    “It’s really nice to meet you,” she continued, her tone sweet but direct.
    “So nice to finally meet you!” I nearly squealed, excited to finally meet his family.
    “Yeah, she’s already basically stalked you guys,” Derek choked out in quite the un-amusing way.
    “I did research before I started working for you.” I rolled my eyes, feeling suddenly self-conscious. I crossed my arms over my chest and breathed in deeply, embarrassed.
    “You’re the Zoe he hired for his Public Relations Officer?” a man questioned, coming into the foyer from the living room.
    “Apologies. I was on the phone,” he said in very gentlemanly fashion.
    He was also grey, but very young-looking in the face. He had a nice, athletic physique and what looked like an incredible eye for style. He wore a nice, high-quality green cashmere sweater over, from what I could tell, was a very expensive purple button-down shirt, and his hair was cut almost perfectly. He seemed to have very few flaws aesthetically, and it was funny because he didn’t look like anyone from any of the photos that I had seen of his family.
    I never asked him to point out who was whom, but even if he had, I still wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint this man. I might have seen him before, but he certainly didn’t look the same if I had.
    And I just assumed that he was likely Derek’s stepfather.
    “I thought we could all go out to the courtyard for dinner.” He smiled, glancing out of the large French doorway at the far side of the living room, which could be seen perfectly from the foyer. The French door was extravagant in and of itself, but where it led was the real prize. That’s where he was gesturing to. I was captivated; almost as captivated as I was when I looked out Derek’s penthouse windows.
    There was a fountain in the distance, with greenery on all sides, stretching as far as the eye could see. There were trees lined up in a perfect line, all the way to the end, and