Derek was a lawyer, but just barely, time-wise. He'd graduated from law school just last year and had only recently passed the bar exam. As expected, he'd continued to work for his dad's firm – the same one that had been managing my family's estate for as long as I'd been alive.
I tried to think. "Did you go to school with him or something?"
"As in college?" Derek snorted. "That guy? You're kidding, right?"
What an ass.
I was still thinking. This wasn't a big town. Maybe they'd run into each other at a restaurant or something?
Derek made a sound of annoyance. "Can I have my phone back now?"
"No."
Derek gave me a look I knew all too well. It was the why-are-you-being-such-a-brat look.
Nice try. Derek was only five years older than me. If that look hadn't worked in grade school, why would he expect it to work now?
Derek was still eyeing his phone. "You know, Icouldjust take that from you."
No doubt, he could. Derek might not play a lot of sports, but he was no slouch. Still, I held onto the phone and waited.
"Fine," Derek said, getting to his feet. "You really wanna know?" He glanced toward the front of the boardroom, where the stranger had been standing just a few minutes earlier. "That guy? I hired him to paint something for you."
I did a double-take. "What?"
"Yeah. As a surprise." Derek's mouth tightened. "You happy now?"
I wasn't happy. I was confused. "So, it was like what, a birthday present?"
"That was the plan. But now, I've got to find another painter." He looked to his cell phone. "So, are you gonna return that or what?"
No. Not yet.I still felt like I was missing something. "So let me get this straight. You hired one of the endowment candidates to do a painting for me?"
Derek laughed. "That guy? Hell no. Are you serious?"
"I don't know," I snapped. "Am I?"
"Oh man, you are, aren't you?"
I was so tired of the games. Through gritted teeth, I said, "Just tell me already. Did you, or did you not, hire that guy to do a painting?"
"Sure, I hired him, but not to paint a painting."
"To dowhat, then?"
Derek gave a little smirk. "To paint the boardroom."
Suddenly, I felt sick to my stomach. "Oh, my God." I glanced around, taking in the pale green walls. It was true that I'd always hated the color, but that was beside the point. "So that guy wasn't even a candidate?"
"For the endowment?" Derek laughed. "Hell no. He was just some painter guy."
Just some painter guy.I let that phrase rattle around in my brain. The more it rattled, the less I liked it. That was just like Derek, dismissing someone because they had a regular job.
What didheknow about regular jobs, or regular people for that matter?
Nothing, that's what.
Derek had come from three generations of wealth. But with me, it wasn't like that.
