“No problem. How’s the corporate take-over world treating you?” Drew asked, as he handed him the glass.

“I finally got my company,” Derek said with a genuine smile. He didn’t have to explain what that company was. Drew had grown up with him. He’d been there when Jasmine left him and he’d been there by his side as he plotted his revenge.

Drew was from the same area he was and had been just as determined to get out. It had always been him, Drew and their other cousin Ryan. Their fathers were all brothers so they shared the same last name. Ryan’s parents had died in a horrible auto accident when he was ten years old and he’d moved in with Drew, next door to Derek. The three boys had been inseparable.

They’d all left at twenty years old and made successes of their lives. They stayed in touch, as much as their work would allow and sometimes Derek really hated the distance that divided them.

“That’s beyond great Derek, how did it all happen?” Drew asked with genuine interest.

“David was a very poor business man and all I had to do was bide my time and wait him out. He finally made one too many mistakes, leaving the doors wide open for me to come in and take over. It has felt great but I thought I would somehow feel more, like some completion or something.”

“I think you’re just growing up and getting revenge isn’t as important as it once used to be for you. What are you going to do with this one?”

“I’ve decided to keep it intact. The product is actually top quality and there are over five hundred factory employees who would lose their jobs if I divided it up. I think they will do a spectacular job once they are getting paid what they really should,” Derek answered.

“Turning soft hearted on me, huh? What happened to my cold hearted snake-of-a-cousin?”

“I guess like you said, I’ve grown up and can think beyond myself once in a while,” Derek said, a bit uncomfortable with the praise.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell your secrets to the world. They can all think you're still a jackal,” he said and then punched him in the arm.

“Okay enough about me, it’s been too long since we last talked, tell me what you’ve been up to,” Derek demanded.

“I just got back from Spain. We opened up another resort. You have got to come stay there, she’s a beauty,” Drew said. He pulled out a folder and Derek looked through the pictures. It was certainly an impressive resort, with all the bells and whistles.

“It has three Olympic sized pools, a full use spa, a couple top of the line workout rooms and so much more. It’s a ladies paradise and a man’s dream. I should get an award for this place,” Drew said enthusiastically.

Derek decided he’d take a vacation there, once he finished with the employee situation. He’d seen the beginning phases of this new resort and hadn’t realized it had been so long since he’d spoken to his cousin.

Derek was used to staying in some nice spots but for the last five years he stayed at his cousin’s places whenever he could. He liked to review the service for Drew, since he wasn’t able to be in every place at once but he genuinely liked the resorts as well. They were top of the line and he got better service than he would at any regular hotel.

He’d been able to stay at them without them knowing who he was at first and get an honest review to his cousin but his name was just too big now and the employee’s knew him the moment he walked through the doors. It didn’t matter, the service was exceptional, whether they knew who he was or not.

“She’s my favorite one, so far. You know, it’s a hard life traveling to all these exotic places,” Drew sighed. He couldn’t contain the huge grin that split his face apart. The boys had never been out of the state of Washington until they hit their twenties, so the massive amount of travel they did now was almost incomprehensible.

“I seriously need to allow myself more vacations. Now that I’ve acquired Freeman Industries I can slow down a bit,” Derek said. He was only thirty years old but had experienced so much in his life he felt far older.

“Yeah, I think I see a few gray hairs in there,” Drew goaded him.

“I may be a few months older than you but I can still kick your ass,” Derek said not meaning a word off it.

“Yeah, I’m really scared. Let’s get out of here. I need a greasy burger and a beer. This scotch is okay but sometimes a cold bottle of bud is the only thing that hits the spot,” he said, before he emptied his glass.

“Sounds great to me, Drew. Work has been stressful. It will be nice to go to a grease joint,” he agreed.

Derek quickly ran up the stairs and changed into some jeans and a t-shirt. He slapped on his favorite, worn baseball cap. He smiled as he looked in the mirror. The people he dealt with in the corporate world wouldn’t even recognize him in his off time clothing. He liked it that way. It reminded him of his roots.

Luckily, he never ran into any of them in his favorite grease joint, which happened to be a country music bar that played some of the best undiscovered talent around. He’d even helped a few of the bands, without their knowledge, by sending in their music to some of his connections.

The boys jumped into Drew’s big Ford Pick-up truck and headed out. The bar was about an hour’s drive, when there wasn’t a lot of traffic. During rush hour it could take several hours. Luckily the traffic wasn’t bad and they were sitting at a table in no time at all.

They each ordered burgers, fries and beer, then sat back to listen to the band play. This was one of the few places he knew of that played live music, seven days a week and it was always good.

He felt himself relaxing. He managed to push his stress away and enjoy the conversation with his cousin. The day was turning out to be one of the best he’d had in too long to remember.

He was sitting back, digesting his food and sipping on his beer, when his cousin interrupted his semi-comatose state.

“Have you seen Jasmine yet?” Drew asked. Derek started chocking on the sip of beer he’d just taken. Drew pounded his back, while he struggled to get his breath back. “I guess that’s a yes,” Drew surmised.

“She works for the corporation,” Derek finally managed to get out.

“Whoa, how’s that working out? Have you fired her yet?” he asked. Drew knew Derek wanted revenge from the girl who’d broken his heart.

“No, I haven’t fired her yet. I want her to regret her decision of throwing me out, before I toss her on her butt,” he said. The thought of tossing her out was less and less appealing to him. His cousin raised his brows, as he studied Derek.

“I see,” Drew said, as he pasted a smile on his face.

“What do you see?” Derek demanded to know.

“You’re falling for the girl again, instead of the other way around,” Drew goaded him.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Derek snapped. He was angry, more with himself than Drew, because he thought there may be some truth to his words.

“Hey, it’s been ten years and people can change,” Drew said.

“I won’t forget what she did to me,” Derek said to both Drew and himself.

“All joking aside, you’re a smart guy. Go with your gut and you’ll know what to do,” Drew told him. One of the reasons Derek loved Drew so much was because even though the world saw him as one big playboy who couldn’t take anything seriously he was actually highly intelligent and the most caring man he knew. He liked to project an image of himself as the carefree guy but both Derek and Ryan knew better. They were allowed to see a side of Drew no one else got to. “Besides, Cuz, I always thought Jasmine was a real catch and the two of you were meant to be together. Maybe fate is stepping in for the two of you, finally.”

“Okay enough of this emotional crap. Let’s get out of here, head back to my place and drink way too much,” Derek said. Drew agreed with him. They paid the bill, leaving the waitress a very generous tip and then headed out to the truck for the long drive back.

If people could see the cousins in their off time, they’d have no idea how much they were worth. They liked to wear old clothes, which were about comfort verses style and they liked the dive bars far more than the five star restaurants. They’d vowed to never forget where they came from and in ten years-time they had been true to that vow.

Derek quickly mellowed out as they made the commute home. He knew his cousin meant well and wasn’t trying to get a reaction but it made him think too much about what his intentions really were towards Jasmine. She was the one that got away and he hoped he was strong enough this time around to not let her break him.

He knew he was certainly more mature but he seemed to revert right back to his childhood when he looked into those sea green eyes of hers. She had a way of knocking his feet right out from under him. He’d harden himself back up by the time he returned to the office.

Hell, for that matter, he was only needed there for a few more days, before he could be sure the operation would be overseen by his competent staff. He could monitor the company from his main office and not have to see Jasmine much. That didn’t sound appealing. Damn, he was going to have to put some distance between them.

He decided he’d do that once he got her out of his system for the last time. He needed to take her to bed a couple more times and then he’d lose interest. He always lost interest once the chase was over.

He smiled to himself thinking he’d figured the whole thing out. He wasn’t in love with her still; he was just enjoying the chase.

Jasmine arrived at the school just in time to pick up Jacob. He came running down the hallway and gave her a big hug. She loved the rare moments when he let himself go and allowed her to hold him.

“How was your practice?” she asked him.

“It was really cool, I pinned Timmy in like three seconds,” he muttered excitedly.

“Good job, Little Man. Did you get up and give him a handshake afterwards?”

“Of course Mom,” he said with a roll of his eyes. She loved that she’d taught her son well enough that being polite was second nature to him. She hated when men, or women for that matter, gloated their victories. She’d taught her son having good sportsmanship was just as important as winning the game.

A few of his coaches had told her how impressed they were with him. They’d told her he was unusually respectful of his teammates and his coaches. She’d beamed with pride. She was a typical mother and thought her child could do no wrong but when someone confirmed that she floated on a cloud.

“Timmy asked if I could stay the night on Friday, he has a birthday party and they’re going to Skate World,” he asked her, with excitement pouring out of him.

“I will talk to Timmy’s mom and make sure it’s okay but I don’t see any reason why you can’t.”

“Thanks, Mom, you’re the best,” he said with one of his smiles that transformed his face into looking so much like his father, actually hurting her gut. The older Jacob got, the more he looked like Derek. She prayed they never met, because the resemblance was far too great to be passed aside as a coincidence.