Nick and I sat on my back patio sipping wine and watching the sun go down. It was peaceful. I had changed into some fleece pajamas and thrown my hair into a messy bun. Neither of us had bothered to clean up the mess I'd left in the driveway, and to my surprise, the trash men actually picked it up. I was relieved to have gotten rid of Derek's junk. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I looked forward to the day he would ask if he could come by and pick up his things. I imagined the priceless look that would be on his face when I told him what I'd done. 

"I was in Derek's office today before you came by," Nick said, setting his glass on the wrought iron table between us. "He's stupid enough not to have a password on his computer."

I nodded, remembering when I looked through his laptop.

"I found the list of transactions," he looked at me, adjusting his position in the chair.

"It's the same as what you have in the FBI file right?" I asked.

The file had a list of money transfers like the ones I'd seen on Derek's computer, except they appeared to be the banks' transaction logs, rather than the customer's.

"Yeah, but I had to get ahold of his computer to see what else he's been up to. There's more to the story than just embezzlement."

"Like what?"

"Did you know his dad is planning to retire in June and give Derek full rein over the firm?" He looked disappointed. " He has no idea what his son's been doing to the firm."

I was surprised. Mr. Hampton had never mentioned anything about retiring. Everyone thought he planned to work until he died. I couldn't imagine him not being at Hampton, Burns and Hampton anymore. It just didn't sound right.

He was a good man and he didn't deserve what Derek was doing to him and the firm. I wondered how he was going to take it when he found out.

"I had no idea," I said, reaching for my wine glass. "Does Derek know?"

"Obviously, based on his email threads," Nick answered. "He's been talking to hotshot attorneys at other firms about how to kick Hampton, Burns and Hampton to the curb in an acquisition. He's already trying to persuade the partners to go along with his ideas. He's making them think they're all going to get something amazing out of it. Derek wants to sell off the Hampton name for millions in a get-rich-quick scheme. He's also got a job lined up in Venice."

"What?" I choked on my drink, spitting some wine back into the glass. "He's going to destroy the firm and just leave?"

Nick nodded. "Looks like he intends to move to Italy with Christine. He's been emailing a banker in Venice about investing the stolen money with him. He mentions how his fiancé, Christine, and he are so excited to start their new lives in Italy."

Once again, Christine had managed to amaze me. I was shocked enough already by the way she'd gone ahead and had a secret relationship with Derek when she knew we were together, but the idea that they'd already gotten engaged and were going to move to Italy together astounded me. How could someone be so shitty?

"That bitch!" I shrieked.

"I know. I know," Nick said. "But that's not all of it."

I rolled my eyes with an overdramatic groan. "There's more?"

He nodded. "I also found out that Derek's been getting triple the salary paychecks. He's getting paid off by a couple other firms who want inside information on Hampton, Burns and Hampton, and why they're so successful. He's selling them information on how to outdo the firm, more or less."

"But that doesn't make sense if he's going to bring the firm down himself anyway," I shook my head. "Once Hampton, Burns and Hampton gets torn up, they won't be competition to other firms. He's cheating those other firms."

"Each of the other firms think he's only working with them. They don't know he's giving information to others," Nick said. "Derek's planning to bust up the firm to make the other companies think the information he gave them to bring it down actually did. He's framing his father for embezzlement and working on a plan to make it look like the firm crashed because his father stole too much from them. He thinks he's got it all figured out. The firms paying him for information think he's going to come work for them after Hampton, Burns and Hampton goes down. Instead he's going to run off to Italy with all the money he put in those offshore accounts."

"Maybe that's why Christine's so fixated on him," I piped up. "She thinks he's going to be rich as hell and give her mansions and diamonds and tours around the world. I bet she's been helping him hide all this too."

"Could be," he nodded. "I know Derek's got someone on the inside who's been doctoring the books to make it look like there's no money missing. I want to figure out who it is before I try to bring down the law on his ass. I don't need an accomplice giving me the slip if they know about me before I know about them."

It blew me away that Derek had been selling off the keys to the firm's success that his father had spent forty years perfecting. I hated to think of Mr. Hampton finding out about all this, having trusted his only son with everything for so long.

Derek must have been planning this since around the time we started dating. If someone had told me two weeks ago that all this would happen, I never would've believed Derek could do such a thing. He'd had me so fooled and it sickened me.

"There's no way he can get away with this, is there?" I asked.

I hated the idea that Derek and Christine might get to ride off into the Italian sunset, happily ever after, if Nick couldn't find all the information he needed.

"No," he said, standing up and stretching. "The FBI already knows too much. Even if he does bolt to Italy, he won't get to stay long."

I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "How do you figure?"

"Derek's forgetting one very important little detail." He turned to face me, holding up his pointer finger. "On October thirteenth, 1983, the United States and Italy signed into law an extradition treaty. I don't care what he does once he gets there, if he gets there. We'll just have him sent right back in handcuffs."

My frown broke into a grin at Nick's explanation. The thought of Derek doing all this, thinking he had every base covered, and going all the way to Italy only to be extradited back to the US cracked me up. For a clever man, he sure was stupid.

Nick stayed on the patio awhile longer, making phone calls to his detective friend at Chicago PD, and the FBI. While he was doing that, I went in the house and took the opportunity to relax on the couch and listen to the muffled sound of his voice. I was thinking about what microwave dinner I wanted to fix when my phone started ringing. It was Monica.

There was a long pause on the other line before she spoke up. "I need to tell you something but I don't know how to say it. I'm really fucking confused."

I frowned and sat up, as if that would help me pay better attention to what she was about to tell me. "What's going on?"

"Derek called me," she said quietly.

I could hear the sound of a vodka bottle cap being unscrewed in the background.

"Why? What did he want? Is everything okay?" I barked out questions faster than she could answer.

"He said he wanted to talk about us. I was confused because I thought, if anything, he'd want to talk about you," she told me.

"So what did he say?" I started tapping my fingertips on my knee anxiously.

"That he didn't know why he'd dated you when he'd always thought we had chemistry," Monica explained. She sounded disgusted.

"We? You and him?"

She groaned. "Yeah. He wanted to take me out to dinner and apologize for the way he'd acted. He said he liked me and he didn't want you to come between whatever the fuck he thinks we have."

"That's fucking ridiculous!" I snapped, throwing a hand in the air. "I can't believe this man! He doesn't know when to stop!"

"I know!" Monica shouted, pouring a glass of the Grey Goose vodka she always had in the wine rack for times like this when she was royally pissed off. "He's insane if he thinks I'm going to go anywhere with him!"

"What about his enthralling love affair with Christine?" I frowned. I wondered how many girls Derek was trying to bang at the same time. "I thought they were soulmates or some garbage like that."

"I think Derek thinks every girl is his soulmate if they'll sleep with him," she laughed sarcastically. "I'm going to get drunk now. Maybe tomorrow you can come over and we'll play darts with a picture of the bastard's face on the wall."

I giggled at her idea, ending the call just as Nick walked in.

"What was that about?" he asked, sliding his phone in his back pocket.

"Apparently Derek's trying to get it on with Monica now."

He made a disgusted face and shook his head, flopping down on the couch beside me. "Sounds like that classic revenge technique of sleeping with all the ex's friends. Lucky for you, I don't do that."

"I know." I pointed a finger at him. "I'm not your ex."

"And you're not going to be." I heard him say.

He pulled me closer and I slung my legs over his lap, cuddling against his chest. It didn't take me long to fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat while he watched TV with the volume at a whisper.

When I woke up the next morning, the familiar memory of waking up in Nick's bed with the sun blaring through the window washed over me as I blinked several times, cringing when my eyes didn't immediately adjust to the light. I was in my bed and Nick was lying beside me, shirtless. I smiled, remembering how he'd carried me to bed at some point in the night and stayed with me.

I sat up in bed, trying to keep warm by wrapping the blanket that had been at the foot of the bed around my body. I tiptoed to the window, looking outside to see my neighbor, Gina, letting her German Shepherd out. As usual, he instantly started barking and chasing the birds around. I smiled, watching him run and play.

A soft, sleepy groan paired with a ruffle of the sheets caught my attention. I looked behind me to see that Nick had rolled over in bed and was resting his head on his arm, smiling at me lazily.

"Good morning," he said in a raspy voice, clearing his throat.

I smiled, sitting down beside him on the bed. "Hey."

"If I could wake up every morning to this," Nick said, gesturing to the sunlight streaming through the blinds and me sitting next to him. "I'm pretty sure I'd be content with my life."

I liked the thought of waking up beside Nick every morning. It seemed a little fast with me having just gotten out of a relationship, but Nick made me happy and I was beginning to believe he could be good for me. I needed that extra happiness in my life. I needed something other than work to devote my life to.

I wanted to be happy. I didn't want any more drama in my life. I wanted to try whatever this was with Nick. I wanted to give it a shot and see if things would work out between us. It still bothered me that he was probably going to get transferred to another state when this investigation was over but I was trying to put that to the back of my mind for the time being. I didn't want to think about him leaving.

"What's on your mind, beautiful?" he asked, sitting up and running his fingers through my hair.

I looked down at my lap where his other hand was lacing his finger with mine. "You."

"Me?"

"Us," I clarified. I was already starting to get lost in his eyes.

I noticed how his dark brown eyes turned a light golden brown when the early morning sunlight seeped over his face. He'd pushed his hair back, making him look older. There were also little specks of green in his eyes. They were barely noticeable but they captivated me.

"What about us?" Nick asked quietly, twirling my hair around his finger.

I looked down at his bare chest, blushing as naughty ideas filled my head. I imagined having morning sex with him.

"A lot of things," I answered vaguely.

Nick's eyes were trailing down my blanket-clad body. "What things?"

"I know it sounds stupid, considering Derek and I just split," I began, taking a deep breath. "But I feel something with you. You make me happy. Happier than he did, actually."

"What are you saying?"

I imagined what it would be like to have a real relationship with Nick. Of course, I knew the sex would be mind-blowing, but I pictured having date nights with him. I thought about going to the movies or out to dinner. I didn't care if it was anything fancy or not. I just wanted to enjoy the time with him. I thought about cooking together and probably burning the food because we'd be too busy making out. I imagined late night conversations with him, telling him everything that was on my mind and laughing at the jokes he would make to keep me from being so stressed. I pictured him bringing flowers to my office to surprise me in front of all my coworkers. I thought about how nice it would be to not have to pay a mechanic anymore because my boyfriend could fix everything for me - and look hot doing it!

Mostly, I smiled at the idea of times like these when we'd simply be talking about whatever was on our minds. I felt like I could tell Nick just about anything without him judging me. I was beginning to trust him faster than I'd trusted any man before.

"I'm saying... I want to give this a try. Us."