Derek is Ben Hemmings' best friend.  Through his camaraderie with Ben, we have definitely had the chance to see Derek as the dependable, reliable type.  The man you would trust to look after your wife, keep the business afloat -- its no wonder that such a man could be taken in by duplicity and dishonesty.  This in no way concludes that Derek is naive about people and the world around him, but that sometimes nice men can be swayed by nice packages.  The package in question - Shalia Mendez.  This fair african, american damsel mozied into town and right into Derek's bed - with a little help from a special drug.  Credit to Derek, when he awoke to find Shalia in his bed and no recollection of what occurred the previous night between them, he allowed his suspicions to kick right into gear.  Shalia, however, managed to keep his suspicions at bay, especially during their whole STD scare.  Once their first set of tests came back negative, Shalia then revealed to Derek that they got married during their one-night stand.  Overcome by shock, Derek fainted on sight.  After coming through and seeing the valid marriage license, Derek proceeded to tell Shalia that they needed to file for divorce.  Shalia reciprocated the motion.  However, over the next several months, Shalia and Derek begin to grow closer and talks of a divorce suddenly ceased.  This move has resulted in several clashes between the newly married couple and Ben.

Ben, who has been suspicious of Shalia since practically meeting her, has tried to open Derek's eyes to the fact that something bigger is going on.  Derek has definitely had moments where he has wondered if Ben were right, especially since Ben's mysterious disappearance.  However, because Shalia has done such a good job playing the defenseless victim, Derek is naturally gravitated toward defending her.  Even while he is desperate to find his best friend, he finds himself defending her to the cops and Shanna (Ben's wife).  In order to put everyone's suspicions to rest, Derek insisted that Shalia submit documentation accounting for whereabouts during the time Ben went missing.  Although he tried to convince Shalia that he believed that she was innocent, they both knew a part of him wondered if she was involved.  Frantic to keep her involvement secret, Shalia ran to Andrew for assistance.  With his help, Shalia was able to convince the Hallandale PD and her hubby that most of her free time was occupied doing work for Colbert Industries.  Shanna, however, wasn't swayed and continued her crusade against Derek's wife.  Finally witnessing the emotional stress it was causing his wife, he sought to put an end to Shanna's ridiculous vendetta against his wife.  Shanna, however, didn't see it as ridiculous, reminding Derek why her husband disappeared in the first place -- Ben didn't trust Shalia.  Derek continued to defend Shalia, suggesting that Ben disappeared because he didn't want to be found, or perhaps because he was nosing around in the very city that Shanna's mobster parents lived.  Naturally, Shanna took offense, reminding Derek once more that his wife's mysterious past was the reason Ben left town, and subsequently, probably the reason he disappeared.  She further added that she would find her husband and if Shalia was involved, Derek wouldn't be able to stop her.  Derek returned home a few hours later to be greeted by the hands of his wife.  He told her about his disastrous visit with Shanna, leaving his wife to contemplate how much more of Shanna's vendetta she could take.  Derek tried to convince her that it will be over soon -- that once Ben is found, they could put this whole nightmare behind them.  Shalia then reminded him that Ben hated her, and so does his wife, so it's very well possible that he could lie and implicate her.  Derek, however, couldn't see Ben doing that no matter how he felt about Shalia.

Attempting to forget about Ben's disappearance for one afternoon, Shalia and Derek enjoyed an interesting lunch at El Club de Moniasis.  As evening approached, the married couple opted to continue their festivities at home.  However, as they were gearing to leave the club, Derek received a phone call from Detective Ralph Lombard stating that Ben Hemmings was dead.  Shock and disbelief colored his movements as he informed his wife, who had watched his demeanor change swiftly while receiving the news from Detective Lombard.  As the sick reality began to set in, Derek realized that he needed to be the one to inform Shanna.  As one could expect, Ben's death quickly escalated into another argument about Shalia, but it was Derek that Shanna ultimately blamed for her husband's death.