Boss Empire

by Victoria Quinn

  But now that I knew her better than anyone, I knew it was just a mask.

  The stronger she seemed, the more vulnerable she was. She tried to compensate for the nerves by pretending they didn’t exist at all. The only reason I knew that was because I knew her better than anyone now—even Thorn.

  I came up behind her and smacked my large palm against her perky ass in her skirt. My lips moved to her ear, and I stared at her reflection in the mirror, seeing the way she stiffened at my touch. She held my gaze with the same intensity I showed. “A queen has no reason to be nervous. All the peasants in that room should be nervous.” I gripped her ass harder before I let go.

  “I’m not nervous.”

  “Let’s not lie to each other. Not now and not ever.” My hands moved to her waistline, my fingers resting right under the curves of her tits in her black blouse. I felt her body expand with every breath she took, and I could feel her erratic heartbeat too. Sometimes it raced because of me. But now I knew it was racing for an entirely different reason.

  Her hand glided across my forearm, my mother ring’s sitting on her left hand.

  I wanted to lift her leg onto the counter and fuck her against the bathroom sink, but I knew she was short on time.

  When it came to making love, I didn’t like to be rushed.

  “Alright,” she whispered. “No lies.”

  “Tell me why you’re nervous.”

  “I always get nervous with big crowds. The more impressive I am, the more people despise me. The taller you stand, the more people look up to stare at you. The more eyes on you, the more problems. It’s just how it is. When a man stands up there and dominates, he inspires people. But when a woman does it…people question whether she deserves it.”

  “I know you deserve it,” I whispered against her ear. “And so do a lot of people. Don’t concentrate on the assholes. It’s the quickest way to live an unhappy life. You’re better than them, so who cares what they think. You know the truth.” I squeezed the area around her ribs slightly. “Now, don’t be nervous. Pretend I’m the only one out there.”

  The corner of her mouth rose in a smile. “Can I pretend you’re naked?”

  I pressed a kiss to her neck. “Pretend all you want. But I want you to see the real thing as soon as you’re finished.”

  “You’ve got yourself a very perverted deal.”

  “Well, you are a pervert.” I smacked her ass again before I walked away.

  I sat beside Thorn in the second row. He looked well rested despite the night he must have had. He wore gray slacks with a black collared shirt, dressed casually but not informally. I flattened my tie against my chest and caught a blond woman staring at me from the end of the row.

  My engagement to Tatum was public information now, so I didn’t understand why eyes lingered on me longer than they should. Perhaps they didn’t take it seriously, or perhaps my commitment to a woman made them wonder if they could get that same commitment from me. Whatever the reason, it annoyed me.

  I hoped men didn’t stare at her so much anymore—with that big rock on her finger.

  “How’s it going?” I rested my ankle on my opposite knee then glanced at my watch.

  “No complaints.” His grin indicated there was a much bigger story behind his words.

  “That’s all you’re gonna give me?”

  He chuckled. “I’m a gentleman.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since I found the right lady to turn me into a gentleman.”

  “Fair enough. So things are good?”

  “Oh yeah.” He gave a nod. “Let’s just say we haven’t gone to bed yet. Well…we haven’t gone to sleep yet.”

  I’d never seen Thorn smile so many times in a single interaction. He was usually serious to the point of boredom. But now his body was relaxed, his grin was constant, and he had the look of true happiness in his eyes. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Autumn is incredible. I know I’d be miserable picking up some random woman somewhere else…so I thought I would give it a try. And if she were with some other guy, it would drive me absolutely insane.”

  If a man even looked at Titan wrong, I’d bite his head off. “I think you made the right call.”

  “I’m not single anymore…it’s strange.”

  “You’ll get used to it.” I’d lived the single life for my entire adulthood, and once Tatum came into my world, I knew those days were over. I hung up my former self and said goodbye to those days for good. I’d never looked back once. “It’s a new kind of happiness, a kind that you need…when you’re ready to accept the responsibility.”

  “Responsibility?” he asked.

  “Yeah. It’s your job to take care of this woman twenty-four seven.”

  “You’re thinking of marriage.”

  “No,” I corrected. “If she’s your woman, she’s your responsibility.”

  “I guess that’s true,” he said in agreement. “I want to make her happy, so I guess I don’t mind.”

  “And that’s how you know you’ve found the one.”

  His eyes shifted away as he thought to himself. His face hardened once more, the smile gone and the seriousness set in place. “When did you know Titan was the one?”

  There wasn’t a specific memory that came to mind. We screwed for a while before feelings began to develop. But right from the beginning, I respected her in a way I hardly respected anyone. She was an admirable woman, always taking the high road, even when other people tried to cut her down. She earned the respect of her peers with her poise and success. She was the smartest person I’d ever met, and that was obvious the first time we spoke. My obsession started at the same time. I pursued her relentlessly, unsure what I even wanted at the time. “I guess the first time I met her.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Not possible. You didn’t know anything about her.”

  “I don’t think I needed to know anything. I just knew she was one-of-a-kind. It takes a lot to earn my respect, but she did it instantly. Not too many people can say that.”

  “Respecting someone and loving them are two different things.”

  “But you need to respect someone before you love them. What drew you to Autumn in the first place?” I didn’t know Autumn very well, but I knew her allure was her intelligence and success. Thorn responded to it because he was impressed by it. “She’s playing with the big boys and kicking ass. She earned your respect the first time you met her. And that’s why you’re head over heels and stupid in love.”

  “I never said I was in love with her,” he said quietly.

  “You aren’t?” I challenged.

  Thorn looked away this time, avoiding my gaze like the answer was written in his eyes. He focused on the stage, and as if luck was on his side, the presentation began. Tatum and Autumn walked to the podium, possessing the elegance of two world leaders and the beauty of two models. With perfect poise, professional smiles, and enough confidence to make everyone else in the room feel unsure of themselves, they started right away.

  I got comfortable and watched my fiancée rock the room.

  And I was hard the entire time.

  Once the presentation was over and people swarmed Tatum to introduce themselves or pick her brain about her new product launch, she was swallowed up the attention she’d been anticipating. Autumn was in the same position, being pulled in different directions as people battled for a moment of her time.

  I wasn’t going to wait until everyone else was done to talk to my woman.

  I walked right up to her, ignored the suit she was talking to, and wrapped my arm around her waist. “You did great, baby.” With fifty pairs of eyes on us, I leaned down and kissed her on the mouth.

  She immediately kissed me back, despite the conversation she was in the middle of having. “Thank you.”

  I moved my lips to ear. “Your legs make me hard.”

  She smiled at the comment and brushed it off. “Thanks for letting me know.”

  “I’m going
to get a drink. Join me when you’re finished.”

  “Alright.”

  I kissed her on the cheek before I let her go. Now that I was finished with her, people could have her attention. But since I was the man marrying her, I got to have her attention anytime I wanted it.

  Thorn came to my side at the bar. “Aren’t our ladies sexy? People are hanging all over them right now.”

  I ordered my scotch then turned to look at them. They were both swarmed by people at the massive gathering. Autumn and Tatum weren’t standing together, so they drew two individual crowds together. “Very.”

  “No one even cares about us,” he said with a chuckle. “Kinda nice.”

  “I guess we’ll both have to get used to sharing the spotlight.”

  “I don’t mind in the least,” Thorn said. “The spotlight is overrated.”

  “True.”

  We enjoyed our drinks, watching our ladies control the room and everyone in it.

  “I forgot to tell you…” Thorn set his drink on the bar. “There hasn’t been time, and I didn’t want Titan to know about it.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.” I sighed as I stared at my drink.

  “Bridget came by my office a few days ago.”

  I’d hoped Bridget would only make the one appearance before she faded away. Tatum didn’t want anything to do with her, and I wasn’t sure what Bridget wanted. Tatum had already been through a lot, and I didn’t want to stack anything else on her plate. “What did she say?”

  “She was looking for Titan.”

  I pivoted my body toward him, my back facing Tatum and Autumn in the center of the conference room. “What does she want?” After what Bruce did to my woman, I’d become a very paranoid man. Everyone seemed to be a threat.

  “She said Titan’s near-death experience made her realize she wanted a relationship with her. She wanted the opportunity to apologize and possibly start over. She wants to know Titan…”

  All of that sounded nice on paper, but Tatum wasn’t as sympathetic. She didn’t need a relationship with her long-lost mother because she was a grown woman who didn’t need anything anymore. She was still connected to her father’s spirit, hallucinating about him under anesthesia. She’d never felt empty because her mother walked out on her. “Do you believe her?”

  “I told her she wouldn’t get a dime from Titan. She said she wasn’t looking for money, that she has plenty of it. You never really know when it comes to stuff like that…and I can’t read her. She seems genuine, but you never know what someone’s intentions are.”

  “This was the second time she tried to speak to her. There will probably be a third.”

  “Maybe.”

  Tatum did everything she could to bring my father and me back together. My father did a lot of terrible things, but now I didn’t think about his sins anymore. When I looked at my father, I saw a man I admired—and loved. Love was the most powerful thing in this world, and it could nullify even the worst crimes. I wondered if I should do the same for Tatum, to make her reunite with the one parent she still had left. But the situations were different. My father never abandoned me. My mother died, and he did the best he could without her. Bridget took off and left. “I’m not sure what to do.”

  “Me neither.”

  “I think they should sit down together and talk.”

  “Really?” Thorn asked in surprise.

  “If Bridget is just going to keep coming by the office unannounced, it seems inevitable. At least we can do this on our terms if we plan for it.”

  “I guess.” He drank from his glass then licked his lips. “But Titan will never go for it.”

  “I’ll talk to her.”

  “Titan won’t agree even to make this woman go away. She doesn’t negotiate with anyone, and after what happened with Bruce Carol, she’ll be even more stubborn about it—which I respect her for.”

  “This is different. It’s her mother.”

  Thorn shook his head. “That’s not how she sees it. This woman isn’t her mother. She’s just someone who shares her DNA.”

  “And she has two brothers. I’d want to know if I had a brother.”

  “But since she doesn’t see Bridget as her mother, I doubt she’ll view them as brothers.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “But I know Titan understands Bridget’s the only family she has. Other than you and me, she’s completely alone. If she were to get to know her mother and her two brothers…she wouldn’t be the last of her line.”

  “I don’t know…” He shook his head. “Titan has never needed anyone.”

  “Bullshit. She needs you and me.”

  “That’s different,” he said. “We’ve earned her trust. This woman walks back into Titan’s life almost thirty years after she left her. You don’t just get to do that. She left, so she forfeited her right to stop by Titan’s office whenever she feels like it.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said. “But I keep thinking about my relationship with my father. Tatum put us back together, and now I’m so grateful she did. I was so angry with him. I even hated him. And now…I’m grateful he’s in my life again. Tatum may feel angry or indifferent about her mother. But if she really could start a relationship with her, it might make her happy.”

  “It might…but it might not too.”

  Now that Tatum was going to be my wife, I viewed our relationship differently. Like a guardian, I tried to decide what was best for her. I respected her decisions, but sometimes I felt the pressure to override her to do the right thing. Was reconnecting with her mother the right thing to do? Or was Tatum right not to care? Should I just leave it alone? Or should I jump in?

  “What are you going to do?” Thorn stared at me, knowing I was thinking about it deeply.

  “Not sure yet.” I dragged my finger around the rim of my glass.

  “Whatever it is, you should wait until after the wedding.”

  “Definitely.”

  “Can you believe you’re gonna be a married man in a week?” Thorn asked incredulously. “Did you ever think that would happen?”

  “Not once.” I thought I would be a permanent bachelor. I’d never been against relationships, but I’d never met a woman I wanted to spend more than a week with. And then I met Tatum, the hardest woman I’d ever met. She fascinated me right from the beginning…and I never looked back.

  “Nervous?”

  “About?”

  He shrugged. “Marriage in general.”

  “Marriage in general makes me nervous. Marriage to Tatum does not.”

  The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “Not a single doubt?”

  “Nope.” Tatum was the one. I didn’t believe in the one until I met mine. She was the only woman I would ever give my name to. She was the only woman strong enough to wear it. The fact that she agreed to take it despite her stubbornness was a torch of her love for me.

  “You sound pretty certain.”

  “Come on, it’s Tatum Titan. A lot of guys would kill to be in my shoes.”

  He nodded in agreement. “Very true.”

  I wasn’t referring to Thorn specifically when I said that, but he didn’t seem to take my words offensively.

  “So, did you guys decide how you’re combining this empire? Prenup? How are you handling your businesses that are in competition? Is she selling her place, or are you selling yours?”

  Thorn spoke about the legal ramifications of a lifetime so casually. “Don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?” he asked in disbelief. “You’re getting married in seven days. You should figure it out.”

  I’d been dreading the conversation, and since Tatum hadn’t brought it up, I knew she was too. She was constantly focused on important matters, so her disregard for our legal union was clearly on purpose. “I realize that.” I shook my glass then downed the rest of it.

  “Any couple with money always has a prenup,” Thorn said. “It makes sense for the two of you.”

  “I suppose.”

&nb
sp; “It’s not like Titan will get upset about it. She has an entire empire to protect, so do you. If you got divorced, she would technically get alimony because you make a few billion more than she does, but she would never take it. She’s a very proud woman like that.”

  The word divorce hurt my stomach. I’d lost her once, and I never got over it. And when I almost lost her again…it nearly killed me. Divorce was a word that should be prohibited from our marriage. I never wanted to hear it out of her mouth, and I’d never let it fly out of my mind.

  “I’m sure you have a good lawyer for the prenup, but I know a great guy if you need one.”

  I didn’t have anyone in mind, but I didn’t ask for the contact.

  Thorn drank from his glass then eyed me. “Everything alright?”

  “Yeah…I just don’t like thinking about these things.”

  “Trust me, Titan won’t get upset. I promise you, she wants a prenup. You aren’t gonna offend her.”

  “She said that to you?”

  “No, not technically. We agreed to have one in ours.”

  That was a different situation. “That’s not why I don’t want to bring it up.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  I wanted to spend my life with Tatum because I was madly in love with her. Her money didn’t mean anything to me, but the work she did to earn it turned me on. She was independent and fierce, but underneath that hardness, she was so soft—for me. I wanted to be the man to take care of her, to be the powerhouse partner she needed. Only a strong man could handle such a capable woman. “I don’t want a prenup.”

  We returned to New York late that night. Thorn’s driver took Autumn and him home, and Tatum’s took us back to her penthouse. We hadn’t discussed where we would live as husband and wife, but it didn’t make a difference to me. Our penthouses were about the same size, and they both had extraordinary views. The only reason we were at her place most of the time because she had been recovering from her injuries.

  But I’d live wherever she wanted.

  I carried the bags into the bedroom and peeled off my jacket. Too tired to put it where it belonged, I tossed it over one of the armchairs in the small living space in front of the TV.