Boss Empire

by Victoria Quinn

  She immediately kicked off her heels and left them on the floor. She was a neat freak, so her abandonment obviously meant she was just as exhausted. She disappeared into the bathroom and washed her face.

  I tossed my clothes on the floor and looked at my watch before I set it on the dresser. It was two in the morning, and we both had to go into the office in a few hours. As the owners of our respective companies, we could do whatever we wanted. But having the right kind of discipline was what got us here in the first place.

  I got into bed and set my alarm on my phone. My eyes were heavy with exhaustion, but I didn’t close them just yet.

  Titan came out of the bathroom after her nightly routine. She washed her face, used a special microdermabrasion machine to cleanse her face, and then she had a line of creams that she applied to different areas of her face, like the corners of her eyes, her eyelids, and her cheeks. It must be her secret to radiant and young skin because she looked just as beautiful without makeup as she did when she had it on.

  In one of my t-shirts, she crawled into bed beside me. A sigh escaped her lips as she moved to the center of the bed, soaking in my body heat the second she was against me. She closed her eyes and rested her hand on my chest.

  I rolled her onto her back and moved on top of her.

  “Diesel, I’m so tired…and I washed off my makeup.”

  “You think I care if you’re tired?” I sank her into the mattress with my size and widened her thighs with my knees. “And you look fucking beautiful without makeup.” I held myself on my forearms and shoved myself inside her. She wasn’t as wet as she normally was, but after a few seconds, it would be there. I started to thrust, our bodies moving together with momentum due to my size. It was a lazy fuck, about getting off as quickly as possible before bed. It would be easy to skip sex and just go to sleep, but now that I’d almost lost her, I didn’t take anything for granted.

  I loved her like it was the last chance I had.

  She got into it after a few minutes, her fingers yanking on my hair. She rocked her hips back with me, taking my dick with the same enthusiasm as she received it. Her pants filled the room, the sexy sounds that filled my fantasies. It took her longer to come than usual, but her orgasm was just as explosive as all the others. “Diesel…”

  I didn’t drag it out because I’d completed my mission. I came inside her, filling my woman with as much seed as she could get. I kissed her neck and pressed my teeth against her collarbone. The most amazing woman in the world was underneath me, and I would be the only man who got to be on top of her for the rest of her life.

  We would be just like this—forever.

  I left the office, and my driver took me to Illuminance, where Tatum’s main office was.

  I sat in the back seat with my phone pressed to my ear. My father had called on my way out the door.

  “How’d the conference go?”

  “Tatum killed it.”

  “Not surprised.”

  “She owned that room,” I said proudly. “People say whatever they want to say about her behind her back, but once she’s on that stage, they shut their mouths. They know she’s the queen—and they’re just fucking peasants.”

  My father paused over the line. “Something happen?”

  “Some asshole made a comment about her ass… I didn’t appreciate it.”

  “Did you do something about it?”

  “Fuck yes, I did. I poured his drink over his head and told him to fuck off.”

  “Good,” my father said proudly. “Humiliate him, don’t hit him.”

  “He eventually apologized to me. I knew it was just because he understood he was missing a great opportunity with Tatum, but whatever.”

  “At least he apologized.”

  “Tatum threatened not to work with him unless he did.”

  He chuckled. “That woman doesn’t even need you, Diesel. She can handle her own.”

  “And I can handle everyone else that crosses her when she’s not looking.”

  “That’s what a man’s purpose is. Other than that, how did it go?”

  “It was alright. They’re all the same after a while.”

  “But this was the first one where you and Tatum were together.”

  “That was a nice change.” People watched us the entire time, and when they saw me talking to Thorn, they were probably confused. But none of us gave a damn. “How are you?”

  “Pretty good. I was hoping the three of us could have dinner this week. Something I want to talk to you about.”

  “You know I’m getting married on Saturday, right?” I didn’t need any extra bullshit this week.

  “It’s nothing bad. Just want to tell you in person.”

  “Alright. Tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow it is. I’ll talk to you later, son.”

  “Bye, Dad.”

  When I hung up the phone, the car was pulling up to the building. I got inside then rode the elevator all the way to the top floor. It was near the end of the afternoon, so Tatum would be leaving soon. I thought I would catch her and escort her home. If she knew I was doing it on purpose, she would tell me to take a hike. So I pretended I just wanted to see her. It was partially true, at least.

  I walked past her assistants and headed right to her office. I didn’t even need to knock on the door. I just stepped inside.

  She was sitting at her white desk reading a folder of papers. Her face was tilted down, and the light hit her features in the most exquisite way. If her doors weren’t constructed of glass, I’d fuck her right on her desk.

  My heavy footfalls against the hardwood floor announced my presence.

  She looked up, probably assuming it was me since I was the only one who had the right to step inside her office like that. “Hey.”

  “Hey, baby.” I came around the desk and leaned down to kiss her.

  She abandoned what she was working on and kissed me back, her lips enthusiastic. “What brings you here?” Her mouth moved against mine.

  I kissed her again, giving a slight tug on her bottom lip. “You.”

  “That’s all you’re going to give me?”

  I righted myself then took a seat in the chair facing her desk. I unbuttoned the front of my jacket before I sat down and rested my ankle on the opposite knee. My slacks rose slightly, revealing my black socks underneath. “I don’t need a reason.”

  The corner of her lip rose in a smile before she shut the folder and placed it in the drawer. “I suppose not.”

  “My father wants to have dinner with us tomorrow night. Said he has something to tell us.”

  “Ooh…I think I know what it is.” Her smile widened. “I told him to give Scarlet Blackwood a real chance. I hope he listened to me.”

  “Who’s Scarlet Blackwood?”

  “Editor in chief of Platform. Your father met her when she interviewed him.”

  Tatum had mentioned it, but I didn’t get involved in my father’s personal life. It was none of my business. He didn’t stick his nose in mine either. “I see.” I rested the side of my face against my fingertips, my eyes glued to the woman who would be my wife on Saturday. I never pictured what I wanted in a wife when I was growing up, but I imagined if I had, this was how she would look. I just didn’t think I’d ever be lucky enough to score a woman like her. Sexy, smart, and with a splash of ruthlessness, she was perfect. She was the kind of woman who knew what she wanted—and wasn’t afraid to take it. “Since we’re getting married in six days, I thought we should have a talk. You know what I’m talking about.” Discussing it in someone’s office was better than doing it in our personal space. At least we could leave our anger at the door if it came down to it.

  Her smile slowly faded away. “You’re right. We should.” She brought her hands together on the desk, her fingers interlocking together. As if this were a business meeting, she turned stern. The playful affection was no longer in her eyes.

  It reminded me of our first negotiation, when we were both trying to
get what we wanted. Neither one of us was willing to let the other have the upper hand. We were constantly trying to outsmart each other.

  I didn’t want to repeat that.

  Tatum still didn’t speak.

  I didn’t say anything either.

  The silence stretched on, our eyes locked on each other.

  Neither one of us wanted to go first without knowing what the other was thinking.

  She finally cleared her throat. “Perhaps we should treat this as a business arrangement. That’s pretty much what a marriage is.”

  “Maybe your marriage to Thorn. But certainly not ours.” The only reason I was marrying her was for love, because I couldn’t live without her.

  “That’s not how I meant it, Diesel. You know that.”

  We were already off to a rough start.

  “We both have a lot of personal wealth. We have our own businesses. I say we operate the same way we always have. You take care of your stuff, and I handle mine. When we leave the office, we go home to each other and have our personal time.”

  “But we aren’t utilizing each other’s potential. There are a lot of things I can do for you, Tatum. And there are certainly a lot of things you can do for me. If we truly merge everything together, we could have a completely different kind of empire.”

  “Yes…but it could get complicated.”

  “We’re both very logical people.”

  “Even so…we’re both very independent. We like having our own space.”

  “I never said we couldn’t have our own space,” I said quietly. “But keeping everything rigidly separate seems unrealistic.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair, her feelings stoically hidden.

  “We’re a team, baby. We should act like it.”

  “I’m not saying we shouldn’t. We both have so many projects. Merging together would just take—”

  “And we have a lifetime to do it.”

  She sighed quietly, her painted lips pressing hard together. “It’ll make the prenup extremely complicated.”

  So she did want a prenup.

  I swallowed the burn all the way down to my stomach. It was just a piece of paper, a precaution that kept everything organized. It was an easy escape plan if our life together fell apart. It crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s. I shouldn’t take it so personally, but I did. “I don’t want a prenup.”

  Her features remained exactly the same, but slowly, her hard expression softened. “It’s just a precaution—”

  “I don’t need a precaution, baby.” I held her gaze, ignoring the throbbing pain in my chest. “I’m coming into this knowing it’s going to last forever. If you don’t feel the same—”

  “I do, Diesel. But from a business standpoint, it’s just a smart thing to do. It’s not any different from getting a trust. You probably won’t get hit by a bus, but it’s good to have plans laid out just in case you do.”

  I understood her opinion because I knew her thought process so well. But when it came to Tatum, I thought emotionally rather than logically. That was what this woman did to me. Almost losing her made me hold on to her even tighter. We’d been given a second chance, and I didn’t want to waste it. “If you really want a prenup, I’ll do it. But I’d rather do something else.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  There was no other form of legal protection besides a prenup. My idea was something else entirely. “When you wanted to have our arrangement, you wanted to have our own contract and an NDA.”

  “Yes.”

  “Let’s make our own contract.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if that would hold up in a court of law.”

  “Our marriage has nothing to do with the law.” I respected Titan’s logic. She built an empire all on her own, and she had to protect it. But I was the one who had more to lose, and I was willing to gamble it all—because I knew we would win. “Our contract outlines the parameters of our relationship. It binds us together, and it ensures that we stay together. It’s not any different from when you wanted to marry me for convenience.”

  Her expression didn’t change. “Diesel, I still don’t understand.”

  I propped my elbow on the armrest and rubbed the pads of my fingers against my thumb. “It’s a document that binds us together. Whenever we hit a rough patch, we turn back to it and the promises we made to each other. It’s like wedding vows, but different. For instance, I promise to always remain faithful to you—no matter what. I also promise to never lie to you—not ever. I expect the same from you, as a business partner. If we have issues, we have to talk about them—no matter how painful they are. If you find yourself falling out of love with me, we need to talk about it and fix whatever problems we have. Same goes for me. The bottom line is, divorce is not an option.”

  She considered it quietly, her eyebrow slowly falling. “So it’s the opposite of a prenup?”

  “Exactly. I don’t want an escape plan. I want a plan to make this work. No, it’s not legally binding in court, but if we have certain rules, we should never get to that point. It’s a business contract just like anything else.”

  “I suppose we can talk about it more.”

  So she was still considering the prenup. “Tatum.”

  Her eyes shifted back to mine.

  “I want all of you, not some of you. If you want to marry me, then no prenup.”

  “So, you’re giving me an ultimatum?”

  “I’m asking you to put everything on the line, just as I am. We’re in this together.”

  She dropped her gaze again, staring at her pen as she considered it. The silence filled the space between us, the tension heavy. Two bosses fought for dominion, and one of us had to give in. “Alright.”

  We finished dinner, and our glasses of wine remained behind at the dinner table. I already had the contract typed up, so I had two copies on the surface along with two pens. I pushed one copy toward her and watched her eyes glance over the words.

  Her hair was pulled over one shoulder, and her eyelashes were thick and long from her mascara. Her tight blouse hugged the swell of her tits perfectly. The idea of their being swollen with pregnancy turned me on. I was excited to see Tatum waddle around the house because she was pregnant with my child. Nothing sexier.

  She turned her gaze back to me. “Ready?”

  “Yeah.” I turned to the first paragraph. “Cheating and unfaithfulness are completely disallowed. In the event there’s serious temptation, we need to speak to each other about it. But the act is outlawed. No exceptions whatsoever. By signing down below, we both promise to give each other that level of commitment.”

  She read it over again before she added her signature.

  I did the same.

  “What happens if one of us tells the other they’re struggling to remain faithful?”

  “We figure out the best course of action. Whether that’s marriage counseling, the removal of the person we’re attracted to, or we discuss having an open relationship. Whatever it may be, we need to talk about it openly. No cheating or lying.”

  “I can’t see either one of us cheating…”

  It was the first time she said something that cured the ache in my chest. “Me neither, baby. But these rules will ensure nothing ever happens. Divorce is something we can never allow to happen. If we’re both committed to avoiding that under any circumstance, we’ll be together forever.”

  “You’re right,” she whispered.

  We moved to the next paragraph. “In the event one of us falls out of love…” This section hurt even more than the previous one. I couldn’t imagine ever not loving Tatum the way I did now. The only way it would change was if I loved her more, not less. The idea of her not looking at me the way she did every single day killed me. “We talk about it and resume a business marriage. We renegotiate our terms, whether that’s marriage counseling or an open relationship. But splitting up isn’t an option. We still have a powerful allian
ce that we can’t lose. We need each other.”

  She signed the line.

  I did the same.

  “This is why the prenup would be easier,” she whispered. “We don’t have to talk about the things we don’t want to think about…”

  “It’s painful, but I’d rather make sure I never lose you.”

  “Diesel, I can’t see myself cheating or falling out of love with you.” She shook her head. “I tried to get over you once, but I just ended up falling for you harder—and I thought you were a lying cheater at the time.”

  “I can’t see that happening with me either, baby. I’m sure we’ll have a long and happy life together. But now we have some reassurance that we’ll always make it work—no matter what gets thrown our way.”

  We made our way farther down the list until we got to the section about kids.

  “We always keep our relationship issues separate from them,” I said. “Whether we’re fighting or struggling, they’re never included in that. If we decide to have an open relationship, they’re never to find out about it. And whatever happens between us, we always treat each other with respect when we’re around them. We’re role models to them, and they need to be exposed to a healthy relationship, even if we aren’t in love anymore.”

  She signed.

  I did the same. “That’s it.” The two-page contract was complete. “I’ll make a copy for you.” I gathered the papers then set them off to the side.

  “Thanks.”

  “All this talk of divorce has made me a bit depressed.”

  “Not divorce. We’ll never get divorced, baby.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  I reached out my hand and grabbed hers. My thumb stroked her knuckles. “We’re going to be together forever—and we’re going to be happy. I just love you so much that I want to make sure I never lose you. I couldn’t be married to you and lose you. It would kill me.” I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it.

  “I couldn’t lose you either, Diesel. I would never get over it.”

  “Then let’s choose to be happy and in love. Let’s live our lives like we’ll never be apart. I won’t look at another woman as long as you’re my wife, and I know you won’t look at another man as long as I’m your husband.”