I blamed all of my unhappiness on her.
She did this to me.
I should give it more time, but I was in a rush to move on. So I went out on the town with Mike and Pine. There was booze, women, and music. I had a woman on my lap in the club and another one tucked into my side with my arm draped over her shoulder. They were there to celebrate a bachelorette party, but they were eager to party with us.
I wanted to be photographed.
I wanted Titan to see it.
I wanted to hurt her for hurting me.
After enough drinks and conversation, Mike and Pine broke off with their dates for the evening.
So I took my girls back to my place. With my arms around their waists, I escorted them outside and into the back of my Mercedes. As I hoped, lots of pictures were taken.
Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was the anger, but I turned into a spiteful man. I wanted to hurt the woman I loved because she refused to love me. I wanted to show her I was done being her dirty little secret. Other women would kill to be on my arm in public—but she never wanted me.
We headed back to my place. Their hands gripped my thighs, their mouths were on my neck.
I kissed one. Then I kissed the other.
All I thought about was Titan.
Every time I tried to think about the threesome I was about to have, my sexual thoughts turned back to Titan. I imagined the last time I made love to her, how she told me she loved me while I was buried between her legs.
That was the only thing that got me hard.
My driver pulled up to my place, and we were about to get out. The girls were excited, clawing at me to get my jacket off so they could pop open my buttons and get to my bare skin. They were down for anything, even a tag-team blow job.
But I knew what would happen if I went upstairs with both of them.
Nothing.
I would watch them make out for a little while but then get bored of it.
I knew I was doing this for the wrong reasons.
And that made me an ass. A pathetic one.
Eventually, I would be ready to fuck around again. But right now, I was just as in love with Titan as I ever was. The idea of being with another woman didn’t sound appealing. I wasn’t even aroused because I was too sad and bitter to feel anything similar to desire.
So I said goodnight to the women and had my driver take them home. Then I went to my penthouse.
Alone.
* * *
When I saw the picture and caption as one of the top stories on Google, I immediately regretted what I’d done.
My arms were around both of them, and I was grinning like I was having the time of my life. Inside, I was devastated and heartbroken, but to anyone looking at the photograph, that didn’t seem to be the case.
I knew this would hurt Titan.
Deeply.
What the fuck was I thinking?
My first instinct was to call her and tell her it was just a mistake. I wanted to tell her I went home alone that night. I didn’t even jerk off. But then I realized it didn’t matter. Whether I called her or not, it didn’t change the situation.
She wasn’t mine anymore.
This was what she wanted.
So I never made the call.
Natalie spoke to me through the intercom. “I have Vincent Hunt on line one.”
Did this asshole ever quit? “I got it.” I picked up the phone and hit the button. “What do you want now? You want my bank account information? Sure, let me get it for you. It’s 9-3-4—”
“Looks like you took me seriously. It was a smart move because I wasn’t bluffing.”
“Of course you weren’t,” I said coldly. “But you shouldn’t be proud of that.”
Vincent didn’t have a response to that.
I was sick of my father’s bullshit. I knew I’d started this feud by giving that interview, but I wanted the war to be over. “Titan is gone, and she’s never coming back. I’m miserable, so you can give yourself a pat on the back. There’s nothing you have on me anymore. So let’s go back to pretending the other doesn’t exist. I miss those days.” Before he could say anything else, I hung up on him.
I never wanted to hear his voice again. The only time I ever wanted someone to mention him to me was the day he died.
And I certainly wouldn’t go to his funeral.
Natalie spoke through the intercom again. “Sir, I have—”
“Never put Vincent Hunt through to me again. Do you understand?” I was being a dick to my assistant when I shouldn’t be, but piece by piece, my life was falling apart.
“Yes…sir.” Natalie cleared her throat. “But I have Thorn Cutler on the line…can I patch him through?”
Now that was a twist. The two of us had nothing to say to each other now that Titan was gone. What could he possibly have to say to me? “Put him through.”
“He’s on line two.”
I hit the button. “Thorn, how can I help you?” Thorn and I had our ups and downs. We disliked each other, then liked each other, and then disliked each other again. The only thing I did like about him was his loyalty to Titan. She would always have him, and that made it easier to let her go. There was always someone there to protect her.
“What the fuck is your problem?”
Both of my eyebrows rose. “Excuse me?”
“Titan called me in tears after your little stunt. Could you be a little discreet? Do you really need to display your sex life for the whole fucking world to see? She just started going to the office again, and now she’s back at home again.”
I’d already felt like shit the second I saw the picture. Now I felt like the biggest douchebag in the world. There was no excuse I could give for my stupidity. I was just bitter and pathetic. The idea of her crying just made me want to stab my hand with a pen so I could punish myself.
“Hello?” he snapped. “You there, asshole?”
“She hasn’t been working?” I hadn’t noticed that detail until I replayed what he said in my head.
“No. She stayed home all week. I was there with her. She couldn’t even shower, let alone go to work.”
Her misery made me happy, but that was only because I was just as devastated. It made me feel less alone. It made me feel like what we had was real.
“And now you’re fucking anything that moves again? Wow, that’s classy.”
“It’s not how it looked…”
“Shut the fuck up. Don’t give me that bullshit. I’m glad I talked her out of being with you. So many times, she thought about giving it a real try, but I always talked some sense into her. Looks like I was right for doing so. You’re a lying piece of shit, Hunt. If I ever see you in person, I will punch you in the goddamn face—”
“I didn’t sleep with either of them. I kissed them, but that was it. I did it because I wanted to hurt Titan…after the way she hurt me.”
“Absolutely pathetic.”
“I know I am…” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’m just as miserable as she is. I don’t know how to cope with it.”
“Even if I believed you, which I don’t, it still wouldn’t make me hate you less.”
“I—”
“If you have any respect for Titan, keep it quiet.” Click.
The line went dead.
12
Titan
I cried more now than I did when my father died.
Just when I finally got a grip on reality, I saw that picture that destroyed my already broken heart.
Hunt with a woman on each arm, getting into the back seat of his Mercedes.
I didn’t see it coming, so it was so much worse.
He’d told me that’s what he would do, but I was naïve enough to assume he would wait a while…at least a month. But he jumped right back into his old ways, picking up beautiful women in short dresses.
And fucking them in the bed I used to sleep in.
I couldn’t lie—it really hurt.
The elevator doors ope
ned, and Thorn walked inside with two bags of groceries. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
He headed into the kitchen and put everything away. He’d been stuck to me like glue since Hunt and I went our separate ways. He had a closet stuffed with clothes, and he’d been sleeping here every night as well as leaving for work with me in the morning. He’d basically turned into a roommate.
When he finished, he walked into the living room and looked into my eyes, checking to see if I’d just been crying.
Thankfully, I stopped a few hours ago. “I appreciate all you’re doing for me, Thorn. But you really don’t need to stay here. I know you have your own life and need your own privacy.”
“You are my life.” He took a seat beside and crossed his legs. “Don’t worry about it.”
I hated the look of pity he gave me. I felt weak and pathetic, not the strong woman I’d spent my whole life building. “You’re sweet…but I mean it.”
He patted my thigh. “I know you do. And seriously, don’t worry about it. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here with you.” He gave me an emotional expression, one full of sincerity and love.
Losing Hunt was agonizing, but I was grateful I still had Thorn. “Thanks.”
He pulled his hand away then grabbed the remote. “Want to watch the game?”
“Sure.” Sports were safe. Nothing romantic about them.
He turned it on and rested his arm over the back of the couch. “I called Hunt and gave him a piece of my mind.” His eyes remained on the TV, speaking casually even though there was nothing casual about what he said.
“What?”
“I told him off and said he was an asshole.”
I covered my face in embarrassment even though Hunt couldn’t see me. “What were you thinking? Why would you do that?”
“He was a dick, and I had to call him out on it. He’s a piece of shit.”
I didn’t want Hunt to know how much it hurt me, and Thorn obviously told him. “Ugh…”
“He said he did it on purpose to hurt you, but then couldn’t go through with it and took them home.”
My heart immediately lightened with ease. The last time I saw him, I knew he was angry with me. I could see the rage in his eyes, the frightening aggression. It was difficult for him just to shake my hand. It seemed plausible, and after how close we’d been, I found it hard to believe he would screw someone else so soon.
Thorn turned to me and spotted the relief on my face. “You actually believe him?”
“Yes…is that stupid?”
He shook his head, but he didn’t insult me for my words. “It’s not stupid. It’s just…I don’t see why you believe him.”
“We really had something. I find it hard to believe he would sleep with someone else that quickly.”
“But he went out and picked them up in the first place.”
“And he didn’t go through with it.”
Thorn turned his gaze back to the TV. “I guess it doesn’t matter now. I still felt better for telling him off.”
“Did he say anything else?” The hardest part about breaking up was moving forward. My heart wanted to stay stationary, to reminisce about our time together. I remembered the heat and passion like it just happened yesterday. A part of me kept hoping for something more, but there was no reason to hope. There was nothing Hunt could do to change our situation. If I wanted something to change, I needed to do it myself. But I couldn’t.
“Said he’s as miserable as you are.”
That shouldn’t make me happy, but it did. It made me feel less alone.
Thorn turned back to me, pity in his eyes. “There’s no harm in believing him if it makes you feel better. But I hope it doesn’t hold you back from moving on.”
I couldn’t imagine another man in my bed. I couldn’t imagine making an arrangement with someone new. I didn’t want to kiss anyone, touch anyone, or let anyone touch me. Maybe I would never move on. Maybe I would only have Thorn—and that was it.
* * *
I was in my office when Thorn called me.
“Did you see the article about Megaland?” There was no introduction at all. He got right to the point.
“No.” As I spoke to him, I turned to my computer and typed Megaland into the search engine. “What’s going on?”
“Apparently, Vincent Hunt acquired it discreetly a few weeks back.”
The page popped up, but I didn’t read the story. My mind was too focused on what he said. “What?”
“I couldn’t believe it either.”
I clicked on the article and started to read while Thorn stayed on the phone.
It’s been confirmed that the up-and-coming electronics company Megaland has been quietly acquired by a new owner. Vincent Hunt is now the new CEO of the company, sharing rights with three original creators. Diesel Hunt wasn’t available for comment, and it’s unclear what sparked this transaction. According to our sources, Vincent and Diesel Hunt despise each other as much as ever. So why would Diesel Hunt sell a company he so recently purchased?
When I finished reading the article, I skimmed through it again. “Hmm…”
“We’re missing something here. Why would Hunt sell his company to his father? Even if the company weren’t doing well, he still wouldn’t do business with him.”
“I agree.”
“And Hunt believed in that company. He mentioned it to me a few times.”
“It was his baby,” I said quietly, still thinking quickly.
“Then what’s your take?”
I considered the possibilities in my mind while still staring at the screen. “It happened a few weeks before Vincent blackmailed him. Makes me wonder if Vincent blackmailed him again.”
“For what?” Thorn asked.
“I have no idea. But whatever it was, it must have been really important to Hunt. He wouldn’t have sold that company to his father unless he absolutely had to.”
“True. I wonder if it has anything to do with you.”
I suspected it did. “I have to go, Thorn.”
“Are you going to talk to Hunt about it?”
I remembered the last thing Hunt ever said to me. He mentioned he’d lost another company. When I pressed him on it, he didn’t give me an answer. This must have been what he was referring to. “Yes. But a different Hunt.”
* * *
Vincent Hunt’s office was sleek and white. Every wall was white, and every desk was the same plain color. It was open, airy, and modern. It was rigid and sleek, hinting of the future rather than preserving the perks of the past.
His taste strongly differed from his son’s.
I checked in with the assistant and patiently waited for permission to enter his office. Vincent Hunt wouldn’t turn me away, not when I was so well connected to his son. Or maybe he assumed I would be pissed about the photographs so he would avoid me. But that was the cowardly thing to do, so I doubted it. I learned that the Hunt men weren’t afraid of anything.
Finally, the assistant gave me permission to step inside.
I strutted into that office like a woman on a mission.
It was like the rest of the building, sleek and white. He had a corner office, so half of the room was made of enormous walls of glass. Skyscrapers shone under the light of the sun in the distance. It looked like a throne overlooking the hill.
Vincent Hunt sat behind his desk, atop a gray leather chair. He stared at me with a slightly amused expression, clearly surprised to see me but not put off by it. He held a pen between his fingertips, jet black and shiny. Documents were spread across his desk like he’d just been signing them before I paid him a visit.
He set the pen down and rose to his full height, standing well over six feet like his son. “Tatum Titan. To what do I owe the pleasure?” He didn’t walk around his desk but leaned forward to shake my hand.
I disregarded the gesture. “This won’t be pleasurable, Mr. Hunt. But I’m sure you already knew that.” I straightened the back of my dress
before I sat down and crossed my legs. I hadn’t been intimidated by this man before, and I wasn’t intimidated now. He had pictures of me and his son somewhere in that desk. Kissing, touching, possibly naked. I should be embarrassed, but I wasn’t.
A smile stretched his lips, the same handsome one his son possessed. “Even when you intend to be rude, I enjoy your presence. It’s refreshing. You’re graceful and elegant, but you spit fire at the same time. Doesn’t surprise me that my son is in love with you. I’m sure a lot of men are.”
I understood people well, but I didn’t understand Vincent Hunt. He seemed to respect me, but yet, he wanted to destroy me. All to get vengeance against his son, a man who just wanted his father to be kind to his stepbrother. “I don’t enjoy your presence at all. It’s difficult for me to be around someone as vile as you.” I wasn’t afraid of this man, so I wasn’t afraid to issue any insult I wanted.
His smile slowly faded away. “I understand you’re upset about the photographs. Anyone would be.”
“I’m not here to talk about the photographs. Couldn’t care less about them.”
It was hard to catch Vincent Hunt off guard, but he arched an eyebrow in confusion. He rested his elbows on the arms of his chair and brought his joined hands toward his chest. “Then what’s the reason for your visit.”
“Your son.”
Vincent immediately turned cold, his facial expression callous. “What about him?”
“Your son is a wonderful man. He’s kind, compassionate, and I love him with everything that I have. He doesn’t deserve to be treated so coldly by his own flesh and blood.”
His eyes narrowed, his anger rising a notch. “You shouldn’t talk about family affairs that you don’t understand.”
“But I do understand, Vincent. Diesel can barely speak of you without turning hostile. And it’s not because you make him so angry—it’s because you hurt him so much.”
He stared at me with the same brown eyes.
“And I know you’re acting this way because he hurt you. Both of you don’t know how to process pain, so you don’t know what else to do. He dragged your name through the mud when he did that interview. I can only imagine how much that hurt you.”
Boss Alpha Page 14