Boss Romance_Boss 6_Sometimes power can be shared

by Victoria Quinn

  My fingers suddenly felt numb, and I couldn’t keep my grip on my silverware. I felt the utensils slightly slide against my moist skin. My father had been a great parent, even after my mother died. But once he pushed Brett aside, all of that changed. Titan had always felt lost without her father. I knew there was nothing she would love more than having someone make her feel like she had family. That was the reason Thorn was so important to her. “Thank you…” The best way to get under my skin was through Titan. Whether my father did that on purpose or not, it was effective. I wanted to give her everything she wanted, and I was willing to do anything to make that happen.

  He stopped eating and gave me an emotional look. “You’re welcome, son.”

  * * *

  When I returned to the office, I made the call.

  Ring. Ring. Ring. Voice mail.

  Why didn’t she pick up my call? Maybe she was in a meeting right now. I was certain she would call me back the second she saw my missed call, so I set my phone down and turned to my computer. The second I went to the homepage, I saw the news.

  Richest Woman in the World, Tatum Titan, Finally Opens Up About Her Broken Engagement to Thorn Cutler.

  Fuck.

  I was too late.

  I clicked on the link, and I was taken to a live feed. Titan was giving the interview at that moment with one of the biggest broadcasting companies in the nation. She looked exactly the same as she had earlier that morning, in a tight black dress with a white gold necklace around her throat. Her hair was straight today, a curtain of soft hair around her shoulders. Her makeup had been slightly changed for the cameras, but she still looked like the gorgeous bombshell she was.

  I turned up the volume.

  Denise Thomas was the interviewer, a veteran in journalism. “The entire nation was shocked when we heard the news that Thorn Cutler cut off the engagement. Shortly after that, he was seen with another woman. And we saw your first interaction in Rio’s just the other day, where you rose from your seat to greet him and he brushed you off.”

  Of course, someone recorded that.

  Titan kept the same expression, giving nothing away.

  “How did that make you feel?” Denise asked.

  “Terrible, obviously,” Titan said coolly. “Thorn and I have been very close for a long time. Losing him is like losing a piece of myself.” Even though this topic made her emotional, she managed to keep a straight face the entire time. She didn’t show weakness to the world, only me.

  “Then his actions are even worse. He hurt someone he claimed to love.”

  Titan still didn’t react, but she shifted her eyes as if she was about to say something important. “I don’t want the world to think Thorn is a bad guy. He’s definitely not. The world only sees one aspect of the story, just a sliver of what really happened.”

  “Then what happened?” Denise crossed her legs and leaned forward.

  “The truth of the matter is, Thorn and I were very happy together. He was my best friend…still is. I was very close to his family. Honestly, losing them has been really difficult. But Thorn isn’t the one who left. I am.”

  Denise’s eyes narrowed.

  “I never meant for this to happen. I love Thorn and always will. We have a strong bond that I can’t explain…but then I met my soul mate. I tried to brush it off for a long time, but I couldn’t fight it forever. As if something beyond my control was yanking me in a different direction, I had no control over my own actions. With every passing day, my heart began to beat for another man. When it got to the point that I couldn’t stop it, I had to tell Thorn the truth. I told him I’d fallen in love with someone else.”

  Denise didn’t keep a straight face as well as Titan did. “Who?”

  I moved closer to my computer screen, hoping she would drop my name. I didn’t need her to protect my identity from this scandal. I wanted the truth out in the open. People could hate me all they wanted. I didn’t give a damn. All I wanted was to be with the woman I loved, no more secrets.

  Titan took a long pause before she spoke. “Diesel Hunt.”

  My lips automatically curved into a smile. Hearing her say my name to the entire world was the sexiest thing I’d ever heard. Warmth washed over me, the soft touch of a tropical tide. There was no going back now. The world knew she loved me, and I loved her.

  Denise couldn’t contain her shocked expression. “Diesel Hunt?”

  Titan nodded. “It happened once we started working together on Stratosphere. At first, I thought it was just chemistry. We did amazing work together. But then the connection strengthened. I could barely be in a room with him without feeling the pull. I kept fighting it, even having him leave the company so I could get him out of my head. But there was no stopping it. I loved Thorn and wanted to spend my life with him…but then I met my soul mate. I didn’t know what to do. When I told Thorn, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. No one can blame him for acting out like that. Anyone who judges him for his behavior is coldhearted. He’s one of the greatest men I’ve ever known. I could sit here all day and share a million reasons why I love him from the bottom of my heart. He’s a gentleman, he’s compassionate, he’s honest… I would have been very happy with him.” Her eyes started to water. “I don’t want the world to hate him for something he didn’t do. I don’t want people to judge him for being upset. I was the one who did something wrong. I was the one who screwed everything up. I’m the one everyone should hate, not Thorn. I’m risking the greatest relationship I’ve ever known for something that’s new and passionate. Leaving Thorn wasn’t easy, and I don’t want people to think that it was. I still want him to be in my life…because I can’t live without him.”

  Even I was moved by her interview, and I already knew all of this. Titan was speaking from the heart, pleading directly to Thorn. She didn’t care about Denise or the rest of the world. This was her last attempt to get Thorn back, to take the media’s hatred and relieve it from his shoulders. She spoke so highly of him, made it seem like she was the one missing out on something wonderful. It was a good tactic, and she pulled it off well.

  Thorn would have to be made of stone not to care.

  * * *

  When I stopped by Thorn’s office, I bypassed his assistant altogether and pushed through the doors. It happened so quickly that his assistant didn’t realize what had happened until my body had crossed the threshold.

  Thorn was on the phone when I stepped inside, and his eyebrows immediately jumped to the top of his forehead when he saw me barge in. “Steve, let me call you back. A shithead just walked into my office.” He hung up and continued to stare at me aggressively.

  “Did you see it?”

  Thorn stayed behind his desk, his shoulders hunched with tension.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” I didn’t help myself to a seat. Instead, I stood directly in front of his desk, invading his space like I had every right to do so.

  Thorn continued to watch me from behind his stoic mask. Something filled the air between us, a gentle hostility.

  I didn’t understand why he kept his silence over this. He had to say something.

  He finally spoke. “Yes. I saw it.”

  Judging by his cold demeanor, it didn’t move him the way it moved me. “Then why are you on the phone with Steve instead of Titan? She’s earned your forgiveness, so you need to give it to her. Call her.” I thudded my fist against the surface of his desk.

  “I would much rather look like an asshole than some pussy shit who got left for another man. If you ask me, I look worse.”

  “Then think again, Thorn. From what I saw, she made you look amazing. She said a lot of wonderful things about you, and she said she only left because she found the person she was meant to be with. It doesn’t make any of us look bad.”

  He rested his fingertips against his temple.

  “When the headlines start rolling in, you’ll see. And then you better give Titan what she deserves.”

  “What?”


  “Forgiveness.”

  7

  Titan

  I successfully directed the rage away from Thorn, providing a very different outlook on the breakup. I came clean about my love for Diesel, confessing to the world that he was the man I wanted for the rest of my life. A weight had lifted off my shoulders, but a new stress had swept over me at the same time.

  There was no going back now.

  Our privacy was something I greatly valued. I loved being together without anyone knowing about it. It made it much more intimate, much more special. Now cameras would be in our faces all of the time, and our relationship would be a spectacle that tabloids would constantly comment on. There would always be rumors, always be lies.

  But I knew Diesel hated the secrecy, and it would be wrong to continue to hide him. I certainly wasn’t ashamed of him, so I needed to stop acting like it.

  My eyes kept drifting back to the phone on my coffee table, hoping it would ring. I hoped I would see Thorn’s name on the screen. But that call never came. The screen remained black, and I continued to sit in the dark as I waited for Diesel to walk inside.

  A moment later, he did.

  He stepped inside my penthouse in the suit he wore to work, skipping the gym and heading straight for my place. That was an admission of knowledge, that he knew about the interview I gave earlier that afternoon. He obviously wasn’t happy about it. Otherwise, he would have mentioned it sooner.

  “Hi.” I rose to my feet, my heels gone, so I was back to being five inches shorter than I usually was.

  He stripped off his coat and left it by the door. “Did you see the reporters outside?”

  “That was all I could see.”

  He walked toward me, a powerful man in a powerful suit. His suit was just as crisp as it had been when he put it on that morning. He always looked good in black, but then again, he looked good in every other color too.

  He walked up to me then angled his neck down so he could look into my face. There wasn’t anger in his look, but there wasn’t happiness either. His hands moved to my waist, and his fingers dug into me tightly, touching me possessively even though he hadn’t kissed me yet. “Did you mean what you said?”

  My eyes moved to his lips, seeing the stubble along his jaw.

  “That I’m your soul mate?”

  My arms rested on his, and I looked at his chest, seeing the silk tie that covered the buttons of his shirt. “I can’t think of anyone else I would sacrifice so much for…” My fingers felt his biceps through the fabric, my eyes still on his chest.

  His hand moved to my neck, and he tilted my face up so I was forced to meet his gaze.

  “Loving you has gone against my better judgment. My love is more powerful than reason, more crazy than it is sane. The second you walked into my life, everything has been different. I’ve changed all my priorities to accommodate you, broken rules I vowed never to break. The only man I would ever do that for is the love of my life…and that’s you.”

  His thumb sat in the corner of my mouth, and he watched me with an intense expression. He didn’t crack a smile, but he smothered me with his gaze. His hand tightened on my hip, and he shifted his body closer to mine. “And you’re mine.” He leaned in and kissed the corner of my mouth, his touch warm and erotic. His lips trailed down my cheek then along my jawline toward my ear. He kissed the shell before he spoke. “I knew the moment I laid eyes on you.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against his chest. His chin rested on my head, and his large arms encompassed most of my back. I felt like I was being squeezed by a python as well as a strong man.

  My face rested against his broad chest. “I’m surprised you aren’t mad at me.”

  “I was. But what’s done is done.”

  “I was going to tell you… I just never got around to it. And then when I saw Thorn…”

  “I understand.”

  “But he hasn’t called. I know he saw it.”

  His arm moved up the center of my shoulder blades, and he gently caressed my hair. “He’ll come around.”

  “I don’t know. I thought he would call by now.”

  “He’s probably just digesting everything. Once he sees the aftermath of what you did, he’ll be back.”

  “I hope so.” I stepped back from his embrace so I could look at his face. I found comfort in the hardness of his features, the masculine edges that made him handsome and slightly terrifying. “I’m really happy with what we have. But I’m constantly held back by my sorrow. It’s like a pain in my stomach that just won’t go away.”

  Diesel had been understanding of Thorn from the very beginning. He was never threatened by my relationship with him, and he wanted us to keep our special friendship. Anyone else wouldn’t have tolerated it. “I know, baby. I really believe it’ll work out. You just need to be patient a little longer.”

  I gave a slight nod, falling into that reassurance. I’d just told the world that I was the reason Thorn and I weren’t together. Some people would take the news with an open mind, but some would call me a two-timing whore. Some would turn their backs on me, and others would publish hateful articles about my character and demeanor. People would question my business ethics next. When it came to women, everything else about their life was brought into question. But if I were a man, no one would think twice about it. I was willing to accept the punishment directed my way, but I just hoped it wasn’t all in vain.

  All I wanted was my friend back.

  Diesel continued to stare into my face, watching me with concern and intensity. “I’m sorry you had to do this, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy that the world knows about the two of us.”

  That was all he’d wanted, for a long time. “I know.”

  “I know the guys are going to be mad…but they’ll get over it. I’ve accomplished a lot of things in my life, things I’m immensely proud of. But I have to say, I’ve never been more proud of anything than you. Tatum Titan told the whole world that she loves me… I’m such a lucky man.”

  My hands slid up his chest, my mouth forming a soft smile. “Because I’m a notch on your belt?”

  “No.” His hands squeezed my hips. “Because you erased all my old notches.”

  * * *

  Neither one of us thought about dinner, and we spent our time in bed. We made love a few times, climaxing together and soaking the sheets with the aroma of sex. I was on top for one round, but he quickly took over for the next.

  Then we lay side by side, cuddled together and relaxed in our mutual silence. My fingers moved over the grooves of his chest and shoulders, and I didn’t think about the world outside my penthouse. Undoubtedly, every news station mentioned the live interview I gave that afternoon. People were dissecting it, breaking it down over and over again. Reporters must have reached out to Thorn and his team for a comment on the story. Knowing him, he declined.

  Diesel only had eyes for me. He could have stared at the ceiling or the sheets, but his eyes remained focused on me. His large hands explored my body like he hadn’t just touched me everywhere for the past hour. His rough fingertips glided against my hips and around my waist. “Beautiful.”

  “You always say that.”

  “Because I mean it.” His voice was deep and scruffy, rough like the hair around his jaw. His eyes were unremarkable in appearance, not bright and rare the way Thorn’s were, but they suited him perfectly. Their deep color, their powerful vibrancy, ideally matched the man who wore them.

  “I think you’re beautiful.”

  He grinned. “Well, obviously.”

  I chuckled then lightly swatted him on the arm. “I do.”

  “I know, baby.” His hand slid to my stomach, where he gripped my waistline and the small abs that existed just below my skin. “I had lunch with my father today.”

  I hadn’t expected Vincent and Diesel to speak for a while. They’d had a good conversation, but I’d expected it to be months before Diesel would see him in a setting like that. “Y
ou did?” I should have wiped my smile away, but I couldn’t.

  “Yeah. He stopped by my office and asked me to go.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “At first, I said no. I didn’t want to do something so normal when we were anything but normal. But then I felt guilty for turning him down. He didn’t show his disappointment, but I could tell he was hoping for more. So I said yes…”

  “And how was it?”

  “Awkward and uncomfortable.”

  My smile fell. “It’s not going to be easy in the beginning.”

  “We stuck to discussions about business. That made it a little easier.”

  “Baby steps.”

  “And then he mentioned your plan to tell the media about your relationship with Thorn.” He flashed me a look full of accusation. “I was caught off guard because it surprised me that you would tell my father something like that before you told me.”

  He didn’t paint me in a good light. Made it seem like I was purposely hiding the news from him. “I was having a bad day when he called. So we got to talking, and I asked for his advice. He was actually the one who suggested it.”

  His gaze darkened.

  “I liked the idea, so I considered it for a while. But I wasn’t going to say anything to you until I made a decision.”

  “And then what happened?” he asked. “Because I never got a phone call.”

  “I saw Thorn in that restaurant…and I just went for it. I was upset and emotional. I just want this pain to stop. I know it was stupid and could do more harm than good, but I had to do something. If it works, then I’ll have no regrets. And if it doesn’t work…at least I’ll know I tried.”