“The controller?”
“Yes. The person in charge. I like to run my women the same way I run a business. I’m far too controlling to have a spontaneous and real relationship. But I’m okay with that. And the women I meet along the way are okay with it too.”
“You were the one who introduced her to the lifestyle?”
“Yeah. She had a lot of issues after I killed Jeremy. Mainly trust issues. I told her you didn’t need trust if you were always in control. Your partner had to give the trust, but you weren’t required to do the same in return. That worked really well for her.”
“Until me.”
He nodded. “Yep. Now that she’s happy, she can trust again. It’s great.”
“It is great.”
He pulled up his sleeve to look at his watch. “I should probably get back to work. How about golf on Tuesday?”
“Sure. Have your assistant call mine.”
“Will do.” Instead of shaking my hand, he fist-bumped me.
The corner of my mouth rose in a smile. “Is this how you say goodbye to your friends?”
“No. You?”
“No.”
He shrugged then got out of the booth. “Then let’s pretend that shit never happened.”
12
Titan
I was sitting at my desk when my phone lit up with a text message.
Your panties are sitting in my pocket.
I cocked an eyebrow when I looked at the message from Hunt. But, of course, I smiled too. How did they wind up there?
I took them.
Perv.
Only for you.
He stopped texting me, and I went back to work, doing my best to not think about the man waiting for me as soon as the day was over. Now that my life had changed so much, it was hard to remember how it used to be. Arrangements seemed like a thing of the past. I didn’t need rules to have good sex, to feel safe with my partner.
Hunt made me feel safe on his own.
An hour went by, and I finished a phone call with one of my suppliers in China. I filtered through a few emails, trying to multitask and get as much done as possible. My assistants couldn’t do everything since I was the one who had to make all the final decisions.
My phone rang, and Thorn’s name appeared on the screen.
I took it without stopping my email. “Hey, what’s up? Hunt told me he had fun with you yesterday.”
Angry silence.
I picked up on all of Thorn’s moods because I knew them better than anyone. “What’s wrong?”
He sighed.
This was bad. He usually spat out his thoughts by now. “Thorn…what is it?”
“I don’t know how to say this. It’s bad, Titan. Fucking bad.”
My hands pulled away from the keyboard, and I turned into the phone. Everything on my checklist faded to the background when I heard the bitterness in his voice. He was so angry, he wasn’t even yelling.
And that was the deepest level of anger. “What?”
He sighed again before he spoke. “Google yourself.”
“What…?”
“There’s an article about you in the Times. Hunt told them about Jeremy.”
Now I was the one who turned silent, thinking so many things that I couldn’t form words. My breathing picked up, and I could hear it echo back at me. When the phone rang on my landline, I immediately yanked the wire out. If this was article was true, I was about to be bombarded with reporters.
“Titan?” Thorn’s angry voice came through the phone. “Say something.”
I couldn’t say anything.
“The article just appeared five minutes ago. Give it thirty minutes, and the whole world is going to know about it.”
God, I couldn’t believe this was happening.
I moved to my computer, typed in my name, and right at the top, the article appeared. The headline alone made me want to hurl.
Tatum Titan: Victim of Domestic Abuse.
No. No. No.
The article was long, and that didn’t bode well either.
“Titan?” Thorn repeated.
“I…” I couldn’t think of anything better to say. “Fuck.”
“There’s no mention of Jeremy’s death being suspicious. But that could change if people keep digging.”
“This can’t be happening…”
“I’m gonna kill Hunt. That fucking prick sat across from me yesterday like everything was fine. He’d probably already talked to the reporter by then.” He screamed into the phone, something crashing off his desk and hitting the floor.
“What makes you so certain it was Hunt?” Right now, anyone was a suspect. But Hunt wasn’t the first person who came to mind. Only Thorn and I knew about the incident with Jeremy. Hunt was the first person we told. But still…I couldn’t believe he would do that to me.
“The reporter named him as the source.”
My heart sank. It plummeted into my stomach. When it reached the floor of my belly, it exploded into dozens of pieces. I was nauseated, sick, and weak. I didn’t even feel rage because I was so stunned. Betrayal had never hurt this much, had never stabbed me so deeply. There was a knife in my back, and it kept turning and twisting even though I was already dead. “My god…”
“Fucking asshole. I can’t believe he would fuck with us like this.”
“Why did he do this…?”
“I don’t fucking know. Maybe to hurt both of us. We’re contenders on the Forbes list.”
“But Hunt isn’t psycho like that.”
“Obviously, he is. You don’t know him…I don’t know him.”
My hand was shaking as I held the phone to my ear. Now that all the evidence was stacked against Hunt, there was nothing I could do but accept the painful truth. He was the only person I told about Jeremy, and the reporter mentioned him by name.
He did this.
He did this on purpose.
“I have to go…”
“What are you doing?” Thorn asked. “Do you want me to come to you?”
“No. I’m going to Hunt’s office. I’m giving that son of a bitch a piece of my mind.”
13
Hunt
I was sitting at my desk, Titan’s panties in my pocket, when the door flew open and Titan stormed inside.
Natalie was trailing behind her. “Sir, I tried to—”
“Get the fuck out.” Titan pointed to the doorway, enraged in a tight black skirt with a black blouse. She didn’t look like the powerful executive I was used to seeing from eight to five. Now she looked maniacal, like she was going to set my office on fire and burn down the building.
Natalie shrank against the wall then darted out of the room, knowing Titan wasn’t an opponent she could face. Her job wasn’t worth the feud.
Titan slammed the door so hard it seemed like she shook the building.
Or it was just in my imagination.
I got out of my chair and stood upright, my body immediately sensing a battle about to take place. I didn’t have a clue what would provoke Titan to be this unprofessional and storm into my office like this.
But whatever it was, it was bad.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
“Don’t you fucking dare.” She stormed to my desk, her heels not breaking their stride as she marched right up to me. She pulled her hand back and slapped me so hard across the face I actually stumbled back. “I trusted you. I fucking trusted you.”
My skin immediately smarted from the momentum, turning bright red from the attack. I turned back to her, pissed that she’d slapped me in my own office like she owned the place. “What the fuck are you—”
She slapped me again.
Now I lost my temper. I charged her and grabbed her by the elbow. “Hit me again, and see what happens.” I flung her arm down, looking into a face as furious as mine.
She steadied her hand this time, but murder was still in her eyes. “Don’t play stupid with me. You probably already read the article—twice.”
/> “Article?”
“You want me to hit you again?” she threatened. “Then straighten up and be honest. Don’t insult me by playing stupid with me.”
“I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She shook her head, her eyes narrowed. “The New York Times quoted you as their source in the article, and you’re still are going to play stupid with me? How much of an idiot do you think I am?”
New York Times? I was their source? What the hell was going on? “I didn’t go to the New York Times and say anything about you—”
“You’re the only person who knows other than Thorn. So it had to have been you. Stop the games. Just admit that you got me. You played me. You tricked me, got me into bed, stole my secrets, and then turned around and sold them.” She threw her arms up. “So congratulations, Hunt. You taught me a lesson that I already learned once.”
My mind worked furiously to catch up to what she was saying. “About Jeremy?” I headed back to my desk and quickly typed the subject into the search bar. An instant later, the article popped up. I saw the headline and immediately turned white.
“Stop with the act!”
“Tatum, I really—”
She marched to my desk with her finger pointed at me. “Don’t call me that.”
I turned back to the computer and skimmed the article. No wonder why she was pissed. And lo and behold, the reporter named me as his primary source. What the fuck was going on? “Titan, I swear to you I had nothing to do with this.”
“Fuck you. Don’t insult me.”
“Titan, look at me.” I placed my hand over my heart. “I know this looks really bad, but I swear to you I didn’t do any of this. I’m being framed.”
“By who?” she asked incredulously. “Thorn? Because he’s the only person who knows.”
“I…I don’t know. But by somebody because I would never do this to you. I wouldn’t do this to anybody.”
“Cut the shit, Hunt.”
I came around the desk and got in her face. “You know me, Titan. I would never betray you like this. Come on, think about it. I know I look really bad right now, and I can’t blame you for jumping to conclusions, but I honestly didn’t do it.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, staring at me like I was utter scum.
“What would I get out of this, Titan? You’re my business partner. Why would I want to make you look bad?”
“No idea. But I don’t care.”
I was losing her. “Titan, just think for a second. You know me. You know me better than anyone—”
“I thought I did. But you’re an asshole like all the rest.” She marched to the door, officially done with me.
“Whoa, hold on.” I grabbed her by the elbow and steadied her.
She twisted out of my grasp quicker than a viper. “Don’t ever touch me again.”
I held my hands up and didn’t touch her again. “Just let me get the reporter on the phone. I’ll get to the bottom of this, alright?”
She only stared at me, but that was better than nothing. She could just leave, and I wouldn’t be able to stop her. She tightened her arms over her chest, her look still furious but a little less potent.
I pressed my palms together in a gesture of gratitude. “Thank you.” I walked out of my office to where my four assistants sat, and they were all whispering about what had just happened with Titan. “I need to get the reporter from the New York Times on the phone.”
“Which reporter?” Natalie asked.
“The stupid bitchface that wrote the article.”
Natalie flinched at my rage. “I…I don’t know what article you’re talking about.”
“Goddammit.” I moved to her computer and leaned over her, typing in the article and finding his name. “Just get this guy on the phone…Jared Newman. Now.” I walked back into the office, hoping Titan had calmed down a little more.
But she didn’t.
The bottom drawer in my desk was open, and she held the folder in her hands. With smoldering eyes that could kill, she stared me down. They were full of moisture, but not because she was about to shed tears of heartbreak. They were furious, maniacal tears. They were the kind of tears that could only be created through sheer frustration. She tossed the folder across the room, papers flying everywhere.
Fuck.
She marched toward me, her arms tensed by her sides. She didn’t look like she was going to hit me this time. The look she gave me was worse. It was an expression of pure loathing, of abundant hatred. She didn’t want to slap me because her palm was too good for my face.
“Titan…” I breathed through the pain in my chest, knowing how bad this looked. “I got that folder a long time ago, but I swear I never read it—”
“I don’t care, Hunt.” She pressed her face close to mine as she whispered. She wasn’t screaming anymore, throwing papers around the room and causing a scene. Now she was quiet and calculating, her eyes glossy as more moisture flooded her gaze. The vein in her forehead was throbbing, and her eyes were about to pop out of her head. Her jaw was tenser than mine had ever been. “I got mine, Hunt. But trust me…you’ll get yours.”
Also by Victoria Quinn
The story continues in Boss Woman
Order Now
Boss Love_Boss 3 Page 21