“If I were lucky enough to have married you, I know I would want you to move on. I know I would want another woman to take care of you, to put away your laundry, cook dinner, and make you happy. We only have so much time on this earth…we should make the best of it.” She moved into me and rose on her tiptoes before she planted a kiss on my cheek. Then she quickly turned away, avoiding eye contact with me. “Take care, Vincent.”
I watched her walk away, feeling the burn of her kiss branded into my skin. The heels of her pumps clapped against the concrete as she walked away. I listened to the tap as it faded away until it was gone altogether. I felt Scarlet walk out of my life forever.
I didn’t think it would hurt this much.
But it did.
Chapter Seven
Titan
Thorn stopped by before Diesel got home, and we went over the progress he and Ms. Alexander were making at the office. Now that I saw all of her projects laid out in front of me, I realized making her a partner was the best decision I’d ever made.
She had a lot to offer.
Having possession of these kinds of developments would change the direction of the company. By constantly having new technology to deliver to consumers, there would always be something to look forward to. People would wait on pins and needles in anticipation of what was next. Older products would become cheaper, so more lines of businesses could afford them.
Now that I knew the full extent of Ms. Alexander’s capabilities, I realized I never would have been able to compete with her.
She would have crushed me.
“You made the right call, Thorn.”
He sat across from me at the dining table, enjoying a cold bottle of beer while the papers were scattered in front of us. He was in a gray suit with a black tie, a beard coming in around his jaw. “In what way?”
“Ms. Alexander. I consider myself to be a smart and talented woman, but compared to her intellect, I wouldn’t have been able to compete with her, not with this kind of technology. My marketing would always be superior to hers, but without a better product, it wouldn’t have mattered.”
He nodded slightly. “You should trust me more.”
“I already trust you with my life. How could I trust you more?”
He smiled before he drank from his beer. “She’s an exceptional woman. I think this partnership will be fruitful for a long time. Not to mention, she’s easy to get along with. She doesn’t have an attitude or a drop of arrogance. She concentrates on the work and nothing else.”
I noticed Thorn always had a lot of nice things to say about her, and his compliments were excessive. He didn’t speak highly of anyone else, not even Vincent Hunt or Kyle Livingston. “She’s off-limits, Thorn. I know she’s cute and smart, but there are plenty of other fish in the sea.”
A blank look came over his face. “What?”
“She’s my business partner now. Do you have any idea how complicated that would be if you fooled around with her?” He’d see her for a while and then take off. Then it would be awkward anytime they were both in the same room together. Thorn was my best friend, and she and I would probably become great friends too. It was a recipe for disaster.
Thorn slowly brought the bottle to his lips and took a drink.
I organized the papers and returned them to the folder. “So, Diesel and I can’t come to an agreement about my last name.”
Thorn was still drinking, downing the entire contents in a single gulp.
“You need some water?”
He finished the bottle then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m good.”
“I understand where he’s coming from, but it’s such a difficult sacrifice for me.”
Thorn cleared his throat before he looked at me again. “You’ve had that last name your entire life, so it’s difficult to part with. It makes sense. I mean, I’ve been calling you Titan for ten years now. Once you get married, what will I call you? Tatum? It’ll be strange at first, but it’ll happen. So the change will be difficult in the beginning. But maybe you see it as a way to reinvent yourself. You started off as Titan, but now you’re taking a step into a more powerful position by becoming a Hunt.”
“Why is it more powerful?”
“You’re combining all of your assets with Diesel’s. That means the two of you will become the richest couple in the world…let that settle in for just a second.”
I didn’t care about the money because I had plenty of it, but to reach that kind of status was mind-blowing. I knew I wouldn’t reach that position on my own, and neither would Diesel. But, together, we made it happen.
“As Titan, you were the richest woman in the world. Now you’ll be one of the richest people in the world. Big fucking deal.”
It was a big deal.
“Titan won’t be lost because everyone will remember where you came from. The name isn’t as important as you think it is. It’s all about the person. And by taking Diesel’s last name, you’ll truly be unified with the man you love. I’m not a romantic guy, but if I were, my wife would definitely take my last name. There would be no discussion about it.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s hot. If some woman stole my heart and I couldn’t live without her, I’d be making her mine in every way possible. You bet your ass she would be a Cutler. Not only would her big-ass ring tell the world she was taken, but wearing my last name would tell the world who she was taken by. And unless I’m mistaken, you enjoy Diesel’s possessiveness, right?”
I could lie and say I didn’t, but Thorn would see right through it. “Yes.” I liked being Diesel’s, and I liked that he was proud I was his. I
