“I’m not thrilled by the even divide we agreed on, but I understand why she asked for it. I would have done the same thing.”
When it came to business, I needed to have absolute control. I liked to make all the decisions without having to answer to someone else. That also carried into my personal life as well. “This is a special circumstance. In most cases, the person you’re doing business with can’t compete with your resources. But since you’re working in the science space, you’re at a disadvantage. Autumn has a lot of power because she’s the only one with the brains to produce the resource.”
“Autumn?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat when I realized my error. I shouldn’t have addressed her that way, not when it implied we had a personal relationship. I didn’t even call Titan by her first name. “She asked me to call her that.”
Titan didn’t comment on it, but her suspicion was heavy in the silence. “You’re right. She does have a lot of power.”
“But she seems genuine about it. If all she cared about were getting ahead, she would have taken your initial offer. I think this will be a great setup for both of you. Together, you’ll make billions.”
“I’m sure you’re right, Thorn. I’m eager to get back to work and get started.”
“Don’t push Diesel,” I teased. “He seemed pretty ticked the other day.”
“He’s always ticked. Ignore him.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t be marrying him.”
She sidestepped the comment. “You guys should get started without me. There’s a lot of groundwork to do, but you know how I like things.”
“I’ll give you daily reports through email.”
“Okay, thanks. Ms. Alexander needs to lay out all of her projects so we can determine exactly what direction we’re going in. Depending on what she has in stock, it could determine our branding moves.”
“We?” I asked. “I thought you weren’t involved in this?”
“I think I can be involved remotely.”
“What about Diesel?”
She sighed. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll get over it. Sitting here doing nothing is stressing me out more than just working.”
I believed that. Titan was a goal-oriented person. She needed to be doing something in order to be fulfilled. Once she accomplished a task, she was ready for the next. The constant drive never stopped, but it gave her life a comfortable speed. “Did you tell him about Bridget?”
Her long pause was my answer.
“How did he feel about it?”
“He didn’t say much. He offered to dig into her and confirm her identity. I said no.”
I respected Titan’s decision and agreed with it.
“I told him I wanted to forget about it and move on.”
“Have you been thinking about it much?” If I suspected my long-lost mother were trying to come back into my life, I’d obsess over it. I’d want to know everything about her, to look at her in person and see the genetic resemblance between us.
“No.” Her response was cold, but also genuine. “It makes no difference if Bridget is really my mother or not. She’s not a part of my life, and I don’t want her to be. I don’t hold any anger toward her. But I respected her decision to abandon me and move on with her life. Therefore, she needs to respect my decision to abandon her.”
As cold as Titan’s response was, there was undeniable truth and logic in it. Titan didn’t get worked up about a lot of things. She was pragmatic, allowing herself to assess a situation with complete objectivity.
But would she be so objective if she looked the woman in the eye?
The woman who looked just like her?
Maybe that situation would never present itself.
But what if it did?
“I should get back to work.”
“Of course,” Titan said. “Thank you, Thorn. I know you’re putting in a lot of hours to help me out. I’ll compensate you when I return to work.”
“I don’t want compensation, Titan. That’s not what this is about.”
“I know. But I’m giving it to you anyway. Call me if you need anything.” Click.
My day didn’t end until eight that evening. I finished everything at the office, handled my own projects, and then went to the gym. There were days when skipping my workout was tempting, but it was one obligation I couldn’t abandon.
Not if I wanted to stay in such good shape.
I got out of the shower, sat on the couch, and texted Autumn. Thinking of you.
The three dots popped up instantly. What a coincidence. I’m thinking of you.
I wanted to invite her to my place, but that would be rude. It was dark outside, and she shouldn’t be out and about by herself. I didn’t know if she had a private driver or not. How about I swing by? I didn’t have a clue where she lived, but it was probably in a nice penthouse like mine. She didn’t have my kind of money, but she was still exceptionally wealthy.
You don’t strike me as the kind of man who asks a question like that.
I smiled at her playful banter. I was trying to be somewhat polite, but maybe she didn’t like polite. Give me your address. And get ready for a good fuck.
Now that sounds more like it.
I changed then got into the back seat of my driver’s car. He took me a few miles away, to an area that was filled with narrow townhouses. They were on the upscale side of town, and once I stopped in front of her house, I saw blooming flowers despite the harshness of winter. The yard was perfect because someone must take care of it often.
I walked up the stairs to the front door and rang the doorbell.
The door opened a moment later, revealing Autumn standing in a see-through black dress. The top pushed her tits together, and
