Boss Woman Read online

  “You’re the smartest woman I know. Why would I do this? You’re my business partner. When you look bad, I look bad.”

  “I’m your competition. So is Thorn.”

  “And you don’t think marrying you fixes my problem?” he asked incredulously. “Once our assets are combined, I’ll be launched to the very top of the list—as will you. It doesn’t make any sense for me to betray you like this.”

  “You could get rid of Thorn.”

  “Again, once you’re my wife, he’ll bite the dust. Doesn’t add up either.”

  “You’ve had it out for me since the beginning. You wanted to buy that publishing house from me.”

  “As an investment,” he argued. “That was all. Nothing else.”

  This wouldn’t go anywhere. He would just tell me more lies, and I would just ignore them. “I’m tired of talking about this—”

  “Too damn bad. We’re gonna talk about this until we figure it out.” He slammed his hand on the table. “I’m not losing you, Titan. It’s the first time in my life I actually feel like a whole person. I’m happy, and I’m not letting that go. I finally found a woman who makes me feel something, gives me a reason to work harder and be better. I’m not letting you go. And more importantly, there is someone out there that wants to hurt you. I can’t let that happen. I need to protect you.”

  “I don’t need your protection, Mr. Hunt—”

  “Don’t call me that.” He leaned closer toward me, his eyes burning into mine. “I should have told you this sooner, but I kept forgetting in light of everything else going on in our lives. One night, I left your penthouse and saw Bruce Carol walk out. To my knowledge, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t live there.”

  A lot of other successful businesspeople lived in Tribeca. It’s possible he was visiting someone. “There’s a lot more evidence against you than Bruce Carol right now.”

  “A month later, I saw him again. He got into a blacked-out car and drove off.”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  “He’s pissed at the way we destroyed him, and he’s out to hurt both of us.”

  I held his expression while keeping my composure, but a tiny seed of doubt had been planted in the lining of my stomach. What scared me most was the fact that I wanted to trust Hunt even though the past taught me not to. Now, I didn’t know what to think. Maybe Hunt hadn’t seen Bruce Carol at all. Maybe he was just making that up to trick me. I didn’t know what to think—and that scared me.

  Hunt hardly blinked as he looked at me. “He could be watching us in your penthouse somehow. And now he’s using all of this against us. It makes sense, Titan. It’s the only thing that makes sense since I didn’t do this. He’s probably going to drop something else soon. He’s probably going to tell everyone about us. We have to be prepared.”

  I couldn’t listen to this anymore. His sweet words were getting into my heart. “If you told me the reporter got the information wrong, I might have believed you. I could go down there and hear him out. But the fact that the paperwork was in your drawer…”

  He bowed his head and sighed.

  “I just don’t trust you. I don’t trust anything you say. It sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me.”

  “Baby—”

  “Don’t ever call me that again.”

  He closed his eyes like I’d just backhanded him.

  “I was a fool for letting you in. I was a fool for thinking a relationship with someone else would ever work. I’m done being made into a fool.”

  “I’ve never betrayed you. I’ve always had your back, Titan. I’m nothing but loyal.”

  “You need to figure out what loyalty means—because you obviously don’t know.” I grabbed the paper and pushed it back at him. “Now let’s get this squared away so I never have to see you again.”

  The masculine sigh he exhaled was full of restrained rage. He turned his gaze to the paper where my offer was written in red ink. “No.”

  “That offer is already generous.”

  “There’s no amount you could offer to make me sell.” He ripped the page into pieces and tossed them onto the table. “The company has had no chance to grow. This place could easily be worth billions in a few years. I’m not selling a company that I believe in.”

  “Then name a price.”

  “I said there’s no amount that will entice me.” He straightened in his chair, his shoulders broad like a beam. It was one of my favorite features, the way he carried so much power in his body. When his arms were wrapped around me, I never felt safer. “We’re staying partners, Titan.”

  “Then I’ll sell.”

  “We both know that’s not going to happen. I’m not giving you a dime. The only way you can walk away is if you leave empty-handed. And we know that’s not going to happen after everything you invested.”

  So he was going to make this as difficult as possible.

  “I’m not going anywhere. Neither are you. We’re in this together.”

  This was the exact reason why I didn’t go into business with anyone. I hated another person having power over me. They always abused it. I was tempted to walk away from this company, but I knew it would be a big success. And I didn’t want to walk away from all the money I’d already invested into it. He was leaving me with no choice.

  I pulled the paper away and presented the next one.

  Hunt glanced at it, giving me a quizzical expression. “What is this?”

  “Payment for your silence.”

  He eyed it again before he turned his furrowed eyebrows on me. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

  I pushed the NDA toward him. “Sign this, and you walk away with five million dollars.” I could pay someone else a much smaller fee, but since Hunt was insanely wealthy, that was the smallest price that would entice him.

  He didn’t look at the paper again, staring at me like he hated me. He shook his head slightly, his jaw clenched.

  “We never had a relationship. I don’t have arrangements. We’re business associates, and that’s all.” I could live down this scandal in a few months. But if Hunt went public with this, it would ruin my reputation. The world would think I was a cheating freak.

  He grabbed the pen off the table and added his signature.

  I was relieved he signed it, but also hurt. All Hunt cared about was money. He probably sold my story to the newspaper because he was paid millions for it. If only he’d come to me first, I could have doubled the price.

  After he added his signature, he crossed out the line in the contract that stated he would receive five million dollars. He scratched it out and wrote a zero on top. He pushed it back and slammed the pen down. “I don’t want your money. I’ve never wanted your money. I just want you.”

  My hand trembled slightly, and I did my best to hide it.

  His eyes were glued to mine. “I didn’t sell your secret. And I would never sell any of your secrets.” He pushed the paper back with a forceful shove. “It wasn’t me, Titan. I’ll say it as many times as it takes.”

  I placed the paper in my folder. “We’re done here.”

  “Like hell, we are.” His hand grabbed my wrist. He squeezed it, but he didn’t apply as much pressure as he usually did.

  I couldn’t let the touch linger. I couldn’t let him play me—again. I yanked my hand away. “Don’t ever touch me again, Hunt. If you do, I’ll give you my signature right hook. And trust me, it hurts like hell.” I left the table and walked away.

  “Titan.”

  I kept walking.

  “You know me, Titan. I would never do that to you. Just take some time to think about it.”

  I got to the door but didn’t turn around.

  “I’m not giving up on you.”

  My body wanted to freeze before I crossed the threshold, but I refused. When Hunt broke my heart, I gave up on love for good. It was over for me. I was grateful I had an arrangement that I could rely on. “I’m marrying Thorn.”

  “Over my dead body
.”

  I looked at him over my shoulder, holding his gaze with steady eyes. “Then you’re gonna die young.”

  3

  Hunt

  I drank a lot that night.

  My drink of choice? Old Fashioned.

  My penthouse had never felt so empty. My life had never felt so lonely. I wasn’t happy before Titan came along, and now that she was gone, I felt even worse than I had before. My bed wasn’t comfortable anymore. Everything was heavy with the ghost she left behind. Her spirit haunted me. Her smile lived in my dreams.

  I sat on the couch with her father’s book on the sofa table. I’d read over half of it, getting to know a man I didn’t have the honor of meeting. He mentioned Titan a few times, and I felt like I knew her as a young woman. She was more innocent then, unaffected by the evil in this world. She was pure and beautiful.

  I missed her.

  Brett called me, but I almost considered not answering. I wasn’t in the mood to talk—only drink. But something compelled me to take the call. I answered. “Hmm?”

  “I read the article about Titan…why did you leak it?”

  “Fuck you.”

  “What?” he asked.

  I rested the cool glass against my temple. “I didn’t leak it.”

  “The reporter said you did.”

  “Well, I didn’t,” I snapped. “I would never do that to her…I love her.”

  Brett turned silent, probably because he’d never heard me say that about her. He’d never heard me say that about anyone. “Are you drinking?”

  “What else would I be doing?”

  “I’m down the road. I’m gonna come by.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you sound like shit.” Click.

  I tossed the phone on the table and poured another drink. The amber liquid reminded me of her dark hair. I missed fisting it every night. I missed making love to her without a condom. I’d never been with a woman without latex wrapped around my dick. We had an experience I’d never enjoyed with anyone else. She was special to me in so many ways. I admired the beauty behind those bright eyes. I admired her for her courage, her strength, not all the money in her bank account. I loved this woman with all my heart.

  Brett walked inside ten minutes later. I was so drunk I had no grasp of time. It seemed like only a few seconds had passed. He helped himself to my kitchen and got a glass of water before he came back. He snatched the liquor out of my hand and downed it himself.

  “Get your own.”

  “I’m cutting you off.” He grabbed the bottle of whiskey and tucked it into his side on the couch. “You turn into an ass when you drink.”

  “I thought I was already an ass.”

  “Well, you are. But you turn into a bigger ass.”

  I drank the water just so I had something to do with my hands.

  “So, you didn’t go to the newspaper?”

  “Fuck no. Like I would ever do that.”

  “Then what happened?”

  I told him the story, up until my recent conversation with Titan at Stratosphere.

  “You really think someone is framing you?”

  “What other explanation is there? They impersonated me to the reporter. He wanted me to take the fall.”

  “And Bruce Carol is the only person you can think of?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Shit.” He rubbed the back of his head. “And she really thinks you did it?”

  “Yes. But she would have believed me if she hadn’t found those papers in the bottom of my desk. Why didn’t I throw those away?”

  “You really didn’t read them?”

  “No. I realized it was a jackass thing to do, so I stopped myself. I respect that woman like a queen. I would never do anything to hurt her in the slightest. I know she knows that…deep down inside. She’s been hurt, and I understand why she’s afraid to listen to me. She’s been through a lot, and it’s already hard for her to trust people. She puts on a brave face for me, but I know she’s devastated… I know how much I hurt her.” I dragged my hand down my face, overwhelmed with misery.

  “But you didn’t hurt her, Hunt. Someone else did it—not you.”

  “She doesn’t know that, Brett. She thinks I never really loved her…that I was just using her.”

  “Then we have to figure out a way to prove it to her.”

  “How?” I demanded. “I could have my PI follow Bruce Carol around, but what good will that do? The damage is already done.”

  Brett sank into the couch and looked at the TV. It was on, but the volume was low. The blue and yellow glow from the screen bounced off the walls of the living room. He stared at it for a long time, wearing the same expression I wore when I was seriously considering something.

  All I’d been doing was thinking about how to fix this. If only those papers had been thrown away, Titan would still be mine. She would have listened to me. I know she would have. Why did I have to be such an idiot?

  “There’s one thing I can think of…”

  “I’m desperate, Brett. Tell me.”

  “You aren’t going to like it.”

  “Shut up and tell me.”

  He could have made a smartass remark in return, but he didn’t. “The best way to bury a story is to get everyone talking about something else.”

  “Okay.” How did that help me?

  “If you give the media something else to print, then no one will care about Titan’s story. It’ll fade into the background.”

  “Well, I don’t have any other stories.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “I’m drunk, Brett. Be clearer.”

  “Everyone wants to know what happened between you and your father. Reporters have pestered both you and Vincent about it, and neither one of you have talked.”

  “For a reason.”

  “If you gave them the full story, people wouldn’t shut up about it. It would make the front page of every newspaper and magazine. It would be on every news station. Nobody would give a damn about the abusive boyfriend Titan had ten years ago. All the attention would be on you, not her.”

  I rested the back of my neck on the edge of the couch and stared at the ceiling. “My father and I already hate each other. He’s pissed at me over Megaland. I don’t want to stir the pot.”

  “I said you wouldn’t like it.”

  I sighed into the room.

  “Not only would it get everyone talking about something else, but Titan would have to acknowledge your own actions. You’d basically be falling on your sword, sacrificing yourself for her. It might make her believe your innocence. And if not, she would at least think you were sorry for what you did.”

  That was tempting.

  “Or you could prove you were framed. But like you said, that could be impossible.”

  I ran my fingers through my hair, wishing it was Titan who was touching me. “If I do this, I’d basically declare war on my father.”

  “It’s not like you’re on great terms anyway.”

  “But he’ll think I’m provoking him.”

  “Maybe you should give him a heads-up.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not speaking to him ever again.”

  “Then I’m out of options. That’s all I can think of.”

  I didn’t throw Titan under the bus to begin with, so it wasn’t fair for me to sacrifice myself to distract the rest of the herd. But I had to get this woman back—at any cost. Just like water, air, and food, I couldn’t live without her.

  I’d die without her.

  4

  Titan

  Thorn and I sat in the back seat of the car while my driver took me to the news station. I agreed to do an interview with the biggest broadcasting company in the nation. My story was getting more attention with every passing day, and if I didn’t make a statement, it would seem like I was hiding something.

  Thorn grabbed my hand and held it on his thigh. “You’ve got this, Titan.”

  “I know.”

  “
Did you see the statement I made to the New Yorker?”

  I shook my head.

  He grabbed his phone and showed me the quote.

  * * *

  When we asked Thorn Cutler about the news of his girlfriend, Tatum Titan, he only had a short statement to make. “Ms. Titan has endured a lot in her past, but it doesn’t define who she’s become. I think this will only make the world admire her even more than they already did. I know I do.”

  * * *

  My eyes met his, and I smiled. “Thanks, Thorn.”

  “Of course. This interview will get the world on your side. I know it will.”

  “I hope you’re right. I don’t want their judgment, their pity.”

  We pulled up to the station then walked inside. I was doing a live interview in just thirty minutes. I walked into the studio and took a seat in front of a mirror, knowing they would do my makeup first.

  “Ms. Titan.” Olivia James walked up to me, her makeup done and her hair perfectly styled. She was ready for the cameras. “I’m so sorry to do this, but the interview has been canceled. A news story has just been dropped, and we have to spend our hour covering it.”

  “What news story?” Thorn asked.

  “Diesel Hunt,” she said. “He just gave the biggest interview of the year.”

  * * *

  Side by side in the back seat of the car, we watched on Thorn’s phone.

  Diesel wore a black suit with a matching tie. It fit his muscular body perfectly, and his coffee eyes were piercing more than usual. He sat across from the interviewer, calm and collected like he was sitting in a meeting. He was so handsome it was unnerving. He looked like a man who should be in film, not business.

  John Bettencourt sat across from him, his list of questions written on his card. “The last time you and your father were photographed together was nearly ten years ago. Have you spoken since that moment?” He got right into the interview.