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Titan

“ W hy the hell hasn’t she called me?” I paced the aisle of my private jet as it headed back to the States.

I been on the phone with my brother Torrence for the last hour trying to figure out why I hadn’t heard from Bailey, not even a thank you call for the champagne.

Maybe I did come on too strong. I originally wanted to send her flowers, but Torrence said flowers might have been too intimate, so I opted for champagne.

Of all my brothers, Torrence was the best one to talk to if you needed a sounding board because his patience was limitless, and you didn’t have to worry about him running his mouth.

Although he teased me for fifteen minutes straight when I admitted to him my attraction to Bailey, I knew whatever I said would stay between us.

I tried to ignore the immediate response I had when I saw Bailey at that bar a week ago.

I tried telling myself that my intense attraction was due to the alcohol I consumed that night, but I couldn’t blame the alcohol when I saw her at our business meeting the next day.

When she entered the room, it was like time stood still, and her presence commanded my undivided attention.

I couldn’t recall the last time a woman made me feel like this.

The way my body jolted as soon as Bailey walked her fine ass into that conference room felt like I was a dead battery getting a jumpstart.

I was man enough to admit that since my divorce, my heart had been frozen solid, but seeing her that day made me feel hopeful that my heart was ready to thaw, and she would be the woman to do it.

I don’t know how I knew, but my gut told me Bailey Henson was mine.

But what if she didn’t feel the same? The thought of Bailey not feeling the same way about me had me all the way fucked up.

I didn’t miss the way her breath caught when I leaned down to whisper in her ear when we were in her conference room or how she inhaled my scent when my neck was near her mouth, and how my touch on her lower back made her so weak in the knees that she almost fell.

Those were signs that she was definitely feeling me, but something was holding her back, and I intended to find out what.

“Maybe she is married like Trent said.” The words tasted like acid on my tongue, and the thought felt like I got kicked in the nuts.

“Ty don’t listen to Trent; you know that’s his corny ass way of seeing if a woman is single.”

“You right, maybe she’s not married but what if she has a boyfriend?

Fine as she is, I wouldn’t doubt it.” I sighed deep into the phone.

I didn’t like the thought of her having a boyfriend either, but it would be less complicated to break up a relationship with a boyfriend than to divorce a husband.

“Why don’t you just call her and do this thing called… ask her?” Torrence suggested sarcastically.

“I don’t have her number.” I sighed again.

“Call her office. She seems like the workaholic type. She might be at work on a Saturday,” Torrence said.

“Yeah, I’ll stop by there,” I said, and suddenly, my sullen mood was replaced with determination.

“What? Negro, I said call , not go over there like some fuckin’ stalker.” From the sound of his voice, I knew my brother was shaking his head in disapproval.

“Nah, I don’t think she’ll think that. I’m going to stop over there because if I call, she can screen my call and pretend not to be there. If I come in person, she can’t hide.” I smiled as my plan came together; nothing was going to deter me.

Torrence and I talked for a few more minutes before I had to hang up because my plane was landing. I looked at my watch and noticed it was a quarter past four in the afternoon. I hoped Bailey was in her office because I was going straight there.