Page 37 of By His Vow

And I’m not fucking giving that up because of his bratty little sister.

So I figure we’ll spend our year together, enjoy it where possible, and then embark on what we really want for our lives.

Easy. Simple.

Painless.

Minus the cat scratches.

“I can’t believe you’re marrying my little fucking sister.”

Kian smirks. “I can. She’s fucking hot. And,” he adds before Miles can attempt to lay him out like he did me yesterday, “I’m pretty sure there isn’t anyone else on the planet who would put up with this asshole.”

“Lovely,” I scoff. “Now, are we having a working lunch or what?”

“Fuck it. Yes. Let’s go,” Miles says, pushing to his feet and grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair.

“World domination always needs to come with a side of scotch,” Kian mutters as we walk out of Jonathan’s—Miles’s—office.

I nod at Judith as Miles talks to his own assistant, Maddison, before the three of us walk into the elevator and descend through the building.

The temptation to stop at the thirteenth floor is strong. The need to know what she’s doing—hell, if she’s even here—is almost too strong to ignore.

But I do.

Eyes follow the three of us as we walk out of the building and toward Leo, Miles’s driver.

He might not have got exactly what he bargained for when Jonathan left him everything, but he still did quite well out of it. And anyway, who wants to be gifted something that’s running smoothly? That’s boring.

This way, Miles and I can make this our own in a way we never would have been able to before.

These companies might have originated with our ancestors, but what we create by joining them together is going to be ours.

And I can’t lie, that’s fucking exciting.

The drive to our favorite bar is fast, and before we know it, we’re sitting in the back room with a glass of scotch each and plans of expansion and growth ringing in the air.

The whole time, the only thing I can think is, there’s someone missing.

Sure, Kieran isn’t here because he chose his own path in life. But Tatum...she’s a part of this. She’s a vital member of the Warner team. She should be here planning this with us, even if she has no desire to see it out long-term.

It’s in her blood.

She belongs here just as much as we do.

10

TATUM

“At fucking last,” Lori cries down the phone. “I’ve called you, like, a million times today.”

My heart aches. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s been nonstop since I walked into the office this morning.”

“Yeah, about that. Aren’t you still meant to be on leave?”

“Yeah, well, I decided it was time to return,” I lie.

“You’ve barely had any time off. You’ve been in that building every day, sorting out the shit your mother should be doing,” she chastises.