Page 111 of Titus

She looked over at me with a soft laugh. “I think I’m running on caffeine, adrenaline, and blind optimism right now.”

I swear the woman somehow looked even more attractive when exhausted.

“Sit down before you collapse,” I said, loosening the collar of my shirt.

She smiled as she walked farther into the penthouse, with city lights stretching endlessly beyond the glass walls overlooking Los Angeles.

God help me. Seeing her in my space still did something strange to me, as if she belonged there far more naturally than she should.

“I just need to go over tomorrow’s revised floral placement once more,” she said, grabbing her iPad from her bag. “Then I promise I’ll stop professionally spiraling.”

“It appears you’re merely in your zone and not even close to spiraling,” I said, acknowledging how well she handled this kind of pressure.

“Oh, I can absolutely lose it,” she muttered. “I just hide it under expensive clothes and lip gloss.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Christ. I was starting to get seriously attached to this woman.

“There’s desk space in my office, just through those doors,” I said, pointing toward my bedroom, unable to go any further due to an incoming call.

It didn’t really matter because she moved toward my bedroom as if she were already comfortable there.

I glanced down at the caller ID and saw an unknown international number. Annoying.

“I need to take this,” I told her.

Catalina glanced up from her iPad. “Business?”

“When is it not?”

“Looks like we’re both on the clock tonight,” she laughed softly.

“I see a fantastic future for us together,” I said with a laugh.

“The perfect working couple who can’t even find time for a kiss,” she answered casually before disappearing into the bedroom.

Fuck. A kiss. How something so small could feel so enormous to me with this woman.

I stared after her for several seconds longer than necessary before finally answering the call. Unfortunately, within the first thirty seconds, I already knew exactly what it was. Europe.

By the time I ended the call nearly twenty minutes later, all traces of the evening’s relaxation had disappeared.

For the next three fucking weeks, possibly longer, I’d be in Monaco, Barcelona, and London, handling investor meetings and expansion discussions. These were the obligations that came with being Titus Hawk. The kind I normally handled unaffected.

But tonight, all I felt was irritation. Somehow, the idea of leaving suddenly felt significantly less appealing than it used to.

I loosened my tie further before walking toward the bedroom, already mentally preparing for another week of constant movement and pressure, but the moment I stepped into the room, I stopped.

Catalina had fallen asleep on my bed.

The soft glow from the bedside lamp illuminated her as she lay there, a cashmere throw drawn up around her, her iPad resting loosely against her chest, still showing event layouts and floral renderings.

Something in my chest tightened painfully at the sight. Seeing her safely on my bed, wrapped in my favorite soft blanket for warmth, did something to me I couldn’t explain.

Somehow, that image affected me more than any billion-dollar negotiation ever had. I slowly walked farther into the room, loosening the cuffs of my shirt.

She hadn’t even realized she’d fallen asleep.