We moved to the bed shortly after we fucked. It felt strange to even think about what had happened because I never in a million years could have thought that Heather would give in. She'd always been way too calculative and by the book, basically, the opposite of me, and while that worked well for our friendship, I was certain that it would never lead to a hookup and definitely not one as crazy as that.

"Fuck," I mumbled under my breath, exhausted, but I could go again. Hell, I could take that woman over and over and never grow tired of it. Just watching her smile as I held her tight made me happy, and it was funny how happy she was to learn that I’d never slept with Natalie.

"Have you ever been in a meaningful relationship?" she asked, lifting up her head to look me in the eye.

Her questions were never-ending. I didn't mind answering them, but man, should she have become a journalist instead?

"You already know the answer to that," I replied. "And so does the rest of the world, apparently."

She nodded. "It's crazy how big New York is and yet it's so small, you know? And most people are aware of your reputation.“

I placed my finger under her chin and moved her gorgeous face toward me. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "Well, I've seen you change women like underwear, Brad."

I laughed. "You're no underwear."

She rolled her eyes, then looked to her right to reach for her phone that had been blasting for the past fifteen minutes.

"Don't take it," I said, climbing on her and extending my arm to grab her wrist.

"I don't want to," she whispered, looking at me with lust, and maybe with something more as well. That was enough to distract me. I shook my head and she took the moment to slip from underneath me.

"Hey!" I squealed. "That's cheating."

She dangled her phone in her hand and grinned. "It's Rachel. This is the third time she's called me."

I ran my hand through my hair and tucked it behind my head.

I checked her out from top to toe when she sank into the leather recliner in my bedroom.

She was looking out the window at the city lights and twirling a stray strand of her hair at the same time.

"Hello? Rachel?"

I was smiling without consciously realizing it, and I most certainly felt like a pathetic boy in junior high who'd fallen into bed with the woman he'd been fantasizing about for over a year.

I won't lie. It did feel like an accomplishment because I never thought that Heather would go for it.

At the same time, though, it felt way more than a mere accomplishment.

And I hoped that she felt the same way too.

"Rachel," she snapped. "I can't fucking hear you. Can you stop yelling?"

I stiffened when she raised her voice.

"What are you saying, woman?"

It took a few seconds of silence and a little squinting for the confused look on her face to disappear.

She pressed two fingers against her lips and glanced at me, her eyes widened, and then she stood.

I shook my head. "What is it?"

It was around that moment when she walked toward me and her long baggy shirt revealed her panties.

My eyes wandered in all the wrong places. She snapped her fingers in front of my eyes and laughed, still on the phone with Rachel.

By then, I was dying to find out what the fuck it was that they were talking about because Heather had started to squeal and jump up and down.

"Okay. Oh, my God. Sounds good."

I sighed and lay back down.

Once she hung up the phone, she sprang up and jumped on me.

"You will not believe," she said, spreading her arms. "Like it's so crazy. Rachel is absolutely mad."

I smirked. "What did she do now?"

She shook her head and pressed her temples, her smile widening more than ever before.

"Neil proposed to her and she said yes."

My jaw came unhinged. "What the fuck?"

She nodded like her head was stuck in that position.

We both laughed, and she buried her face in my chest with her legs wrapped around my waist.

"That is so weird though," I admitted. "They've only known each other for what—two weeks?"

Heather shrugged. "I don't know what to say, honestly."

"Tell her that she's making the biggest mistake of her life. That's what you need to say."

Her laughter disappeared. "I wouldn't take it that far. That's a little dramatic, don't you think?"

I tilted my head to the side, giving her the really, now look.

"What?" she squealed. "One of my really good friends, Kelly. She jumped right into a serious relationship and it worked really well for her. In fact, she and Scott just got back from their honeymoon."

I groaned. "Sure. We'll see how it turns out for them a few years down the line."

She grimaced and smacked the side of my arm, then pointed her finger at me.

"Don't be so mean, okay? Look at your parents. They're still married, aren't they?"

Heather rolled to the side next to me and looked at me for a response.

"For one, their marriage sucks," I said. "My parents are horrible together. I'd much rather have them not be married anymore."

She snorted. "Fine, but that doesn't happen to everyone."

I shrugged. "Whatever. Neil is my friend, and I'm going to knock some sense into him if you won't say anything to Rachel."

I moved my head around to find my phone, but Heather held my shoulder and terrorized me with her look.

"Promise me you will not put negative thoughts in his brain."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "It's my job to warn him, Heather."

She shook her head. "That's bullshit. Don't transfer your skepticism to him. Your job is to celebrate their happiness and this news."

She fell on her back and looked toward the ceiling.

I knew that our special moment was dead and she was secretly hating on me for being cynical.

"There's something else too," she said and sniffed.

"What?"

"She's moving in with Neil, which means that she's no longer going to be in that apartment."

I raised my eyebrows. "And?"

She answered with a shrug and then a sigh.

"I think I’d better get to bed," she finally said, dragging her feet out of my room.

* * *

I got to the office early the next morning. I assumed that Heather was either still asleep after putting Max back to bed or she was lying in bed, thinking about how she'd ended the conversation last night.

I got out of my car and climbed up the stairs to the building I called my office. My brain was somewhat in a combination of euphoria and frustration, but nothing could top the intense annoyance that was about to hit me.

I was meeting my father today. He'd asked, or rather told, Kimberly to find him a spot in my schedule. This happened regularly. He would show up to my office and irritate the fuck out of me with his filthy mouth, then leave. I didn't expect today to be any different. By then, I had sort of mastered the art of listening through one ear and removing all of his junk from the other. But that, however, never stopped me from hating on him a little bit more every time I would see him.

"Where is he?" I asked my assistant when I exited the elevator. Kimberly let out a deep exhale and pointed to my private office.

I ran my hands over my suit and cleared my throat before entering. I hated that Herman Coleman had an effect on me, but he was my father, and there was much more involved in the equation that just business-related tension.

I marched straight toward my desk and took a seat before I even said as much as a hello.

He hadn't shown up alone. I looked over at him, then at the HC Accounting's other partner, Todd Grainger.

"I see you've brought company."

My father placed his hands on his knees and stood up, walking toward my desk.

"Don't I get a hug? Or at least a ‘Hey, Dad, how are you doing?’ "

I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my seat. That statement wasn't worth responding to.

"How can I help you . . . Dad?"

Rubbing his hands together, he pulled the seat across from mine.

Oh, this is about to get good, I thought.

He looked over to Grainger, then back at me.

"We have been thinking about this for a little while," he said, pausing to remove a file from his briefcase. "I think it's time we thought about merging the two firms."

I raised my eyebrows and burst out laughing.

"What did you say?"

He looked to the side and Grainger chimed in.

"Bradley, your father thinks it's best for us all to operate under one name. One brand. Don't you think that it would positively affect both businesses?

I jerked my head and narrowed my eyes at him.

"Do you even hear yourself? First of all, it would not positively affect both businesses because if we do this, then it will be one business. Secondly, do you really think that I went through the pain of starting my own firm from scratch just so I could go back and fall into your toxicity again?"

My gaze was now fixed at my father, who leaned forward and placed his forearms on the desk.

"I thought you might say that."

I smirked. "You thought that I might? You know, sometimes, I really get the sense that you're way more delusional than I originally thought.“

He gave me a half-smile.

"Hardly, Son. I'm not the one who’s delusional."

He slid the documents across to me and pointed at the end of the first page that needed my signature.

"You really think that I'm going to sign it? Sign my firm over to you, just like that? Wow."

I looked away, knowing that he was gearing up to throw something shitty my way. It's what he always did. Try to play nice at first, then use his dirty tactics to try and get me to do what he wanted.

"You will," he said. "If you don't want to go out of business, that is.“

I watched as Todd took a sip of his glass of water and adjusted in his spot on the sofa.

"Go out of business." I scowled. "Is that a threat?"

My father shrugged. "It's not a threat. It's a fair warning. And I think you should take it seriously."

He paused to fiddle with my paperweight, then continued.

"It's a shame that you thought you'd be able to bag Sheikh Azeera as your client. But let me tell you, that was not an isolated event."

I laughed. "Well, sounds a lot like a threat to me. So what are you doing to do? Steal all of my clients? I want to see you try, Dad."

He smiled and pursed his lips. "I was really hoping that this would go smoother than this. All I want to do is stop racing against my son."

"Then fucking don't," I snapped. "You do your thing and I'll do mine. There's enough to go around for the both of us."

I could hardly believe the words that had escaped my lips. I knew that was the stupidest thing I could've said to my father, who was the most ruthless businessman I knew. He didn't share. He pounced. Luckily, I had his blood running through my veins, so I wasn't all that different either.

"You know that's not how this works," he said. "If you're going to run a rival company, Son . . ."

He didn't have to finish that sentence for me to understand exactly where he was going with it.

I glanced over the document and felt pure hatred brewing inside me. I slid it back toward him and he smirked.

"So, is this it? That's your answer?”

I leaned back into my seat and nodded at the door.

"You two can show yourselves out now."

My father sighed and placed his hands on the edge of my desk, then exchanged a look with Todd.

That might have been the end of that meeting, but I knew it was a silent indication that the war between us had just begun.