I couldn’t recall many times when I was grateful for my father, but it was on that day that I was happy that he'd shown up at my doorstep.

Happy might not be the correct way to describe what I was feeling. Perhaps it was a complex combination of rage, ambition, and happiness. Herman Coleman had walked into my office with the intention of threatening me and breaking my resolve to become bigger and better than he ever could. Little did he know that he'd left me the gift of a drive that was now brewing in me more intensely than ever before.

I gathered my team around me. It was just a handful of people I needed to strategize with.

My right-hand man, Corey Reed, had been busy drafting an action plan for over an hour with skepticism written all over his face. However, he didn't dare to express his doubts to me after I told him that I'd already decided to move forward with the expansion.

Running a financial advisory firm was never a dream of mine, and it was no secret that I sometimes had to drag myself out of bed to get to work. It's why I had been holding off on expanding my pool of employees and being able to take on a lot more clients than I was at the time. Although Coleman Advisory was one of the best in the country, I needed it to be the best one if I was going to be toe-to-toe with my father. So, in order to do that, I needed to take risks and build an expansive portfolio.

My first goal with putting this plan into action was that no client, big or small, ever looked at us as amateurs, like a firm that is just getting on its feet after separating from HC Accounting.

"All done," Corey said, handing me a bunch of documents after stapling them together. "I'll wait for you to look it over before sending it to our attorneys for any loopholes that can be potentially abused."

I nodded, then looked at Kimberly, who was standing at a distance with her arms behind her back.

"Sir," he continued, getting back my attention. "I just want to remind you again that—"

I held up my hand. "I know, and I remember. We're taking this too fast and it's got a lot of risks attached to it."

Corey darted his eyes to the floor and slowly nodded.

"Sure, sir. I guess my work here is done.”

I smiled at them both as they left my office. Placing the documents back on my desk, I flipped my phone over and noticed that Heather had called me four more times since I last ignored her call.

I exhaled deeply and set it back down. I'd had enough melodrama for the day, though I knew that's not what Heather might have been bringing.

My guess was that she was just calling to inform me that she was moving out, that she'd finally realized that it was a mistake to move in with me in the first place. I shook my head as annoying thoughts creeped into my mind. Thoughts that told me that if my own parents couldn't show any real affection toward me, how could I expect anyone else to? The way things ended with Heather last night wasn't so great, and maybe I shouldn't have said what I did about Neil's engagement. But that's just who I was. I said things like they were, and she’d barged out the door right after telling me that her previous place was now vacant.

I slid the phone into my jacket pocket and the documents into my briefcase. I needed to leave before my mind raced itself toward insanity.

* * *

When I got home, the last thing that I was expecting to see was Max's toys spread all over the living room floor.

I shut the door behind me and went straight into the kitchen to get myself a cold bottle of water.

Turning around, I saw Heather coming out of her bedroom without a hint of a smile on her face.

"You're still here," I said.

She shrugged and took a seat at the dining table.

"Would you rather I not be?"

"Did I say that?"

"You might as well have." She scowled.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She ran her fingers through her hair and sniffed. "You didn't answer my calls all day."

I slammed my steel bottle of water on the counter and approached her.

"I'm sorry about that. It’s been quite a day. What is it that you wanted to talk about?"

She didn't respond for several seconds and I continued to wait patiently.

"Heather?"

She simply shook her head without lifting her eyes from the wall painting that she'd been staring at.

"I'm sorry I didn't answer your calls," I repeated. "Now are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Why didn't you?" she asked point-blank with her eyes red with fury. "I needed you. I needed someone to talk to. I get that you're busy, but . . ."

Big tears rolled down her cheeks. Tears that she'd been trying to hold onto for a while now. I walked around and wrapped my arms around her from behind. She stood and turned around, burying her head in my chest.

"It's okay," I whispered, stroking her hair and kissing her head.

"It's not okay," she wailed. "You can't just disappear when I need you, Brad. It doesn't work like that."

Placing my hands on her face, I brought it closer to mine and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "What happened?"

"Wayne," she said, her voice barely leaving her throat. "He called this evening."

A few seconds of uncomfortable silence later, I pressed her shoulders and got her to sit back down.

"What did he say?" I asked calmly.

She extended her arm and placed her hand on mine. "I never spoke to him. I'm scared."

"There's nothing that you need to be scared of. Not while you have me."

I saw hope in her eyes but it seemed to be fleeting.

"He's not going to be able to come near Max," I continued. "I'll do everything in my power to make sure that he's not even—"

She pulled her hand away and swallowed. "Brad," she said, clearing her throat and inhaling a deep breath.

I grimaced. "You're having second thoughts about him, aren't you?"

She stood and took a few steps back. "It's not that simple. I don't know if I have it in me to keep Max from his father."

"Wow," I said. "The man has made it so incredibly easy for you to walk away, and you're still having second thoughts about letting him back into your life."

"Not in my life," she said, pointing her finger at herself. "In my son's life. The last thing I want is for Max to grow up and hate me for keeping him away from his father because, for all I know, Wayne wants to make amends. Isn't it my job to at least give him the benefit of the doubt?"

I walked toward her, then held her hand.

"Don't ask me these questions unless you want honest answers from me, Heather. You know I don't beat around the bush, and something tells me that you're looking for someone to back you up on this. Unfortunately, that person is not going be me."

She intertwined her fingers with mine as her eyes welled up.

"You sure your opinion on this is not clouded by your own relationship with your father?"

My jaw clenched, and what I wanted to do was thrust my fist into the wall behind her, but instead, I took a breath and kept my cool.

"I would only give you my objective opinion on matters like these, and it's a shame that you don't seem to believe that."

Touching the inner corners of her eyes, she shook her head, then looked back at me. "You're right. You're right. I didn't mean it like that."

I ran my thumb across her lips, her tempting full lips that were begging to be kissed. "I don't want you to see him, Heather. I don't want that asshole anywhere near you or Max."

She swallowed as I palmed her jaw and pressed my chest against her.

"Brad," she whispered, her eyes wandering around before locking on mine.

I kissed her before she could say another thing. I needed that woman. I needed to be close to her, to protect her, even if she didn't want to let me.

"Brad," she repeated, making me pull away momentarily.

"Do you not want me to kiss you?"

I noticed the way her chest sank when I asked that question, and she wrapped her arms around my neck moments later.

She gasped when I slid my hand between her legs and rubbed her pussy, then unbuttoned her jeans with one hand. I sucked her lower lip and watched her throw her head back when I lifted her up and took her into my bedroom.

Her long hair had fallen over me, and I kissed her neck hungrily before dropping her onto my mattress. She looked at me like I was all she needed. I unzipped my pants, and she sat up straight, then peeled them down to my ankles.

"Fuck," I moaned, digging my fingers into her hair and watching her stroke my cock.

I snapped my eyes shut when I felt her tongue swirl around the head. She sank to the floor and pulled my boxers down, then opened her mouth wide before taking me all in. Every inch of me.

I moved back and forth, fucking her mouth and relishing the sight of her pleasuring me.

The sound of her sucking me pushed me over the edge, and I was ready to come in her mouth. I pulled her hair and she stood.

"Did you not like it?" she asked, confused.

"Oh, angel," is all I could muster before I pinned her against the wall and fingered her.

"I want to come inside you," I groaned, looking at her and fucking her with my two fingers that I dug so deep inside her that she was beginning to cry in pain.

She pressed her lips tightly against mine and fell on top of me on the bed, stroking my cock and straddling me.

"Ride me," I said, squeezing her ass. She brought her breasts closer to my lips and took me in.

"Ah." She moaned and shivered when I bit her nipple and penetrated her.

"Fuck," she whispered, rolling her eyes at the ceiling and never getting enough of my cock.

The bed creaked, and I didn't care if it broke while I took this woman. I was in awe of her beauty, her curves, and the way her skin felt against mine.

I loved the way she cupped her own breasts and squeezed them, screaming my name as she came on my cock over and over.

I placed my hand around her neck and groaned when I felt my cock pulsate inside her tight pussy. She dug her nails into my chest, releasing at the same time and panting with her heart beating faster than ever before. I felt my seed filling her and then rubbed her stomach, wondering what it would be like to get her pregnant.

"Heather," I whispered breathlessly. "You belong to me. Only to me."

Her head fell inches away from my chin and she ran her hands across my chest.

"I'm yours," she replied, smiling hesitantly.

We both knew that our hearts belonged together, but we also knew that our lives didn't.

The kind of thoughts that had crossed my mind while I fucked her had surprised me.

I wanted to be with her forever, to have children with her. An actual family. I wanted to give Max the unconditional love that he deserved. The kind that I’d never received from my father.

It was too bad that Heather's dilemma about Wayne was having us take a few steps back.

Though, in that moment, there was nothing else that I wanted to think about other than this woman I wanted to sleep next to.

She dragged her feet off the bed, and I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her right back.

"This is where you sleep tonight."

She smiled and turned toward me. I ran my fingers through the length of her hair and held her tight until she fell asleep in my arms.