Chapter 8
Theo
Three months later…
When I woke in the morning, Mia was the first thing on my mind. Sometimes she was the only thing on my mind, frankly, what with that curvy figure driving me nuts every which way until Sunday.
Mia had been a great addition to the Pictogram community. She, Eunice, and Sophie started a Women’s Initiative to provide networking, leadership, and community outreach efforts to women in the tech community and yet, even with this extra curricular type stuff, Mia was still rocking it at Pictogram and at school.
Her work ethic was unstoppable, reminding me of myself because in the beginning, I had to bootstrap myself up from nothing. There was no one on my side, no HR department, no billing department, no CTO, CFO, COO, or any type of C-anything. It was just me, Theo Wainwright, a young man with a dream.
So to see Mia now working like a demon was arousing, frankly. Most women I knew liked to laze around and get their nails done, but not my Mia. Not my beautiful girl who invaded my days, not to mention my nights.
We didn’t see each other non-stop. Not when she was in school full-time, trying to get a computer science degree, but the days she was in the office were hours that I looked forward to. Shit, that first time, we’d had sex twice on premises, once in my suite and once in the wardrobe changing room, whatever they called that place.
What was happening to me? Work had always been my priority. It was my baby, my obsession, my everything. And yet, I’d spent so much time thinking about Mia, touching her curves and stroking that plump body to make her cry out just the way I liked.
So yeah, this was kind of out of control. Had the Iron Man finally lost it? Had the ruthless, emotionless CEO become a pile of pudding, mooning over his smartest employee? My emotions and feelings had never gotten the best of me before. I was like a helpless, weak kitten, mewling for milk; that’s how far I’d fallen.
And yet, it wasn’t bad. In fact, it felt really good. The sense of awareness when she was in the room. The feel of those heavenly curves. The electricity that shot between us, our mind-meld complete.
Was this what love was?
If it was, then sign me up because the vulnerability was strange, yes, but it was also different. She was changing me in ways that were completely unexpected. In all of my relationships, this was right about the time I would get bored and ditch some female or another. In the past, my interest could only be held for so long, usually a few weeks max.
And yet with Mia, a couple months had passed since I’d met her, but I wasn’t getting bored. In fact, I felt like I was in some type of vortex, unable to control my feelings or my rising need to see more of Mia all the time.
I wasn’t used to these churning emotions, and honestly, it was agonizing. This wasn’t the usual Theo Wainwright, but what could I do? Mia had me wound around her little finger, and that was that.
But there was a dark side to this too because for the first time in my life, insecurity crept into my heart. Although it sounds impossible, the thought definitely crossed my mind: what if Mia didn’t feel the same way? What if her feelings were just blah? What if she was in it for just the sex?
Could it be possible that a girl would use the famous Theo Wainwright, and not the other way around?
Shit, my head spun. Because the old Theo wouldn’t have cared. Sure, use me. Use my fortune, use my mansion, use whatever you want, honey. You’ll be gone in two weeks so it shouldn’t really matter.
But with Mia? I’d never met someone this amazing. So yeah, the tables had been turned.
I rushed through my morning meeting. Fuck. Today I was having lunch with my beautiful brunette, and whoever these corporate drones were could stuff it. Already, pictures of the gorgeous woman’s smiling face filled my mind, my body hardening in anticipation. So once the meeting was done, I stood abruptly.
“Looks like it’s 11:00,” I said perfunctorily, glancing at my watch. “Let’s save the rest of the agenda for tomorrow.”
The executives shared puzzled looks, but they nodded. No one crosses Theo Wainwright, and with swift strides, I was out the conference room and halfway to the sushi restaurant on Pictogram campus.
My girl was there, already eating a spider roll.
“Hey,” she greeted with a shy smile. “I’m sorry I couldn’t wait, my stomach was growling with hunger, you should have heard.” She giggled.
No matter. I loved that my curvy girl ate, the more, the better. In fact, if Mia gained twenty pounds, she’d look even better. But suddenly, she stopped chewing and asked while blushing and covering her mouth. “Is there something on my face?”
I was staring and didn’t even realize it. Reaching across the table, I took her hand. “No, sorry. I was just admiring how beautiful you look.”
Her cheeks reddened. “Theo, thank you. You’re too sweet.” She giggled again, shooting me a wink.
Frankly, she was sweet. Mia’s new wardrobe looked amazing on her, what with the pink Pictogram t-shirt, belted high waist shorts, and silver tassel loafers. You gotta love a girl who will put on your company’s logo. Plus, in the last few weeks, she practically shone, whether from working here, the new clothes, or a combination of both. Her sassy attitude turned me on.
She squeezed my hand and said, “I’ve got to get back. I am helping one of the other developers debug code, so we’ve only got an hour together.”
“Of course.” I nodded. For some reason, even this turned me on because she was a hard worker and working for my company. Shit, I needed more than just an hour of lunch with Mia. It had been a few days since we last had sex, and my hope was that after lunch we could find a spot to be alone.
As usual, the time passed in a blur. We laughed, chatted and devoured some good food, on the same wavelength as usual. Walking out of the restaurant, I took Mia’s hand in mine, bringing those soft fingers to my lips.
“Some alone time before we get back, sweetheart? Or do you have too much to do?”
She smiled at me regretfully. “I wish I could, Theo, but I promised I would help with debugging.”
Goddamn. We were holding hands right on Picto-Lane, the equivalent of Main Street for Picto-Town while openly displaying affection for each other. Yet I didn’t care one bit. Slowly, I leaned down to her and pressed a soft kiss to that delectable pout.
Of course, the girl sighed slightly, her plush form pressed against my hardness.
“Theo, everyone’s looking,” she said, giggling. “Is that okay?”
Shrugging, I walked to our bikes. “Who cares? Let them look.”
She gave a radiant smile then, one that warmed my soul. “Okay.”
Pedaling along Picto-lane, Mia looked up and down street, taking in the drug store, the dry cleaner, and even the company bar. “You’ve done a marvelous job replicating a tiny town.”
“Thanks.” I shrugged with a grin, the wind sailing through my hair. “Makes it easier to stay late and work if you don’t have to worry about your laundry.”
Mia smiled because that was the true reason behind a lot of this. Companies offer perks because they make employees happy, but also because employees focus better and work longer if they don’t have to jet off to take care of mundane items like dry cleaning and food. Free meals on the house, all the time? For sure, if it kept people working for me until 10 p.m.
This was all par for the course in Silicon Valley. If a company didn’t keep up, they were considered “behind” the times.
Mia smiled at me again, the wind ruffling those beautiful brown curls. “Is Picto-Town modeled after any city in particular?” she asked as we sailed down the lane.
Man, was I really taking a bike ride with a pretty girl? We were practically Archie and Veronica, instead of a modern couple, but it felt right. I smiled back at her.
“No one has ever asked me that,” I said. “But in fact, it’s modeled after Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic.”
“The Czech Republic?” Mia asked in surprise, her brow wrinkling. “That would be the last place I would have guessed. I would have thought more Hershey Town or maybe Epcot Center.”
“Naw,” I said, pulling my bike to a stop. “The Czech Republic is it. It’s an amazing place. I traveled all around Eastern Europe as a student way back when, but the town that struck me as the most remarkable was Cesky Krumlov with its mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles. It’s something you would see in a fairy tale, complete with real-live castles.”
“Wow, castles?” Mia asked, impressed, pulling her own bike to a stop. “That’s pretty awesome.”
I threw my head back and laughed. As Americans, castles were rarely seen in the New World, something that lived in our imaginations. And right there, I vowed to take Mia to a castle one day, to show her the wonders of the world.
“Yeah, it is amazing, I agree. And we’ll go together,” I vowed, looking deep into those caramel eyes. “You’ll love it, I promise.”
Her sweet smile almost blew me away.
“Really Theo?” she said softly. “We’ll see castles and forests and Robin Hood together?”
It sounded like a fairy tale, but the truth was that I wanted to be her Prince Charming. I wanted Mia to have everything at her fingertips, guiding her through the exploration. The beautiful brunette had me entranced and on my knees.
Shit. How had this happened? But a lot of changes had overtaken my life recently, and I rolled with it.
We rode the rest of the way to the main building. “Come on, sweetheart, after you,” I said, holding the heavy glass door open.
But before we went our separate ways, Mia spun and planted a kiss on my lips, her mouth hot, soft and sweet beneath mine.
“Later,” she promised on a whisper. “Later, Mr. Wainwright.”
And shit, but I was ready to tear off her clothes right then and there. This girl made my body harden, everything zeroing in on her warm softness without a second thought.
But later was later, and with a last sassy wave, Mia was gone. Shit, this sucked. Back to work.
When I got to my office, Penny greeted me with a pained expression. “Hello,” she said, lips pursed. “How are you Mr. Wainwright?” Her tone was sharp and cold.
I decided to ignore her foul mood. Hell, the woman worked for me and not the other way around.
“Any meetings this afternoon?” I said.
She pursed her lips even more, looking like she was sucking a sour lemon.
“You have a meeting with Brandon in fifteen.”
I sighed. Shit. Sometimes I feel like a mom, forced to babysit my kids nonstop. With a sigh, I leaned against her desk.
“What’s up?” I said. “Spit it out. Is something wrong?”
Penny rolled her eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh herself.
“What makes you think so?” she said. “Is my hair off or something?” She patted her elaborate bun.
To be honest, it was. The red strands were intricately braided, ending in a poof on top of her head with a couple bright clips thrown in. I got it. Women’s hairdos could take a lot of time, but I much preferred Mia’s natural wash and go style. I wanted to wrap her curls around my dick at night, and not have to disentangle it first from tons of spray and gel, not to mention the sparkly things that held it together.
“Okay, great,” I said dismissively, standing up again. “Just wanted to be sure.”
“All’s good, Mr. Wainwright,” she cooed. “We’re good here.”
But there was something about her tone that made me jerk around and look at her sharply. Something about her words had been eerie. Was she laughing at me somehow? The sparkle in her eye assured me that wasn’t the case, but I have a sixth sense about these things.
Shit. I was wasting time on secretaries and mundane stuff that shouldn’t have taken more than five seconds. Heaving my big form around, I strode into my office, putting the uneasy thoughts away.
And work did it. There was nothing like some solid work to get your mind off the small stuff. I went through my emails and checked the status of the latest Pictogram build. Everything looked great, and Mia’s changes were remarkable. Hiring her had been my best decision this year by far, not to mention the impact she’d had on my sex drive.
A glutton for punishment, my eyes scanned the latest news articles about me. Total bullshit with allegations that some of the girls had been “pressured” into the orgy, but whatever. At least the gossip was dying down a bit compared to the shitstorm from five months ago.
My interview with Jimmy Fallon helped. It was a chance to humanize myself instead of coming off as some god-type that no one could identify with. As a result, we’d had a two percent uptick in account sign-ups. Pure publicity magic.
Just then, a knock sounded.
“Come,” I said.
Brandon bounded in like a giant Golden Retriever, complete with a huge smile and lolling tongue.
“Yo Theo! You check out the latest build?”
I nodded with a grunt. “Sure did.”
He chortled then. “Your new employee is doing a fantastic job, we never thought of that until she came on-board. Any chance the girl can come on full time?” Brandon asked hopefully.
I sighed.
“Doubtful, my friend. She wants to finish her degree. Trust me, I asked.”
“Why?” he asked puzzled. “Good programmers don’t need degrees; their work speaks for itself.”
“True.” I nodded, swiveling my chair around to look down at the company floor. Ah, there she was, hunched over a desk. “But it’s something about her mom and being the first to go to college in her family. You can’t say no to that.”
Brandon’s nose scrunched. “Yeah, I guess,” he said reluctantly. “Family pressure will do it to you, I tell ya. Listen,” he said, plunking down a stack of papers. “Here are some proposed changes for the next build.” He made his way to the door. “Whatever you do, Theo, don’t let her go.”
I grunted, looking downwards. I had no intention of letting Mia escape. Ever. She was perfect.
Suddenly my head jerked upwards. Because what the hell? Ever? As in “forever”? What in the world was happening? I was a short-term guy, the kind of person who used women. Hell, I wouldn’t even say I’ve had a real girlfriend before because the ladies I used were more love ‘em and leave ‘em types. So what the hell was this “forever” thing? Had I lost my mind?
With trembling fingers, I called the one person that came to mind: Gabe. Once upon a time, we’d been two lost boys together in the orphanage, scrabbling for food and getting in fights. Now, thirty years later, things were different. I was a corporate tycoon whereas Gabe was married with a kid, leading a happy, stable life in middle-management. But best friends are best friends, and we never lost touch despite our divergent paths.
My buddy picked up on the first ring.
“Hey, Theo! Caught you on TV the other day. Nice work, dude. Teeth look good.”
I had to snort because Gabe was a dentist and never hesitated to give his professional opinion on someone’s molars.
“Thanks, Dr. Stevens. I’ll make an appointment. I promise,” I replied.
“You got it, big boy. Now, what’s up? You caught me right between patients.”
“I know, I know,” I apologized. “But just hear me out okay? Because…” I took a deep breath. “I think I’ve lost my mind.”
Gabe let out a raucous laugh. “You mean with that orgy stuff? Naw, forget it, buddy. Nothing illegal happened, and besides, it’s dying down. You’re going to be fine.”
I shook my head. “No, not that. Or not just that,” I said in a low voice. “There’s more. A woman.”
You could hear a pin drop.
“A woman?” asked Gabe. “And a special one, I take it?”
My head shook again. “More than that. I think I’m in love.”
At least my friend had the courtesy not to burst into wild laughter. Instead, he whistled, like he wasn’t sure he’d heard right.
“Love? You, Theo Wainwright? Mr. CEO? What happened to never let your walls down, take no prisoners, the stud of Silicon Valley?”
I snorted. “Listen, no one wants to be a sex god forever. That shit gets old.”
But Gabe isn’t my oldest friend for nothing, and he called me out.
“You’re forty-five dude, living a crazy life for twenty years. It’s only getting old now?”
“Shut up,” I snapped, really getting annoyed now. “Seriously, motherfucker. The quips are getting old.”
“Okay, okay,” Gabe backed off. “What is it?”
I took a deep breath.
“Well, I’m in over my head,” I said. “Freaky obsessed. I can’t stop thinking about her, and when I’m not with her, I want to call her.” I shook my head in disbelief about what I was saying. “Can you believe it? Like some seventh grade puppy dog crush. It’s unbelievable.”
Gabe laughed. “What? You’ve never had a conversation with a woman on the phone?” he asked.
“God no!” I said. “That’s what texting is for. You don’t want to get caught in some twenty-minute conversation with no out, it’s fucking painful. Besides, before now, no one I dated had anything particular interesting to say.”
“That’s true,” Gabe said slowly. “Your past girlfriends were, ah, a little on the ditzy side.”
“A little?” I grunted. “More like they had bags of rocks as brains.”
“True, true,” said Gabe reflectively. “But still, why are you calling? It’s natural to fall in love.”
A snort escaped me once more. “Love? Who said anything about love?”
There was silence for a moment before my friend spoke truth to power. “You, my man. That’s all I’ve heard on this phone call. You’re in love,” he said simply.
Oh shit. Gabe was right. I hadn’t wanted to admit it, least of all to myself, but he’d seen straight through to the heart of the matter. I was in love with Mia Smith, head over heels, off the reservation, and I had no idea what to do about it.
“So?” I asked, voice rising with urgency. “What next?”
“What do you mean, what next?” said Gabe patiently. “All the regular things, what else? Dates, taking her on vacations, helping her with whatever she needs. Who’s the lucky girl by the way?”
“Her name is Mia,” I said. And as the name left my lips, I knew everything Gabe had said was true. I was in love, and my girl’s name on my lips was like a prayer to the gods.
Oh shit, oh shit, how had this happened? I was a powerful titan without a care in the world. And yet somehow, this sweet brunette had turned my world upside down both personally and professionally. I wanted to make Mia’s life sweet, to give her everything she wanted. I wanted to spend the rest of my days making her cry out with ecstasy.
This forever stuff was real.
Holy shit.
And after hanging up with Gabe, my head spun. How to show Mia how much I cared? There had to be a way. With endless resources, anything was possible.
Suddenly, my mind spun naturally to jewelry. Wasn’t that what every female wanted? Like a crazed man, my fingers tapped on the keyboard, rushing to the websites of Tiffany, Cartier, and Van Cleef and Arpels. There had to be something suitable for my stunning brunette.
But amazingly, those stores were pretty boring with variations of the same stuff. So I went bold and started looking up estate auctions. Holy shit. There was one going on tomorrow with dozens of fancy pieces, but one item in particular caught my eye. It was a marvelous emerald and diamond necklace made by Harry Winston, designed for a princess a century ago. Imagining Mia draped in jewels, the robin’s egg emerald pendant nestled between those full breasts was just right.
I called my stylist, Perry, for help.
“Perry,” I said. He was a concierge for rich people, procuring anything they asked for. It paid to roll in dough because you could buy anyone or anything.
“Mr. Wainwright, hello!” he said. “How can I help you?”
“Perry, question: I’m interested in a necklace going up for auction soon. Can you handle that for me?”
Perry’s voice perked up. “Of course, sir. You know that jewelry is my specialty.”
I didn’t, but it figured since Perry himself often wore pinky rings on both pinkies.
“Great, I’ll send over the details. Do whatever it takes to get it, okay?”
He paused for a moment, the phone line almost quivering.
“Do you mean no limits, sir? There’s no limit to how much I can bid?”
“That’s right,” I said. “Like I said, whatever it takes.”
Perry almost squealed then, the whine like nails on chalkboard.
“Oooh, I’m so excited. Yes, sir! Can’t wait!”
But before he could go on, I cut him off. “And while you’re buying the necklace, see if there’s something else that matches. You know, like a ring or earrings or something.”
The personal shopper’s voice fell to a near-hush. “You mean like a set?”
“Exactly like I set,” I growled, voice rough. “Plus pick a dress for the lady, something formal and long, and a suit for me. I’ll send over the sizes.”
“Of course sir,” the other man said obsequiously. “More than happy to.”
And with that, I hung up. This was probably going to be the highlight of Perry’s career, and yet all I could think about was that gorgeous emerald nestled between Mia’s breasts. That, and ripping the brand-new dress off her curvy body. My dick hardened, my balls on fire. Hell yeah, it was going to be good.
Because suddenly, everything was clear. I was in love with the gorgeous Mia Smith and nothing was too good for my best girl.