“I make no promises.”
27
WARREN
Kira’s face–though still softened at the edges from sleep–is pulled tight into sharp anticipation. Everything in me is screaming at my past self for putting off this conversation for so long, but it’s too late now. She told me she loves me, and hopefully she still will after I say what I need to say.
I worry my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to figure if I should start with the gift deed to her company or with the contraband I found yesterday morning in the wall of my office. The contents of the wall have the potential to take the edge off her impending anger, so I start with Spin Sync.
“I should have done this a long time ago,” I start, reaching for my tablet that’s laying on the coffee table and unlocking it. “I had a lot of stupid reasons for putting this off, the stupidest of which being that I was afraid I’d only make you angry. But I can handle it.” Iswipe through the icons, finding the document tab and pulling up the contract. I hand the tablet to Kira, and she looks down at it, puzzled.
“What is this, Ren?”
“It’s a gift deed. A business transfer agreement. Darling, it’s Spin Sync. I’m giving it to you. No, I’m not giving it to you. I’m returning your stolen property. Spin Sync was never mine to buy. It was never Jonathan’s to take from you. You are the beating heart of that place. Anyone who knows you can see it. You can take this to your lawyers, have them look it all over if you want. But Spin Sync is yours, free and clear. I’m going to step down as CEO, too. You’re the only person who should be in charge of the kingdom you built. If you’d like to keep me on in some capacity, maybe in the tech sector with James, I would be thrilled. All you need to do is sign, darling, and the rest is up to you.”
Kira’s following silence is deafening. I watch as she works her jaw back and forth as she stares down at the screen in her hands. I can see her chewing on the inside of her cheek. I can feel the gears in her beautiful brain grinding as she takes in everything I’ve said. I fight the urge to say more, to utter reassurances and beg for her forgiveness.
Each moment that passes feels like a lifetime.
“It’s mine.” Not a question. Not an ounce of confusion lacing her tone.
“It’s yours, Kira. It was always supposed to be yours.”
Her eyes stay glued to the screen, and I try desperately to read her emotions. She’s a blank slate, giving me nothing to go off. I swallow down my anxiety, the worry that I’ve done this the wrong way and fucked everything up.
When she finally looks up, her grey eyes are dark at the edges, swirls of cobalt decorating her irises.
“Why…why did you think this would make me mad?” Kira asks. The vulnerability in her voice nearly brings me to my knees.
“So many reasons, but mostly because I should have done it sooner. I should have handed over the keys the very first time you called me a stupid British twat-waffle. But also, because I thought you might be offended. I know you’d intended to purchase the company from Jonathan, and I didn’t want you to think that my giving it to you was some sort of power move to have something to hold over your head. I, uh. I even have another contract drafted, one that states that you’d get Spin Sync in exchange for twenty-five percent of what I paid.”
I rub a hand over the back of my neck as Kira stares at me like I’ve grown three heads. When she shifts, I think she might be about to hit me over the head with the tablet and I brace myself. But she simply tosses it to the floor beside us.
“Are you out of your fucking mind? You’re a gazillionaire, Ren. I’m not paying you a dime. You can take that stupid contract and burn it. I’ll be signing Kira’sversion, the one where I get my company, and you get nada.”
A smile takes over my face as pride swells in my chest. That’s my fucking girl.
“You’re right, love. And Kira’s version is the only real contract. The other one is a dummy, it’s not legally binding. I only had it drafted to assuage your ego in case you got a bit prideful,” I tease, reaching out to run a finger over her cheek. Her eyes flutter close, and she hums under her breath.
“Spin Sync is mine. It’s really mine,” she whispers softly, like she’s telling herself and not me.
“It’s yours, love. Just sign the contract and it will be official. And by the way, I don’t get nada out of this deal. I get you, and that’s the only thing I ever wanted.”
Kira leans in and I meet her halfway, capturing her lips in mine. She tastes like candy and sunshine, and I can’t help the whimper that escapes my throat at the feel of her. She pulls away, pressing her forehead to mine.
“There are only two things that could make this moment any better. If my dads and Tía would get the fuck out of my house so I could sit on your face–”
A laugh bursts from my chest, and I kiss her sweet lips again, feeling her smile against me. I’m so in love with her. My ridiculous, precious, horny girl.
“Soon enough, little pest. When I finally get you alone, you can spend the night smothering me with your pretty cunt. What’s the second thing? Maybe I canget started on that while we wait for your family to go.”
“The second thing,” she sighs, “is that I wish there was some way that Jonathan got fucked over, too. After everything he put me through, those awful things he said about me, I hate that he gets to walk around scot-free. But I don’t think there’s anything you can do about that.”
“Actually,” I say, feeling a wicked grin spread across my face as I remember the hole in my office wall. I reach for my work bag where it rests next to the couch, rifling through it until I find a worn, yellow journal with lemons on the spine. “I think there is something I can do about it.”
Kira’s shocked gasp is loud enough to wake the dead.
“Holy fucking shit. Is that my journal?” she asks, swiping the book from my hands and opening it to the first page.