Our Broken Pieces

Chapter 30

Gage~

I was pacing my office like a caged lion, salivating at the mouth to escape.

Last night had been everything that the past ten fucking years should have been, and after Mystic had explained her concerns for safety, I'd made it clear to her that I'd never fucked a woman without a condom-save for her-ever. I also had annual wellness checks, and short of not having a soul, I was healthy. Plus, as much as I had hated to address it, she had clarified that she had also practiced safe sex in the past. After that, she'd had no more objections, and nothing had been off limits. Granted, nothing ever had been in the first place where we were concerned, but she'd been more receptive after the talk.

Mystic had also assured me that she was on birth control, but I hadn't cared about that. I'd love to knock her the fuck up, so that she'd be tied to me forever. At this point, I didn't care if it was by choice or not. I knew that there was no way that I was ever going to let Mystic go again.

At any rate, we'd only slept for a handful of hours, but she'd been adamant about kicking me out this morning, so that she could go to work. I'd immediately begun to argue, but she had killed my argument when she'd pointed out that Lorcan already had a horrible opinion of her, both personal and professional. She didn't need to give him more of a reason to think that she was a horrible person by having to explain that she was calling in sick to work because she had been fucked all night long by his best friend.

She'd had a point.

She'd had a point, so I had relented, letting her know that we still had a lot more to talk about, and that I'd be at her house this evening after work. This thing between us was just beginning, and a lot of shit was going to be reevaluated. Speaking of...

I walked over to my desk, then called one of my project finance managers, and he answered on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Marlon, I need you to appoint someone to work with Cavanaugh Industries on Lawrence Darwin's battery project." Marlon Daphne was one of my top department managers, and he'd been with Stymic for many years, so I trusted him to do his job and do it well.

"I thought you had doubts about picking up that project?"

"I did," I replied. "I still do. But Cavanaugh Industries was mentioned in the potential architectural phase of the project, so I'm looking into it. I want someone who knows their shit to team up with a representative at CI. Once their project presentation is completed, both SFH and CI will decide whether to move forward or reject the proposal."

"No problem," he replied easily. "Who is the contact at CI?"

The caveman in me wanted to tell him my girlfriend, Mystic Anderson, but I knew that I couldn't. I needed the best that we had to not treat her with kid gloves but as an equal. The Darwin Project could cost me and Lorcan millions if we invested in it, and it wasn't feasible. So, both Mystic and whoever Marlon assigned to the project needed to bring their A-game.

"Mystic Anderson." Choosing professionalism, I simply went with her name. However, it felt...wrong to say her name in the same context as I would any random person.

"Mystic Anderson," he repeated. "Okay, I can see who's available and let you know."

Because I couldn't help myself..."I want a copy of the preliminaries and updates on each phase as they come in."

Marlon had gone quiet, and I knew why. I never bothered with preliminary phases of any project. That's what I had department managers for. That's why I employed thousands of people. Plus, while Lawrence Darwin's battery could be revolutionary, it still didn't need my personal touch. Not at this point, anyway.