“You bought this?”
“I did.” He smiled showing that dimple.
“How did you even know I’d like it?” I countered with a smile of my own.
“I had about four and a half million reasons to be confident,” he stated.
Laughing at his response, I stepped into his arms.
His hands settled against my waist while mine wrapped around him. For a while, neither one of us said much. There wasn’t really anything left to say. I stood there listening to the steady beat of his heart while the reality of everything slowly settled around me.
For so long I’d been focused on planning my life that I never considered how quickly it could change.
Titan tipped my chin up and kissed me softly. When he pulled back, his forehead rested against mine.
“You happy?”
“I am,” I answered with no hesitation because I had none.
“Me too, Tink.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Titan
By the time I arrived at Kinetiq’s headquarters, most of the people attending the meeting were already there.
Grid Iron was finally ready.
For the better part of the year, the project had only lived in conversations, meetings, product reviews, and marketing presentations. Every few weeks, somebody had another adjustment, another idea, or another reason to sit me in a room and ask for my opinion. Seeing everything finally come together made it feel different… made it feel real, like all the planning had finally turned into something tangible.
The meeting was already underway by the time the conversation shifted toward the final campaign materials. One of the creative directors stood near the screen walking everyone through the assets scheduled for release after the season. As images appeared across the screen, she explained the strategy behind each phase of the campaign, occasionally stopping when somebody at the table wanted clarification or had a question.
“I know we’ve reviewed these individually,” she said, advancing to the next slide, “but this is the first time we’re looking at everything together in its final form.”
The entire room studied the presentation while she continued speaking.
“Our goal from the beginning was to make sure the brand felt larger than sports. We wanted discipline, consistency, preparation, and performance to resonate whether someone played football or not.”
I nodded.
Grid Iron wasn’t something we were building anymore… it was built… my legacy.
Everything wrapped up pretty quickly, and I was glad because I hated this part of the business.
By the time I got home, Tink was upstairs in the nursery. I found her in front of the dresser with baby clothes spread around her like she had opened a boutique in the middle of the room. Some still had tags on them… some were folded… while some looked like they had been sorted into piles. I stood there for a second, watching her move through it all and admiring the woman who was carrying my child.
“You think she got enough clothes by now?” I walked behind her and circled her waist and kissed her neck. “She won’t be able to wear half this shit, Tink.”
“Yes, she will. You’re just being a hater already,” she joked, causing me to laugh.
“Man, watch out. The fuck I’m gone hate for when she’s mine?”
Cadence must’ve noticed I’d gotten quiet because she reached over and took the outfit from my hand, folding it with the rest of the clothes before looking up at me. “You good?”
I nodded, but my eyes stayed on the room. “Yeah… just thinking,” I responded.
“About what?”
