Edward’s knuckles were white as he gripped the file folder, the weight of its contents pressing down on him. He had spent days hunched over dusty ledgers, blurry surveillance footage, and cryptic emails which had eventually painted a picture, a dark canvas splattered with the names of the some of the elite of the city, The Big Tree they called themselves. The very organization That Thor had seen among the box in his grandfather’s home which had held some of the momentos of his parents lives. He had not known what to expect but surely not this, its tendrils weaving through business deals gone sour, livelihoods shattered, and in Bill's case, lives stolen.Thor sat across from him, eyes expectant and afraid of what the thick folder held. It had been weeks since Edward had gone on this fact finding mission and he had been worried about him but Edward was a capable man and he had proved that by coming back not just unharmed but with the fruits of his labor. The fire crackled in the hearth
The metallic hum of servers echoed through the sterile data center, a symphony of digital activity composing the lifeblood of Titan Industries. Thor himself, a titan of the tech world, surveyed the blinking LEDs and whirring fans with a proprietary gaze. His brow, usually a sculpted stoicism, furrowed with a gnawing unease. The morning had begun with a tremor, a subtle glitch in their financial software that left a bitter taste on his tongue. It was a whisper, a canary in the coal mine, and Thor's instincts, honed by years of navigating the treacherous terrain of the technological jungle, shrieked a warning.He strode towards his Chief Technology Officer, Anya, a whirlwind of purple hair and steely resolve. "Glitches, Anya? In our system? That's like finding an errant brush stroke in the Mona Lisa."Anya, ever the calm counterpoint to Thor's tempestuous nature, pursed her lips. "It is just a hiccup, Thor. We're running diagnostics."Hiccup? Thor snorted. This felt more like a full-bl
“I am sure it is perfect!” Garnet squeaked and ran out of his office before he could insist.The thought of being in that room with all those toys made her skin tingle. Ever since that night she found herself getting lost in her fantasies about Thor and even though he never tried to share the bed with her she realized that she craved his touch and it embarrassed her.She just could not understand how he was acting calm in the face of the destruction being wrought on his company. Titan Industries was the trending topic everyone.*The polished mahogany doors of the auction house loomed before Garnet as she paced through the hallway. A tremor of unease ran down her spine, recently she had thought that she and Thor were getting better in their relationship but he suddenly seemed to withdraw from her without any cause. He had been the one to inform her that they would be attending this auction for the Cheryl Buck Charity and now he was the one running late. She hated to be alone at these
All through the night Andrea tossed on her bed restlessly, she could not believe that Thor was still resisting her, it could not be because of that wench Garnet.She wondered why Garnet was still around him. She had made sure that the Nerd had tied up both Garnet and Bill so that if Thor tried to look for the people responsible for the virus it would be them but so far it had been mum and the virus had been eliminated quite quickly too. What a waste. As the first hints of dawn painted the horizon, Andrea knew what she had to do. Thor deserved to hear this proposal unfiltered, unadulterated by the hesitation a phone call might breed. He deserved to see the fire in her eyes as she spoke, the unwavering belief in their shared vision. Armed with a killer presentation and a dress that spoke volumes in a power suit so that he could see that she was his equal, Andrea set off for Thor’s office, heart pounding a rhythm only the thrill of the unknown could conjure.Andrea, impeccably dressed in
Crimson heels clicked a staccato rhythm against the polished marble floor, each clack resonating in the cavernous silence of Garnet's office. Andrea, a vision of predatory elegance in her custom made charcoal suit, glided through the mahogany doors with the confidence of a panther entering its domain. Garnet, perched behind her expansive desk, watched the entrance with a glacial stillness, her emerald eyes unreadable."Garnet," Andrea drawled, her voice dripping with honeyed malice, "Always a pleasure to find you amidst such… opulence." She gestured around the opulent office, adorned with priceless art and antique furniture. "Thor certainly has exquisite taste."“So I get a visit too.” Garnet answered her sarcastically, her smile a flicker of cold fire. "And you, Andrea, have exquisite timing. However I was not expecting… guests."Unbothered by the dismissal in Garnet’s voice, Andrea took a seat opposite her, her smile widening. "Imagine my surprise when I brought my proposition to Tho
When he summoned Garnet and was informed by the secretary that she had left without telling anyone Thor had been surprised. Had his ice cold queen been angered by Andrea’s appearance in the office? Feeling angry with her he stormed out of the tower, anger and churning in his gut. Garnet's abrupt departure, her silent withdrawal, felt like a punch to the solar plexus. The unexpected meeting with Andrea was a distant haze now, drowned by the sting of Garnet's absence. He did not need the keen ears of a God to hear the unspoken accusation in her silence: a confirmation of Andrea’s plan, a betrayal that Garnet could not bear.The cityscape blurred past as he order Sean to drive fast, the honking sounds of motorists morphing into a cacophony of discontent that rivaled the one in his head. Home, an oasis of familiarity and solace, lay ahead. Yet, the thought of stepping into that haven with Garnet probably hurt by what she had seen twisted his heart like a blacksmith's tongs. Each passing s
“Do you want to ride to the office along with me today?” Thor asked. Ever since he suggested they go on a honeymoon the tension between them had become a palpable thing that filled their senses.He had purposefully stayed away from her and not graced their bedroom with their presence, instead sleeping in the guest room which had disappointed Garnet. He wanted to wait until they were far away in a place that did not have any of their painful memories to make new ones.“I will not be going to the office today.” She said and blushed as she looked up at his intense gaze. “Maya is visiting and I want to spend time with her before we go on our trip.Maya was briefly back in town again and she wanted to catch up. Garnet felt guilty for having left her in the club the way she had so she promised that they could go out and eat, her treat.She got dressed in a little lilac sundress and she looked at herself in the mirror she bemoaned the lack of her tan, she looked white and pasty. Thor had been
Maya's scream hitched in her throat, strangled by a fist of ice that squeezed her heart tight. She watched in horrified slow motion as the rusty minivan swerved onto the main road, Garnet's startled face pressed against the grimy back window. One desperate lunge, but her fingers grazed only air as the van sped away, swallowing Garnet whole.Panic, raw and primal, ripped through Maya. The world dissolved into a blur of honking horns and screeching tires as she bolted after the van, feet pounding the asphalt. Adrenaline surged, masking the sting of scraped knees and the ache in her lungs. Logic fled, replaced by the instinctual need to reach Garnet, to pull her back from the abyss that had just yawned open in front of them.The van, a hulking beast on the road, weaved through traffic with reckless abandon. Maya, fueled by desperation, wove after it, a lone runner trying to defy the metal tide. Cars honked, swerved, showered her with angry shouts, but her gaze remained fixed on the van,