Page 51 of Titus

Madrid ・New York ・Dubai ・Newport Beach

I glanced up at Dani, who was likely waiting for my reaction to Titus’s offer to pay me three times my usual fee for these events.

I smiled at her. “Well, let’s see if I can fit Mr. Hawk into my schedule. It seems the man already believes I’m formally retained by him and his company for this.”

“You would turn him down if you were already booked?” she asked with wide eyes.

“I would and I will,” I answered her directly. “Thank you for this. Forward me the email, and I’ll respond—” My cell phone buzzing on my desk interrupted me while I was finishing my sentence. “You handle that, and just let me know whether we’ll be moving forward with Mr. Hawk as a client.”

“I will,” I forced a smile after seeing that it was Titus calling me.

“Ms. Veléz,” he said when I slid the phone to answer, “I trust you received my contract?”

“I should give you credit for being some form of a psychic because I was just about to respond to it,” I said with a soft laugh.

“I wouldn’t say psychic,” he responded, his voice lighter than I’d ever heard. “More like precise.”

“Well, if you’re precise, Mr. Hawk⁠—”

“Titus,” he interrupted, voice still light and friendly.

“Titus,” I repeated. “Then why are you sending over a proposal that’s riddled with mystery and NDAs to be signed, yet no exact date for when this event will take place?”

“So you’d answer your cell when I called.”

I held back the sigh that threatened to escape. “Well, now that you have me on the phone, before I will consider this, I need a date to see if I’m available.”

“I imagine that, whether or not someone has booked you for the weekend, I will need your services for this. My offer of three times your usual fee and the service fee should easily confirm your willingness to be employed for the event.”

“You are a very bold man, sir,” I replied, well aware that he would be paying me eight hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars to work this exclusive event.

“I don’t sit in the chair I’m in now as someone not known for boldness, Ms. Veléz.”

“I need the dates for this,” I said, staying focused.

“Next weekend,” his tone was now more direct, the Titus authority everyone who knew him was accustomed to.

“I already have an event with another client next weekend,” I said. “I’m sorry. Your offer was quite generous, but⁠—”

“I will quadruple the offer, and I’m sure your current client can easily find another coordinator.”

“Why is it, Mr. Hawk, that men like you think you can wave dollar signs at people and expect us to bend to your will?” I questioned him with the same authority he used on me.

“Because everyone in our line of work answers to dollar signs,” he said, practically mocking the word I’d just used against him.

“Well, it appears you’ve met the first person in your line of work who doesn’t.”

“So, you’re telling me you’re turning down this proposal for work for what? It’s obviously not money?”

“Not everything is about money,” I said, finding myself in a bizarre pissing match with the man who seemed to grow more frustrated each time I answered him.

“Then, is this about me?”

I almost laughed out loud. “No, Titus, it might be an unpopular opinion of yours, but not everything is about you.”

His laugh in response was either one of disgust or shock. “Is this because I didn’t hire you as my exclusive event architect?”

“No,” I answered simply. “It’s because I didn’t build my business and brand by dropping clients who depend on me just because someone else offered me more money for their event. That’s not how business operates… not mine, anyway.”