Three weeks later
Apollo was sitting in his favorite spot, underneath his laurel tree, next to his hyacinth bush, slowly strumming his lyre. It was the middle of the afternoon, the sun was slowly making its descent, but the weather was still warm enough to enjoy being outside.
Titus and Cassius were poring over a laptop on the kitchen table, planning out an itinerary for a trip that Titus wanted to take them on the following week. While Apollo had always been the type to just go where the wind took him, he appreciated that Titus preferred to have a more detailed itinerary. And Cassius was having a lot of fun, learning about all the different places that they could go.
Not wanting to interfere, Apollo had said he just needed some quiet time outside. He could sense something was coming, and he’d prefer to have his conversation with his sister away from Titus and Cassius, if possible. He hadn’t been sitting for very long before Artemis appeared.
She was in her business garb, having clearly been at the office. She didn’t look happy. In fact, she looked decidedly frustrated. “Apollo, why haven’t you been back to the office?” She looked around and wrinkled her nose. “Why are you just slumming it out here?”
“I’m not slumming it, I’m in my backyard, as you well know. And I applied for extended leave. Didn’t you get the email?” Apollo had gotten a copy of it the day it was sent.
“Yes, but when you said extended leave, I thought you meant about a week. How long do you need to cement a mating bond, anyway?”
“Our bond is well and truly cemented, thank you very much. Now, I’m spending time with my family.” Apollo smiled as he plucked a couple of strings on his lyre.
“Family? Apollo, I know you live with your head in the clouds most of the time, but a mate does not a family make.” Artemis’s mouth dropped open. “Please tell me you’re not pregnant.”
Apollo chuckled. “Not yet.”
“Titus? Are you telling me that you and he…” Artemis couldn’t even say it. “Tell me he’s not pregnant.”
“He’s not pregnant.” Apollo looked up. “But we do have a son, Cassius. He’s ten and he’s just adorable.”
“You have a son.” To Apollo’s shock, Artemis folded herself, so she was sitting on the ground. She’d get grass stains on her pantsuit. “Apollo, what are you doing? Weren’t all the kids you had in the early times enough for you?”
“I didn’t raise them.” Apollo laughed. “Cassius is a special case, and he’s very important to me and Titus. It truly doesn’t concern you. I’m on leave, remember.”
“But why?” Artemis seemed almost petulant, and it was so out of character, Apollo wondered if there was something seriously wrong with his sister. “I need you back in the office.”
“Why? Artemis, I never did anything beyond signing a few letters. That was it. You could get an auto pen to do that if you needed my signature. Why would I spend time in a box when I can be here?”
“How can we be a business power couple if you’re not there?”
It was clearly a day for shocks. “Power couple? Artemis, we’re brother and sister. You run the business, not me. What do you mean by power couple?”
“You see them in society news all the time.” Artemis seemed dismissive, but Apollo could sense this was something she wanted badly. “A power couple command respect, they are invited to different occasions, and are looked at as mentors in their field of business.”
“Then why did you want me as the other half of that power couple? I don’t have any business knowledge at all. Besides, aren’t those situations usually a husband and wife?”
“Who cares as long as the couple looks good together?” Artemis brushed his words away – that was more typical Artemis behavior. “I refuse to have a relationship with someone just to look good in a photograph. That would be pathetic.” She sighed. “Nothing is working the way I thought it would. All I wanted was to be seen as a successful businessperson.”
“Successful to whom?” Apollo didn’t understand that, although Artemis had mentioned that before. “Success looks different to everyone, so who are you trying to impress?”
“No one!” Artemis bristled, something she always did if someone challenged her way of thinking. “Look, I have to do something, so why can’t I be successful doing it?”
“I agree.” Apollo knew Artemis was a savvy woman who could definitely handle most things in life…except sexy wolf shifters,he thought with a smirk he kept to himself. “You could be successful doing anything at all. What I don’t understand is why you need me to do it with you.”
“I thought you’d be supportive.”
Apollo knew bullshit when he heard it. But that was fine. He could wait. Although he could feel Titus was thinking about coming to find him.
“You’ve got a nice place here,” Artemis said at last. “Much nicer than an office.”
Apollo nodded.
“It’s not easy navigating life on this realm,” Artemis said, and then it was as if all her thoughts came out at once. “I don’t understand so much, and while I’m trying to learn, it seems that every time I try to network or do all the things these books I read tell me I have to do, I’m not respected because I’m a woman alone. People either assume I’m looking for a husband, or an affair, or something equally sordid, or they ignore me completely.”
“So don’t network. Do something online instead. Become a reclusive philanthropist.”
