Novels by akeevyns

Rielle’s POVIt’s been days since I’ve been putting up the professional act with Zayden.And it’s killing me.Every time I walk into his office with files, pretending nothing’s wrong, pretending my heart doesn’t twist when our eyes meet — it feels like I’m slowly losing a piece of myself.He’s different now. Colder. Not the man who made pancakes and smiled at me like I was the only thing that mattered. No. This version of him barely looks up from his laptop, his tone clipped and formal.Maybe that’s what I deserve.My life has been going in circles — work, silence, sleepless nights.And then there’s Dante.God, Dante.He’s been trying to make advances on me again, sending message after message. “I miss you.” “We were good together.” “Let’s talk.”The audacity.A part of me — a small, foolish part — thought about replying.Not because I missed him. I didn’t. But maybe because I wanted to feel like I mattered to someone.Maybe because some stupid, wounded part of me wanted to get a reac

Zayden’s POVThe next morning, the office felt colder than usual.Or maybe it was just her.Rielle sat at her desk, posture straight, eyes glued to the computer screen. Normally, she’d greet me with that small, unguarded smile — the one that always softened the start of my day. But this time, she didn’t even look up when I walked in.“Morning,” I said, setting my briefcase down.“Good morning, sir,” she replied, voice polite. Distant.Sir.That was new. Or maybe it wasn’t — maybe I’d just gotten too used to hearing my name in her softer tone, the one that felt less like formality and more like something else.I stood there for a moment, waiting for her to say something else, but she didn’t. Just kept typing, fingers moving quickly, like the keys were an escape.“Rielle,” I said finally.She paused, but didn’t look up. “Yes?”“About yesterday—”“There’s nothing to talk about,” she cut in quietly. “You don’t owe me an explanation, Mr. Wolfe.”Mr. Wolfe.The title landed heavier than it

Rielle’s POVZayden exhaled and stepped closer, his voice gentling.“Rielle,” he said, “I have to talk to her. It’s urgent — about my parents. But I promise I’ll be right back. Just… wait for me, okay? I’ll explain everything.”Something in his tone made it hard to say no. He sounded sincere — almost desperate to make me understand.So I just nodded, even though a small, uneasy ache had already begun forming in my chest.“Okay,” I said quietly.He gave a small, grateful smile — the kind that always seemed to undo me — and then he turned, walking out of the kitchen toward the study where Linda waited.And I waited too.At first, I told myself it would only be a few minutes. Maybe ten. Fifteen at most. I poured myself another cup of coffee, stared out the window, and tried to ignore how empty the house suddenly felt without his presence.But minutes turned into nearly an hour.The coffee grew cold. The silence stretched. I kept glancing toward the hallway, half expecting to hear footste

“Are you still fucking your boss?” Eslie asked casually, but her smirk gave away just how much she was dying to get a reaction.I almost dropped my fork. “Girl, stop!” I hissed, eyes darting around the café as though the whole world had just heard her.She leaned across the table, chin resting on her palm, her smile stretching wider. “Oh, don’t ‘girl, stop’ me. You can’t just waltz in here, all glowy skin and messy hair, and expect me not to notice. You’ve got that… ‘I was absolutely wrecked last night’ look.”My face burned, and I shoved a fry in my mouth to keep from answering.“What?” she pressed, tilting her head, her grin turning wicked. “It’s not everyday people get back shots from a freaking CEO.”My hand shot out, smacking her arm. “ESLIE!”She laughed so loudly half the café turned to look. My stomach twisted in secondhand embarrassment, but she was too far gone to care.Then, stupidly, under my breath, I mumbled, “It isn’t?”Her laughter cut off like a record scratch. Her ey

Rielle.I had accepted where I stood with Zayden.Sex partners. That was it.We were just fulfilling each other’s needs, using one another like lifelines we didn’t even want to admit we needed. No hard feelings. No feelings at all, actually. At least that’s what I kept telling myself.But the stares at the office said otherwise. The whispers. The way people’s eyes would linger on me when I walked in, when I came out of his office looking a little too flushed, a little too undone. They knew. They all knew.Zayden’s little sex toy.It stung, sometimes more than I cared to admit. Some days I wore the title like armor, pretending I didn’t care. Other days it burned so deep I wanted to claw out of my own skin. Was this really all I had been reduced to? Just a body to take the edge off for a man who would never give me more?I shook the thought off and forced myself to focus on the report glowing on my screen. My fingers tapped away at the keys, the rhythm mechanical, until a voice broke th

Zayden’s POV “So,” Dante said smoothly, “we’re agreed on the initial terms but the question is whether you’re willing to cede that much equity, mergers like this work best when there’s mutual trust.” My jaw clenched, mutual trust? He had better be joking. The audacity almost made me laugh but I remained calm, I had learnt to control my emotions over time. I pressed my fingers together and steadied my voice “Trust is an expensive currency Dante, It’s slow to build and very easy to lose. Everyone should understand that.” His eyes flickered, good to know that he hadn’t forgotten because I sure as hell haven’t. He smirked, let the guilt rot him from the inside even while I smiled like nothing was wrong. He would get what was coming slowly, the fact that he had layed a hand on Rielle made my blood boil more I kept my voice low. “Equity is negotiable but don’t mistake my willingness to merge for weakness.” He chuckled, though it sounded forced. “I wouldn’t dare.” Liar pants on fire.