Novels by Ace

He left the room.I heard the door click shut and the quiet sound of his footsteps fading down the hall. The absence of him settled over the bed like a weight. I turned my face into the pillow that still smelled like him and let the alcohol pull me under.Morning arrived slowly.I woke with a dry mouth and a dull throb behind my eyes. The first clear thought that cut through the fog was the memory of my mouth on his. The way he had kissed me back. The way he had looked at me before walking out. I tried to push it aside but the memory refused to leave.Hours slipped past while I stayed in bed, nursing the hangover with water and silence. By early afternoon the worst of it had faded. I sat up, still wearing last night’s clothes, and decided I needed something cleaner.His closet was organized and sparse. I pulled on one of his white shirts, It hung soft and loose on me, the sleeves too long, the hem brushing mid-thigh. The fabric carried the same clean scent I had noticed on him for mon

The investor dinner started exactly on time.Noah sat to my right, just as I had arranged. The table was full of carefully chosen faces, men and women who controlled capital and expected polished answers. Conversation moved through market trends and projected returns. I kept my replies short and precise. Noah spoke only when asked, his tone steady, never overreaching.I felt his eyes on me more than once.Not the usual professional glance, longer and quieter. It unsettled something under my ribs and made it harder to keep my expression neutral. Twice I lost the thread of a sentence and twice I recovered before anyone else noticed. Heat crept up my neck anyway.When the final course was cleared and the last investor stood to leave, I kept my voice even.“Brooks. Stay.”He remained seated while the room emptied. The staff moved around us in practiced silence. Once we were alone I turned to face him fully.“Why were you staring at me like that?”He met my eyes without flinching. “Like wh

I saw him the second I stepped out of the elevator.Noah Brooks stood near the glass wall of the open office, sleeves rolled to his elbows, talking to one of the junior analysts. Dark hair messy from running his hands through it. White shirt that had probably been neat this morning. He laughed at something the analyst said, and the sound carried just far enough to reach me.“Brooks.”My voice cut across the floor. Conversations dipped. A few heads turned. Noah looked up, and when his eyes met mine the easy smile faded into something more careful.I walked toward him without hurry, heels clicking against the polished floor. People moved out of my way. “In my office. Now.”He followed. I left the door open on purpose. Let the floor hear. Let them remember who signed the paychecks. Noah closed it behind him anyway and stood in front of my desk with his hands in his pockets, waiting.I sat, crossed my legs, and looked him over slowly.“You were late to the ten o’clock,” I said.“The cli

The work issue took less than twenty minutes to settle. A bitter colleague had been sending the messages, hoping to create enough doubt to pull Rhys’s attention away from whatever had kept him offline for two days. Rhys handled it quietly and completely. When we stepped back into the hotel lobby I expected to feel only relief.Instead I saw my ex.He stood near the entrance to the lounge with the blonde from the bar, one hand resting on her waist in the same casual way he used to touch me. The moment his eyes found mine the easy smile he had been wearing disappeared. His gaze dropped to Rhys’s hand at the small of my back, then returned to my face. Something tight and bitter settled in his expression.Rhys noticed. “That’s him.”“Yes.”“Do you want to go upstairs?”I watched the man who had left me with soft excuses and then replaced me in under two weeks. The old hurt was still there, but it no longer decided anything for me.“No,” I said. “I want him to watch.”Rhys’s eyes darkene

Chapter 4I spent the afternoon trying not to spiral.I showered. Ordered food I barely ate. Opened my laptop and closed it again. The anonymous message sat in my inbox like a live wire. I almost texted Rhys three separate times and deleted every attempt.At 6:40 the door unlocked.He walked in still wearing the same dark shirt from the morning, sleeves rolled, expression unreadable. The second he saw my face he stopped.“What happened?”I held up the phone. He read the message once, jaw tightening.“Who sent this?”“I don’t know. It came right after you left.”Rhys set the phone down and rubbed a hand over his mouth. “The acquisition is real. My family company is buying a smaller firm. It’s public knowledge if you know where to look. The woman from last month was a colleague. Nothing more.”“Why would someone send me that?”“Because someone wants leverage. Or wants to scare you off.” He stepped closer. “I should have told you my full name last night. That was on me.”Tension thickene

Chapter 3Morning light cut across the bed in thin stripes.I woke first. Rhys was still asleep beside me, one arm heavy across my waist, face turned into the pillow. The sheet had slipped low on his hips. I lay still and listened to his breathing, trying to decide whether last night had been the best mistake of my life or the start of something I was not ready for.My phone buzzed on the nightstand.I reached for it carefully. One new message from my ex.Saw you leave with someone last night. Didn’t take you long.The words landed like a slap. I locked the screen and set the phone face down.Rhys shifted. His arm tightened. “You’re thinking too loud.”“My ex texted.”He opened his eyes. Sleep roughened his voice. “What did he say?”“That it didn’t take me long.”Rhys propped himself on one elbow and looked at me for a long moment. Then he took the phone from my hand, typed something, and handed it back.I read the message he had sent.It took exactly as long as it needed to. Don’t te