▪️Ace▪️ “Don’t you have to eat?” Ace didn’t want to be alone. With the wedding over, the last place he wanted to be was with his parents, having to rehash the afternoon. They’d begun to nag him about his personal life, and he’d be forced to sit and listen before escaping to his bedroom. Liam and Olivia place had been a much-needed haven where he enjoyed hanging out, but that lifeline had been cut off. He hadn’t thought to ask them to stay at their place while they were away, which he now regretted. If he didn’t find something soon, he’d need to call them about it. Emily finished locking the doors. “I usually order sushi and prepare for Monday morning’s group meeting.” “I was going to have sushi. How about we eat together?” Emily pushed the elevator button and didn’t speak until they were on their way down. “Look. I don’t know what’s going on in your mind, but I’m not interested in a repeat of what happened between us. Whether you like the word or not, it

▪️ Emily ▪️ A faint smile rested on his lips. “Supremely confident” and “arrogant as hell” were the words most coworkers used to describe Simone, and while Emily agreed, she also had to admit the man was a damn hard worker. Simone made it a point to become personally familiar with the clients in a way Emily never could, which made for a good working relationship between them. It was why Emily chose him as her second. Jude let Simone lead when it came to personal interactions, while he handled the numbers end. Pretending nonchalance, Emily raised a brow. “Oh? What did you hear?” “Aside from the food being delicious, somehow Liam's brother ended up with a job here? How’d he manage that? I thought he was a fuckup, a party boy.” Emily winced at the harsh words. “First of all, he’s a man, not a boy—he’s around your age. And I wouldn’t say he’s a fuckup. After working at a luxury resort, he became Taylor Croft's personal assistant. I’m sure you’ve heard of he

“Nice to meet you. Is your opinion of his physical attributes based on personal or professional knowledge?” Ace asked archly. “Both. Come to my office, and I’ll clue you in.” Susan placed a hand on his shoulder. “I have to check and see if Emily needs me.” Ace had no intention of getting caught gossiping about coworkers, and when he noticed Emily watching him from across the room, his face growing hard, Ace gave Susan an apologetic smile. “I can’t right now. We can talk later.” “No problem. We can have dinner if you want. Have a chance to get to know each other.” Susan came on strong and fast, and Ace debated accepting the invitation, but then decided, why the hell not? His friends from high school and college had all moved away or had families of their own. He had no plans other than to sit and stare at the lookbook and avoid his parents’ questions. Dinner with a good-looking woman who was also a coworker certainly sounded better than that.

▪️ Emily ▪️ Ruth, about to take a sip, halted with her drink in midair and peered at her through her glasses. “Stop BS-ing me. You’re too young to sit home every night. Unless you want to join me and the girls for sewing night again.” She hooted with laughter and slapped the table with her hand. One time Emily got stuck late at the office, and when she arrived with groceries, she found herself caught by Ruth's crew. Five sets of interested eyes gleamed as they surrounded her like a capturing army homing in on their prey and interrogated her about her personal life. Emily only escaped after promising to take the numbers of Vera's great-nephew and Della’s grandson, but she drew the line at Lola's hairdresser. Se’d never called any of the men. “God help me,” Emily muttered and finished her Scotch. Gazing longingly at the bottle, she decided to hell with it and poured another, albeit more judicious, glass. “This is New York City. The mecca fo

▪️Ace▪️ “Bonjour,” Ace answered. “Comment allez-vous?” “Yeah, yeah, same to you. How’s it going with Emily? You aren’t calling to ask me to come home and bail you out of jail because you killed her, are you?” Liam snickered, and he heard Olivia yelling in the background, “Not funny.” Ace scowled, wishing they were on video so he could give him the finger. “Aren’t you the comedian? No, idiot. I’m working with her and Simon on the Mojo account, and between Simone being a son of a bitch and resenting me, and Emily poking me at every turn, it’s been hard.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t have a friendly face or someone on my side.” “Emily's not against you, Ace. He doesn’t want you to fail, simply because if you do, then so does The Company. And Simone can teach you everything you’ll need to know. He can be arrogant, but don’t let that get to you.” “Great. That’s inspiring. Not. How’s Olivia?” Talking about Emily depressed him, and Ace