Coda Careers Novels & Stories

When the past collides with the present, the heart can't be ignored. Darla thought her arranged marriage to the billionaire, and magnetic Elijah Houston was behind her. After all, what were forgotten vows and buried feelings in the face of new beginnings? But returning to Atlanta as his business partner, she discovers that some flames refuse to die out. Elijah is relentless in his pursuit of Darla, but as the stakes rise, their rekindled feelings threaten not just their careers but the very people they hold dear. Torn between ambition and affection, they face a heart-wrenching dilemma: choose each other and risk hurting others, or protect their loved ones and shatter their own hearts once more. Join a journey of second chances, heartache, and the fierce power of love that proves sometimes, letting go can be just as hard as holding on. Will they find their way back to happiness, or will the weight of their decisions tear them apart for good? *** "Are you going to say it?" "Fuck you!" I snapped. "You left and abandoned me when I was pregnant with your kids! How dare you think that you can come back into my life, and I'll just forgive you as if you didn't leave me to be with another woman?! You're a motherfucking cunt, Mr. Houston!" "I know that I lied, cheated, and divorced you on claims that Abigail was pregnant! I know that I was an asshole who doesn't deserve sympathy from you, but I love you!" He sighed. "I love you with all my heart, and nothing makes sense to me more than you." He breathed. "You're the only thing that wakes me up at night. Day and night, you're the only thing that I think about."

Adrian Chen is the golden standard of the marketing world—brilliant, commanding, and emotionally impenetrable. At thirty-two, he's built an empire on control: controlling projects, controlling people, controlling himself. He's never been vulnerable with anyone, and he's never had to be. Eli Reeves is twenty-seven, underestimated, and fighting twice as hard as everyone else to earn respect in an industry that dismissed him the moment he walked in. He's competent, passionate, and invisible to anyone important—until Adrian's firm brings him in as the fresh voice on a multi-million-dollar campaign. Adrian resents him immediately. Eli's creativity clashes with Adrian's rigid strategy. Eli's openness threatens Adrian's carefully constructed emotional distance. And the physical pull Adrian feels toward him is absolutely unacceptable. But forced proximity becomes forced honesty. Arguments become negotiations. Dismissals become defense mechanisms. And when Adrian finally kisses Eli after weeks of suppressed tension, neither of them can pretend anymore. What begins as dangerous attraction becomes something more: Eli's discovery that submitting to Adrian (both in the bedroom and emotionally) is empowering, not diminishing. Adrian's terrifying realization that loving Eli requires surrendering the control he's built his entire identity around. Their secret relationship deepens through escalating intimacy and escalating risk. But when someone in the firm begins sabotaging them—threatening to expose their relationship and destroy Adrian's reputation—they face an impossible choice: separate to protect their careers, or fight together and risk everything they've built. In a relationship where dominance and submission define their passion, Adrian and Eli must learn that true power lies not in control, but in trust. That surrender, when chosen, is the bravest form of strength. And that love worth fighting for is worth burning for.