Fine Lines Book Novels & Stories

I lead my team to develop a new drug formula that passed its first clinical trial. It becomes the key to the company's IPO. So, the board votes unanimously to award me an additional 5% in shares. But at the celebration party, my shares turn into three hams. I assume it is a prank by my colleagues. But to my surprise, Draco Faraday looks at me with disgust and says, "Don't think I don't know. You used your position as team leader to assign all the experimentation to Avery. Then, you take the credit for the results. This reward should go to her. As for you, you should be satisfied with the ham!" Seeing Avery Blake looking both flattered and overwhelmed, I am rendered speechless. I argue, "Avery is an art major. Does she even understand chemical formulas?" Draco's expression darkens. "Cross-disciplinary expertise is her strength, not a weakness. I won't argue with you this time. If it happens again, I'll fire you!” When I try to defend myself, he snaps, "Starting today, Avery is the team leader. You should get a taste of how it feels to be exploited." I look at him in disbelief for a moment before nodding forcefully with a sneer. "Fine. From now on, I won't assist if the projects run into any issues. Don't regret it." Draco looks at Avery approvingly."The only thing I regret is not making Avery the person in charge sooner."

I make my final phone call to my boyfriend when a murderer is hunting me down. He thinks I'm messing with him and hangs up on me. That destroys the final sliver of hope I have for survival. He's celebrating his childhood friend's birthday when I'm being murdered. Later, as a restorative embalmer, he receives a body to restore. He loses his mind when he restores my shattered skull and realizes the body is mine.

TWO PINK LINES, ONE NIGHT STAND --- Beth Williams knew the rules at Knight Tower: clean, stay invisible, never look the billionaire in the eye. She broke them all at the masquerade gala. One spilled drink on CEO Adrian Knight became a $50,000 dance. One dance became one elevator. One night in a masked stranger’s arms became two pink lines six weeks later. Now Beth is fired, homeless, and pregnant with Adrian’s baby. He doesn’t remember her face from that night, but he remembers the scandal: a cleaner accused of corporate espionage. When she tells him the truth, Adrian voids his engagement to shipping heiress Valeria D’Souza and moves Beth into his penthouse that night. There are no phones. No unlocked doors. No escape. Adrian calls it “protection.” Beth calls it a gilded cage. He’s haunted by his mother’s death in childbirth and believes control keeps people alive. His heir will not grow up poor, endangered, or unloved, even if he has to become a monster to guarantee it. But Valeria brings a knife to Beth’s throat. The board demands a paternity test. And when Beth bleeds at 14 weeks, Adrian flies them to a private island with no way out. Trapped together, Beth learns Adrian kept her hairpin from that night. He never forgot her. She was his first choice in ten years, not a mistake. When premature labor, CPS, and his own trauma collide, Adrian must decide what he fears more: losing control, or losing her. Because Knights don’t lose what’s theirs. The question is whether Beth will choose to be his.

She stood in the driveway watching the ambulance pull out. Feeling more alone than ever, tears streamed down Tatiana's face. Her father looked so weak and human. Looking back at the house, She could not go in. She could smell sickness inside. Blinded by tears, she made a run for the forest. Shedding her clothes under a rock before crashing in deeper. The forest around her was a blur. What if her father never came back? She would have no one. What had she done to the Moon Goddess to be forsaken? Her fear switched to anger, and she pushed forward faster and faster. Talia's muscles burned, but she kept running. As her wolf finally entered a clearing, her fur stood on end. On the other side of the clearing stood a sizeable sandy-colored wolf with amber eyes fixed on her. His ears perked up, and his head cocked to the side. Staring at each other from across the field, Tia could not take her eyes off him. She had never been this close to another wolf, and he was beautiful. Wobbling slightly, Tatiana realized she better move to the cover of the trees. As she turned, she heard an earth-shattering snap, and pain rolled up her left leg. She collapsed and looked down at her leg. It was caught in a trap. Her white fur turning red as blood seeped from the wound. Forgetting about the other wolf, she let out a tortured howl. Stabbing at the trap with her free paw, she whimpered and whined in agony. Her head rolled back as the pain threatened to render her unconscious. It was then that she noticed the wolf again. He had moved across the clearing and was now standing above her, and this time he was not alone.

I set up a company cafeteria for employees with an abundant meal daily worth 150 dollars per person. Meals are prepared by a world-renowned master chef. Every day, I only ask my employees to contribute a token of one dollar. Instead of gratitude, all I get is their envy of the neighboring company. "I wish we had that. Their healthy lunches cost them nothing, and the company covers everything." "Yeah. Free salads always seem to taste the best." Before long, this chatter spreads through the office, and the new hires carry it into the company's group chat. "Mr. Shaw, can we switch things up? All this rich, heavy food is just too much for us!" A few of the senior employees quickly jump in. "Yes, Mr. Shaw! We're not asking for anything extravagant. We only want something like the healthy lunches the other company gives out for free!" Perfect. They ignore my lavish 150-dollar meals that cost them almost nothing, yet they pine over the neighboring company's modest lunches. I scroll through the chat, feeling nothing but sharp irony. I immediately send a company-wide email. "Attention, everyone! By popular demand, and so you can all experience a truly free lunch, the cafeteria's daily meal is reduced from abundant to simple starting today. "Snacks and fruit options are discontinued and replaced with the same healthy lunch set offered by the neighboring company. The company will cover the full cost. Enjoy your meal!"

Catherine Hale was wolfless and broken. After her pack was slaughtered, she became a glorified slave to the cruel Crescent Pack. When the Alpha’s son, Ben, publicly humiliated on the mating ceremony night, shattered and numb, Catherine made a deal with the devil. She volunteered to become a spy in the rival Red River Pack. But before then, on that same night and in a moment of vengeful rage, she threw herself at a dangerous stranger in the shadows. She didn’t know he was Alpha Adrian, the same merciless alpha she was sent to destroy. One night of angry, explosive passion changed everything. Now trapped in enemy territory as the official treaty envoy, Catherine is playing the deadliest game of her life. Every touch from Adrian sets her on fire. Every secret she steals makes her question everything. And the more she tries to betray him, the deeper she falls into his bed… and his claim. In a world of blood, betrayal, and war, one thing is certain: Catherine will either return home with the power to destroy the Crescent Pack… or she’ll burn it all down at the side of the ruthless alpha who refuses to let her go.

According to company policy, anyone who achieves the feat of being the top salesperson for three years in a row will receive a thousand-square-foot apartment as a bonus. To achieve this goal, I work day and night, chasing every order I can find. But once I finally meet the criteria, I'm told that the policy has been abolished. Saul Hurst, my direct superior, brushes me off with a bonus of 500 dollars instead. Smirking at me, he says, "Being good at sales is all well and good, but you still need to improve your understanding of the company's rules and values. "Young people need to stay humble and know their place. Don't keep trying to show off. It isn't good to constantly hog the spotlight." I don't lose my temper. Instead, I manage to stay unusually calm as I took the "massive bonus" I got in exchange for three years of hard work. Two days later, our company headquarters conducts its annual sales evaluation. When one of our clients offers me a sales deal worth eight million dollars, I turn it down on the spot. After all, I believe that part of what it means to be professional is to do as my superior says. Since I'm supposed to stay humble and know my place, I've chosen to keep a low profile and not do anything that puts me under the spotlight. Besides, even if our branch fails to meet the total sales target, I'm not the one who's going to be held accountable for that.

Sharon Walker discovered she was pregnant exactly one day before her wedding. She had spent years telling her childhood sweetheart, Gary, that she wanted to wait until marriage. But one wild night out with her friends changed everything. Waking up hungover, she realized she had spent the night with a total stranger. Weeks later, two red lines stared back at her from a pregnancy test. When Gary accidentally found the test, he called off the wedding on the spot. Heartbroken and reeling, Sharon went to her event planner’s office to cancel the venue and catering. There, she crossed paths with Russell Miller—a man who was also there to cancel his own wedding. Bound by shared heartbreak and a twist of fate, they made a desperate deal: a 90-day marriage of convenience, with a guaranteed expiration date.

Maya Rivers came to Eldridge Falls to disappear — to bury herself in routine, classes, and the quiet anonymity of the library stacks. But secrets don’t stay buried here. Not in the same town where her best friend Lena has already learned how quickly desire can ignite in the shadows. For Maya, it begins as a late-night confession whispered into the glow of her phone. A fantasy shared with a stranger. Harmless, she thought—until the fantasy steps out of the screen and into the library aisles. Now every night draws her deeper into a game of secrets and proximity, where rules are written in whispers and broken with a touch. The man in the shadows knows too much, appears too often, and echoes words she thought no one else could read. As Maya wrestles with temptation, danger, and the thrill of being noticed, her story begins to intertwine with Lena’s. In Eldridge Falls, boundaries blur, shadows stretch long, and desire has a way of pulling you past the lines you swore you’d never cross. Some secrets keep you safe. Others demand to be lived.

After graduation, I spend a year interning with my mentor, a healer, out in the neutral lands—no packs, no laws, and no one to protect me. My brother, the Lycan Chairman of all werewolves, nearly loses his mind over it. He's terrified I'll fall for some Rogue and impulsively form a reckless mate bond. As such, he handpicks an arranged mate for me—Falcon Sterling, the Alpha of the strongest pack in Northmere. He's handsome and dangerous, a legendary figure. My brother orders me to come home for the mating ceremony, so I have no choice but to go pick out a Luna crown. At the jewelry shop, my eyes snap straight to a crown made of pure silver and covered in diamonds. Just as I reach out to take it, a sharp female voice cuts in. "I like the one she's holding. I'll take it. Hand it over." Before I can react, the clerk snatches the crown right out of my hands, nearly scraping my skin. I straighten up, forcing myself to stay calm. "Ever heard of 'first come, first served?' I saw it first. Is this how you do things here?" The she-wolf slowly turns toward me, casting me a long, mocking look. "This crown costs 300 thousand dollars. You sure you can afford it, peasant? I grew up with the Alpha of the Silvermoon pack, Falcon Sterling. Around here, I make the rules." I stare at her, almost laughing. Isn't that funny? Falcon just happens to be my arranged mate. I pull out my phone and press the call button. "Hey, Falcon. Your adorable childhood sweetheart just stole the Luna crown I'm supposed to wear for the mating ceremony. What do you think I should do about that?"