▪️Ace▪️ A week later, he and Emily were having a particularly nasty and difficult day at work. A long-standing client had decided to pull a multimillion-dollar account from The Company. That had required several phone calls to Liam, who’d had to cancel the excursion he and Olivia had planned. And that made him unhappy and testy. Ace tried to calm him down, but Liam wasn’t having it and snapped at him. “You’re a personal secretary. You don’t know shit about accounts. Now let Emily and me talk.” Hurt and embarrassed, Ace ducked his head and faced away from the computer where they’d been video-chatting. Liam's words brought him back to his high-school days, when he’d spent so much time listening to teachers comparing him to Liam, and him coming up short. “That was uncalled for,” Emily said mildly. “Don’t take your pissy attitude out on Ace. He’s helping.” “It’s fine,” Ace mumbled, staring straight ahead at his tablet, hoping the burning in his eyes would fade.
▪️Ace▪️ “Tell me about working for Taylor swift.” They were finishing their takeout dinner of shrimp and pasta, and Emily set down her fork. Any mention of Taylor set off warning bells inside Ace and put him on the defensive. Coming from Emily, he knew the question was innocent, and he gave the sanitized answer he’d practiced before returning from Fiji. “It was a dream. She’s tough and demanding…like some other people I know.” He snuggled next to Emily on the sofa and drained the rest of his beer. “Why do you want to talk about that? It’s boring. Let’s go to bed.” But Emily wasn’t ready to be dissuaded. “I’m interested, that’s why. You built a life there and stayed away for years. Something must’ve kept you from coming home.” “Who wouldn’t want to live on a superyacht? It was fascinating to see how the really rich lived. I’ve never been in an environment where no matter what you wanted, all you had to do was ask, and it would show up.” “I can’t imagin
▪️Ace▪️ Ace woke up with a runny nose, sniffles, and an all-around miserable face. He buried his head under the covers and moaned. “God, I can’t breathe.” He flopped on his back and sniffed. “Blergggh.” Hands up, Emily retreated, laughing. “Okay, stay away from me. The last thing I need is to get sick.” “Oh, you are so getting it. The way you had your tongue down my throat last night? If you don’t, you’re fucking Superwoman.” He waggled his brows. “And you may have a super thing down there, but no one is immune.” “I take care of myself. The vitamins and—” “Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen.” Ace waved his hand. “Vitamins and green juice and all that good-for-you shit. Fuck that. I’ll be healthy when I’m dead.” Emily snorted. “Even for you, that doesn’t make sense. But I’m leaving you here with two half gallons of orange juice. Make sure you drink them.” “Thank you.” He sniffled, so forlorn and adorable, Emily couldn’t resist. “If
▪️ Emily ▪️ “Excellent. Let me know what we can do to make this happen.” “I will. I better go prepare for this afternoon’s meeting with Never Too Sweet.” “Okay. I’m leaving the office for lunch. I should be back after two.” Emily stood and slipped her phone into her suit-jacket pocket.“Got a hot date?” Simone's constant prying irritated her, but Emily reined in her temper. “Anything further?” She cocked a brow, and Simone jumped out of his seat. “N-no. I’m going.” Emily followed him out and stopped by the reception desk to speak to Kass. “I’m stepping out for a little while. If you need me, call me on my cell.” “Emily, we’re a marketing agency, not the FBI. What kind of emergency could happen? Go enjoy your lunch.” “Thanks.” She gave her a brief smile, her mind already on Ace. Once outside, she stopped at a diner and picked up matzo-ball soup for Ace and a turkey sandwich for herself. Ruth had her aide c
▪️ Emily ▪️ Back at the office, Emily noticed Simone had his door closed, and he could hear a rather heated conversation being held. A relatively new planner, Teresa called Emily for a meeting, excited that her client, a yogurt company, had increased their ad spend, and she wanted to make sure she was handling it correctly. That took up the rest of the afternoon, and Emily was impressed with Teresa's incredibly detailed presentation and notes. “This is excellent. And I know this is your standard—I recall the work you did six months ago on the natural cold remedy company. They also increased their spend, if I’m not mistaken.” “Yes, they did.” Energy seemed to burst from her every pore. “Emily, I can’t tell you how happy I am to be working here. At my other agency, they never told us if we were doing a good job, but when something was wrong, boy, they really let you know it. Loudly.” Part of what she loved about owning her own business was mentoring new
▪️Ace ▪️ A week later, in the bathroom at work, Ace examined a new spot on his neck. Damn. Not that he minded any mark Emily left, the woman had proved to be an insatiable lover. Ace rolled his neck, stretching the kinks from his sore body. There wasn’t one patch of skin Emily had left untouched and unloved, and Ace reveled in it. “New girl friend?” Simone came up behind him with a smile. Quickly covering the mark, Ace washed his hands. “Yeah. I guess you could say so.” “I thought something was up.” “Up?” Nervous now, Ace stalled for time by washing his hands again and fluffing his hair. “Come on.” Eyes twinkling, Simone elbowed his side. “From the looks of that love bite, whoever it is, she’s really into you.” He and Simone had been getting along so well, and even more so since they’d secured the Mojo account, that Ace —although he’d never reveal Emily’s as his lover—felt comfortable discussing his personal life. To an extent. “Well, yeah. We’ve only been together for a
▪️Ace▪️ Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed his laptop and ran out of Simone's office, not stopping until he entered his own and shut the door behind him. His heart pounded, and he couldn’t catch his breath. Goddamn it. More than anything, Ace wanted to throw the computer at something, but instead he sat behind his desk, shaking. “What the hell is he planning?” He should’ve known the turnaround in Pryce’s behavior was a farce. What could he do? Frantic, he drummed his fingers and thought. When his gaze fell upon the sticky note with Amber's number, he immediately called her. As Emily’s former assistant, she’d know what to do. “Ace?” “Yeah, hi. How’re you doing?” “Feeling like a slug and wishing I could get out of this bed, but coming along. How’re you doing? Tell me everything.” “Busy. I’m working on some campaigns and loving it.” “And you and Emily are getting on well?” Oh, you could say that.
▪️ Emily ▪️ As she spoke, she pulled Ace into her office and shut the door. White-faced and visibly shaking, Ace hugged himself. “Liam. H-he’s been hurt. They were riding the Vespa, and somehow, according to what Olivia told me, a truck cut them off and he crashed.” For a moment her heart stopped. At least she thought it must have, because she couldn’t hear it beating or feel anything. She’d gone totally numb. “Olivia,” she whispered. “Is she hurt?” “She said she’s fine. I spoke to her, so she must be. But Liam…” Ace’s voice broke, and Emily’s heart jerked hard. She pulled Ace into her arms and buried her lips in his hair. “Tell me. He’s not—” “No,” Ace choked out, trembling violently. “But he’s hurt. Bad. We didn’t talk for long, and I can’t get through to my parents. When she couldn’t reach us, she called them, and they’re on their way to the airport. I’m so fucking scared, Emily.” “It’s going to be all r