Page 113 of Assistant to the Billionaire CEO

People stepped out of my way as they saw me enter the lobby. I got onto the waiting elevator without saying a word to any of its occupants, who left the elevator the higher we got up, until it rode empty all the way up to the top floor.

Ace’s front door was the final frontier.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Nothing. I raised my fist again and pounded against it furiously.

“Open up! We need to talk.Now.”

His sister’s baby cried from the other side of the door.

Fuck. I forgot.

“Coming!” I heard him reply.

48

ACE

Late Sundayevening

Damon glared back at me when I opened the door. His gaze was fiery and intense. As I supposed, he hadn’t popped around for a social call. Like I needed more shit to deal with.

It was late, and I was back from my trip, mood sour. I had just been going through the last page of the merger folder before stuffing it into a big envelope, ready for delivery, when I’d heard someone banging at my front door. What the hell?

I frowned at him. “Hey, Damon.”

“You look fucking terrible,” he said.

“I feel worse.”

His expression softened, and the rage that had previously molded his expression appeared to wane. “Can I come in? We have a few things we need to talk about.”

I opened the door further, stepped backward, and extended one of my arms to invite him inside.

“I forgot Tilly was here with the baby,” he said, gesturing at the array of baby toys and spit rags scattered around my apartment.At least my sister had been quick to calm him. “Is there a good place where we can talk?”

“My sister and her baby are in the other room.” I beckoned for Damon to follow me into my expansive kitchen. “Coffee, or something stronger?” I asked as I started up the coffeemaker.

“Coffee,” he said. “Living with your sister and her baby, how’s that been going?”

“Good. I thought it’d be better for her to have someone around to help her while she recovers and acclimates to motherhood. Being a single mom isn’t easy.”

“How do you get along with the baby?” he asked.

It was unusual for Damon to press about the baby. “The baby’s pleasant, love him like my own. He doesn’t fuss too much or too often, you know? Anyway, I doubt you came here to talk about my sister’s newborn.”

“Do you know why I’m here?”

I did. This wasn’t about the merger files.

This was abouther.

He knew. He knew I’d slept with his sister.

With a sigh, I retrieved two coffee cups from a cabinet to my left and filled them up with the midnight-black liquid that came gurgling out of the coffeemaker. The smell of ground coffee beans filled the room. It was one of my favorite smells, and on a better day, I might have paused to appreciate it.

I handed one cup to Damon. “Stella.”

---