Chapter 29 #2
Ace leaned forward too. “And what do I have to do to get a private invitation from you?”
Joy rolled her eyes but her smirk betrayed her.
“Was that all y'all wanted?” Ace asked his brothers, feeling their stares.
Jrue chuckled, pushing off the wall. “Yeah that was it.”
“Aight, ‘preciate y’all. Now if you’ll excuse us, Joy and I have work to do.”
“Oop, not we getting kicked out,” April snickered as she stood. “Come on y’all.” She waved for August and Von to stand as well.
Her long legs ate up the distance between her and Joy quickly. She leaned down to envelop Joy in a hug.
April likely didn’t feel it, but Ace saw Joy flinch, just slightly, before sinking into the embrace.
“We should do this more often,” April suggested.
“I’d love that,” Joy agreed.
After a few more brief goodbyes, the door clicked closed, and Ace was granted with what he’d wanted for the past two hours.
Alone time with Joy.
“So,” Ace stood and rounded the desk, resting against the edge of it beside Joy. “You and my sister are going to lunch now huh?”
Joy looked up at him with a grin. “Mhm. She seems to think we’d make good friends.”
“Interesting,” was all Ace said. He wasn’t sure why, but the thought of Joy becoming close with April made him smile.
“Yeah. She also seems to think that you want me,” she added with a sparkle in her eye.
“I didn’t think I was being subtle about that fact,” Ace shrugged with a chuckle.
“You haven’t been. And I don’t know how many times I have to tell you to let it go.”
Ace leaned forward until their faces were inches apart. “You can tell me until that pretty face turns blue but my desires won’t change.”
“You’re hard headed.”
“So are you.”
“No I’m not. Believe it or not, I’m trying to do you a favor.”
Ace licked his lips. “I’ve still yet to hear anything that will deter me from wanting to taste those lips and have you in my bed again.”
“You had me in your bed and you turned it down.”
“My reasoning still stands. As much as I wanna know if you feel as good as you taste, I want you to let me inside your mind even more and clearly you’re a flight risk.”
Joy huffed.
“That was some of the best sleep I’ve ever had in my life before you ran out of me too,”Ace chuckled.
Joy’s eyes softened and she opened her mouth to reply but was cut off when Jess rushed in.
“Mr. King there’s so?—“
She was shoved out of the way and Detective Harris appeared in the doorway instead.
”I don’t need no introduction,” he snarled.
Ace straightened slowly, his eyes hard and his blood boiling.
“Are you alright, Jess?” he asked, not even acknowledging Harris as he watched his assistant rub her bumped elbow.
“I’m fine, sir...” she mumbled.
“Good. I’ve got this, thank you.”
She nodded and shot Harris a nasty glare before exiting and closing her door behind her.
“Please. Have a seat detective. To what do I owe this displeasure?”
“You know why I’m here, King,” Harris snapped.
”I’m afraid I don’t. If you don’t start talking or produce a warrant I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
”You called internal affairs on me,” he barked.
Ace poured himself a drink then took a slow sip, drawing out the silence. “To my knowledge, internal affairs is… internal,” he finally said. “Excuse my manners. Drink?” He held up the glass in offering.
Harris sprang from his seat and stomped towards Ace at the window.
“I’d think very carefully about your next move Mark,” Ace warned.
His voice was low, just enough for Harris to hear but he could feel Joy watching.
Reading lips and clocking their body language.
“If you come into my place of business without a warrant and put your hands on me, I’ll have your badge, your kid’s college fund, and your blood on my Armani suit. ”
”Is that a threat?” The detective hissed.
”It’s a foreshadowing. If I were you, I’d heed my warning.”
“I’m not letting you slip through the cracks,” Harris vowed, wagging his finger in Ace’s face. “Blue is the key to your demise and I will make sure this charge sticks by any means necessary.”
“Yes I see that. Perhaps that’s why Internal Affairs is on your ass. If I were you, I’d stop while you were ahead.”
Harris gulped and looked over at Joy, then back at Ace as he lowered his voice.
“Maybe we could work something?—”
Ace’s laugh was boisterous and reverberated throughout the entire room.
“If I recall, my brother offered you that years ago, and not only did you not take it, you became more aggressive in this witch hunt. That ship has sailed my friend.”
A red faced Harris began to speak but Ace’s hand raised, halting any speech when he saw Joy shift out of the corner of his eye.
He turned, finding her standing and her sharp eyes bouncing between the two men.
“Mr. King, I can come back if you and your guest need some privacy,” she said.
Ace shook his head. “No, Joy. You stay. The detective was just leaving,” he said. He turned to the man before him, and the two stared each other down, neither breaking or folding. Years of animosity, of cat and mouse, and tension radiated off of them.
Harris finally broke their stare but directed it to Joy.
“I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting,” Harris said, turning a smile on Joy and extending his hand now that she’d made her presence known.
Joy looked at it for a moment, then thinking better of leaving him hanging, took it in a weak shake.
“Joy Thibodeaux. Mr. King’s associate.”
”Ah,” Harris nodded. “Well I hope to see you again soon. Both of you.”
He started for the door, but was halted by Ace calling his name. “Hey, Harris.”
The detective paused and turned. “What?”
”You put your hands on another member of my staff, and Internal Affairs will be the least of your worries.”
”Another threat, huh King?”
Ace just smiled.
Harris stomped out, leaving the door wide open.
“The fuck was that?” Joy asked, slamming the door shut.
“He wasn’t talking about nothing. He got called into Internal Affairs this morning and thinks I had something to do with it.”
“How would you make that happen? Even if you made a report, that wouldn’t come back to you.”
Ace shrugged. “A sinking man will grip onto anything to not drown.”
Joy eyed him. ”I see.”
Ace returned to his seat and began typing away like nothing happened. Joy was slower to reclaim her seat, watching Ace with questioning eyes.