Featuring: Elias “Stack” Moore
Thank you for all of the likes and comments! I just recently sat down and took all of them in and I'm extremely grateful. 🥹
It didn't feel right leaving it off without a resolution, so here's a short one! The best thing about writing your own stuff is that there can always be happy endings and everyone falls in love! Hehe 🥰
Please excuse any mistakes!
Ava's heels clicked against the hardwood floors of Smoke & Ink as the chime of the front door alarm dissipated behind her.
After a long morning in the office working on a few upcoming cases, she now has time to get to the bottom of why it's been going on three days without a response from Elias Moore. She's been to every spot he frequents and/or owns, even his damn home, only to come up empty handed each time.
The reflection of the man, Smoke, glanced at her without even fully turning his head as she moved closer to him. He dipped the needle into his cap of ink with a soft chuckle, going back to tattooing his client's leg.
"Good afternoon, counselor."
"Hey, Smoke." Ava released a breath that she didn't even know she was holding, crossing her arms across her chest as she watched him work. "Damn, is he sleep?" She asked with her brows furrowed, noticing the man he's working on with AirPods in while snoring away softly.
"He a regular." Smoke muttered with a soft shrug, glancing over at her again. "You need som' or...?"
"Oh, no!" Ava blurted out with a nervous giggle. She didn't think about how someone may take their lawyer popping up on them out of the blue. "I've just been trying to get in contact with your brother. Have you...seen him?" She asked, playing it cool.
"Depends..." Smoke trailed off, sitting up straighter when he went to dip the needle again. "He in trouble?"
"No trouble." Ava assured him. "We just have a few things to discuss."
Smoke's eyes lingered on her in a way that screamed he knows it's more to her reason. His gaze flicking to the engagement ring on her finger confirmed it. Yet, he went back to work without acknowledging it, making Ava look down at her feet with her face hot.
"Last time I seen him in person was yesterday." Smoke started. "You check over at the new lounge?"
"He told me he was gon' run the paperwork and shit by you." Smoke said in a firm tone, looking over at her with a raised brow. "He didn't consult you?" He asked with that fatherly edge she notice slips through with matters involving the younger twin.
"No need to stress about it. I'm sure he just didn't get around to it." Ava attempted to reassure him, making him shake his head with a deep breath. "I'll stop by and see. What's the address?"
Ava parked on the side of the white brick building, right behind Stack's black 2026 Cadillac CT5. She took in the exterior of the building before walking in to see the construction and renovation going on in the interior.
While the respective people worked, the man himself is currently slouched in one of the stools at the bar, thumbing through multiple sheets of very important papers with a seriousness that only comes from him when it pertains to money and business.
The distinctive clicks of Ava's heels caught his attention, his head hesitantly turning in her direction. When they locked eyes, he sat up with a small huff, determined to continue not talking to her.
"This the paperwork you was supposed to run by me?" Ava asked, leaning against the counter—her long, acrylic nail tapping against one of the many papers.
"Smoke and his big fat mouth." Stack thought, releasing a puff of air from his lips. "She is my lawyer, at the end of the damn day."
"Yeah." Stack muttered, gathering it all up and tapping it against the surface. "Just finished signing all of it." He held the stack out to her without looking her in the eye.
Ava's eyes lingered on his face as she snatched it from his grip. Her skilled, trained eyes skimmed through the words—mentally taking note of important clauses and information.
Stack tried to resist the intoxicating scent of her perfume and familiar warmth radiating from her body, the struggle being a testament of how hard avoiding her has actually been for him.
"Looks good." Ava said with a nod, placing the papers back down. "Next time, don't sign anything until after I go over it. You know the drill, so I don't even know where your head was." She muttered the last part, rolling her eyes as she checked her vibrating phone.
"I did business with this man before, Ava." Stack retorted. "Multiple times, actually."
"Still ain't smart to just blindly hand him more of your money, Elias." Ava argued, moving to the stool beside him and sitting down. "You know how many clients I had that got fucked by a person they did business with multiple times?"
Stack smacked his lips, looking over at her with lightly slitted eyes.
"I ain't acting weird." Stack insisted with a dry chuckle. "I'm taking care of business, as you can see." He motioned throughout the room.
"Mmhm. Definitely acting weird." Ava said more so to herself, eyes raking across his broad, muscular frame that's clad in a Nike tracksuit. "I don't like being ignored. You throw a fit when you feel it's being done to you, so what makes you think it's ok to do it to me?"
"Maybe my feelings on it changed."
"Your feelings on ignoring someone changed." Ava repeated with a humorless chuckle. "So, you don't see anything wrong with it anymore?"
"The fuck is wrong with you?" Ava snarled, glaring at him intensely. "Be a man and tell me where the fuck this petty little attitude is coming from."
"Want me to tell you? I'll tell you." Stack nodded with a forced smile. "I'm tired of this shit, Ava. I can't keep...fucking you like I been doing, then waking up to you not even being there the next day.—"
"Woah, woah, woah!" Ava cut him off before he could even get any further. "That's what the hell you wanted, Stack! You knew I was fucking engaged—."
"A shitty ass engagement by the way." Stack cut in with a dry chuckle. "One that you don't even wanna fucking go through wit'."
"That's not the point!" Ava spat, making Stack shake his head and look away with a deep sigh. "You got involved. You made shit personal. You could've left me and my shitty ass relationship alone! You chose to fall in love, o-or whatever the fuck got you acting pissy!" She stressed, the words cutting Stack deep—knowing they're true.
Stack's jaw and throat tightened before he caught it, redirecting his hurt towards returning the favor—hurting her feelings as much as she just hurt his.
"I did." Stack admitted with a cocky, arrogant smirk. "And you let me in, Ava." He said with a finality that made Ava's chest burn with anger. "You don't have to worry 'bout me no mo', though. Just upgrade that shitty engagement to a shitty marriage, and handle my legal issues or some shit in between." He basically dismissed her as she stared at him with a stunned look.
"Are you fucking serious?"
"I'm so fucking serious." Stack replied in that same flat, dismissive tone that made her heart sink.
"Fuck you." Ava sneered, swiping the papers from the counter with a fluid motion that sent them flying into the air as she stormed towards the front door.
"Fuck you!" Stack hissed behind her, releasing an annoyed growl when she slammed the glass door hard enough that it could've disintegrated from the impact.
Stack's gaze lingered longingly in the direction she went while Ava got into her car and sobbed with a mixture of confusion, sadness, and pure frustration—snatching her ring off and chucking it against the dashboard with a scream.
Two months. Two months since she called off the engagement.
Telling the mayor's egotistical, self absorbed son that she no longer wanted to be his wife was just as challenging as she thought it'd be. It ended with stalking, obsessive behavior that she ended up having to get a restraining order against, and a smear campaign against her and her firm as retaliation by his rich and "powerful" family.
In a moment when Ava should be paranoid and watching her back, she feels the best she's ever felt in a long time. Her life is still mostly work, but after, it's nothing. Nothing isn't scary like she thought it'd be.
"Well, if you don't have any more questions for me, Mr. Jones, we're all done here!" Ava beamed, standing and reaching across her desk to firmly shake the man's hand. "I can assure you that I'm doing everything in my power to make sure things work in your favor. I will see you Thursday."
After sending her last client of the day out of her door, Ava released an exhausted sigh, taking off her glasses and placing her face in her hands.
Before she could unwind, knocks filled her door, forcing her to put her glasses back on in a rush.
"Come in!" Ava called out, clearing her throat and smoothing the front of her dress. She gave her assistant, Kaylin, a closed lipped smile when she poked her head in with an apologetic one.
"Mr. Moore wants to know if you can squeeze him in for a few minutes."
"Which one?" Ava asked, swallowing harshly at the thought of Stack. They've been amazing being cordial, and that's shown in the two times they've met up professionally since their back and forth.
Ava checked her clock to see that it's a little after seven. She's been at her office since seven in the morning, so she should be turning anyone away and heading home to unwind and get some much needed rest.
Even on a business level, she could never turn away Stack. That's one thing that surely lingered from...whatever the hell they had going on.
"Um..." Ava trailed off as she straightened up her desk, filing papers in their appropriate places. "Sure. Send him back, please, hun." She muttered, standing up and shuffling over to her filing cabinet the best she could in her heels.
After stowing away folders, she rushed over to her desk and grabbed her phone—fluffing her blown out curls on her shoulders and checking if her lipstick is still in place.
When the doorknob turned, she quickly put her phone down and sat down, clasping her hands with a tight, polite smile at the man waltzing into her space.
"Good evening, Mr. Moore."
"Evenin'." Stack greeted, looking around the office with his hands behind his back as he took long, drawn out strides up to her desk.
"May I ask what's the reasoning behind this impromptu meeting?" Ava asked curiously, brows furrowing slightly at his current demeanor.
Stack suddenly pulled a glass vase from behind him and sat it on the desk, revealing a full, luxurious bouquet of roses.
Ava couldn't fight the smile that made its way onto her face, Stack also smiling at the sight of her sliding the vase closer and admiring the vibrant flowers.
"Look at that pretty ass smile." Stack teased, placing his palms on her desk with a grin. "They'll never be pretty as you, though." He muttered, nodding his head towards the flowers.
"Wait a minute...." Ava caught herself, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. "What's all this for?"
"What?" Stack asked, playing clueless as he stalked behind her desk with a sly smirk. "The flowers?"
"Elias Moore." Ava said in a warning tone that wouldn't be able to come off as serious even if she tried. She attempted to stand and run around the other side of the desk, giggling when he grabbed her waist and pulled her body against his.
Ava wriggled in his grip, huffing and refusing to look him in the eye when she realized he wasn't letting her go.
"Look at me." Stack said lowly in that tone that she never could resist. Ava bit the inside of her cheek, finding the internal strength to finally lock eyes with him. "I been thinkin' 'bout you." He admitted, making her face heat up. "I'm sorry."
Ava released a soft hum, nodding with her lips pressed firmly together.
"I'm sorry, too." Ava said just above a whisper, fiddling with his chain anxiously before locking eyes with him again. "So...what? We doing this again?"
"Sounds like you're suggesting we do this again."
"This whole damn gesture was the suggestion, Stack." Ava snapped, face softening when he laughed at her sassiness. "Don't play with me." She gently slapped him with a small smile.
"No games." Stack said sternly, grabbing her hand and kissing it. "I don't know how this relationship shit work, but we gon' do it the right way. "
"We're in a relationship?"
"That's what I just said."
"Tell me your idea of a relationship, while you popping up out of the blue and demanding that we be in one." Ava told him with an amused look, cupping his face. "I'm curious."
"It wasn't a demand. It was a suggestion, like you said it was."
"You slick talking ass—."
"It's a surprise, mama." Stack joked, nipping at her cheek as she giggled at his silliness. "No bullshit, though. I promise. I just know I can finally admit I want you, and I wanna show you." He muttered, placing his forehead against hers.
"I want you, too, Stack." Ava said softly, palming the nape of his neck when he initiated a slow, passionate kiss. "I want you, too." She breathed out against his lips.
