Off The Clock Book Novels & Stories

I was two hours late to check out our future home. By the time I finally rushed in, my fiancé, Daniel, had already signed the paperwork. He and my best friend, Gina, were huddled over the floor plans with their heads together as they debated over the interior design. They went from discussing the layout of the gaming room to the nursery. They continuously bickered over whether the master en-suite needed a freestanding tub or not. A middle-aged couple standing nearby smiled warmly at Daniel. "Renovating your first home, huh?" the husband chimed in with a wink. "Take it from me, son, always let your wife have the final say." Daniel let out an awkward cough as his eyes drifted to Gina, whose cheeks had instantly flushed a soft pink. "Alright, fine," Daniel muttered, giving in with a grin. "We'll get the tub." I stood just a few feet away, watching them decide every single corner of my future home. The three of us had grown up together. When we were kids, they were the ones who picked the schools and told me where we were going. When Daniel and I started dating, every date night and vacation was planned by them. I just showed up. And now, even with my own future house, it felt like my only job was to wait for their final memo. For years, I had lived like a shadow to the two of them. Shadows didn't have voices. They just followed silently, a step behind. But even shadows would get tired. And sometimes, on a bleak, overcast day, a shadow would stop and refuse to take another step forward.

Mia has secretly wanted her best friend’s father, Alexander Voss, for years. To him, she was always just a kid. But right after she turns 18, her best friend Lily invites her on a luxury family vacation at a private beach resort. When Alexander steps out of the pool, dripping wet and more attractive than ever, Mia decides this is her chance. She will do whatever it takes to seduce him. What begins as a thrilling game of forbidden attraction quickly turns dangerous. Secret touches, stolen nights, and intense passion pull them deeper together. But every moment carries huge risk. Lily starts to notice strange things. Old family secrets come to light. Someone watches them from the shadows. Lies pile up fast, and one wrong move could destroy friendships, reputations, and lives. Will Mia get the man she craves, or will their dangerous romance explode and leave everyone broken?

When Ellisa Murphy is framed for theft, her life turns upside down and her mother's condition gets worse. Jason Myers, captain of the hockey team, comes from the shadow like a knight in shining armour. But with the shadows, comes other dangerous secrets. Can a human like Elissa keep up with werewolf tales that only exists in fantasy books?

I had been asleep from 1975 to 2025. I am the only successful subject to have ever survived a cryonics experiment. Wearing the face of a 20-year-old, I set off to seek out my wealthy younger brother and reclaim my place in the family. But a barrage of comments suddenly appears. "This female lead is stupid. Her brother took her small shop and turned it into a business empire. People change. He doesn't even remember her anymore. Why would he want to reconnect with her?" "Exactly! The Slater family is tearing itself apart over the inheritance. If she shows up, they'll kill her!" "Michael Shaw truly loves her. If she marries him, she'll be happy for life." Just then, Michael drops to one knee before me. "Zoe, the Slaters are too dangerous. Don't go back, okay? Marry me instead. I'll take care of you and protect you for the rest of my life." His words touch me. Before I can reply, I hear his thoughts in my ear. "System, did you post the fake comments?"

My wife, Ruth Quarmby, had a twenty-year-old male apprentice named Craig Smith. He secretly turned off a diver’s scuba tank underwater. This caused an accident. He then posted three posts on his social media feed. The first post said, [I played a little prank underwater by shutting off my instructor’s mother-in-law’s scuba tank. Now, she’s in a coma and heading into surgery. But hey, I’m innocent!] The second post said, [Toast one: from a broke mountain kid to a certified diver. All by myself! Toast two: I confessed my love to someone I shouldn’t have, but I didn’t cross that line. Toast three: here’s to every lonely night I suffered through.] The third post said, [Best instructor ever. Without her, who else would cover for my pranks?] I told my wife to pay for the surgery to save the person quickly. But in front of the operating room door, she told me solemnly to give up on the surgery. “Your mother is old and fragile. Saving her is a waste of resources. Even if she makes it out alive, she’ll be bedridden. She’ll wish she were dead. Just let her go.” She quickly signed the Refusal of Treatment form. Then, she threw the signed form in my face. I kept quiet. The person lying in the operating room was her own mother.

On the day we chose our college majors, the influencer who was the school's heartthrob held a livestream and announced that he had decided to lead the anti-rat-race movement and would choose to attend a vocational college. The whole class followed him. Seeing the rapidly increasing number of followers, he smiled smugly. "They can do these low-class jobs if they like. I'll change my choice back to Harvard University at the last minute." I tried to dissuade him, but this would cause network congestion. My girlfriend slapped me. "You nerd! Who are you to tell our idol, Zach Simpson, what to do?" In my previous life, I spent half an hour dissuading them, and only then did the students change their college choices. However, Zach failed to change his application due to network lag and was admitted to a vocational college instead. He could not bear the blow and jumped into the river to commit suicide. The students who had entered prestigious universities collectively vented their anger on me. At the class reunion, they poured 99 bottles of beer down my throat and locked me in the karaoke's freezer. "Who cares about the prestige of a prestigious university? You'll just be working for someone else after graduation anyway!" "Why did we follow Zach in the first place? Wasn't it to break this damn rule?" "Zach was leading us to realize our dreams! If you hadn't interfered, I would already have gone to a vocational college with him!" They spoke disdainfully of prestigious universities, yet not one of them chose to drop out. I froze to death in a dark, cold freezer, my eyes wide open. Years later, they became elites in their respective fields, while my parents could only weep looking at my portrait. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Zach was livestreaming in the classroom. This time, I promised I would not interfere. Instead, I wished them a happy vocational college experience.

Interior designer Isla Moretti has always been invisible to billionaire Kai Westbrook, or so she thought. When danger from her past resurfaces, Kai makes her an offer she can't refuse: marry him. It's purely practical. A business arrangement with an expiration date. But the more time they spend together, the more Isla realizes Kai's been keeping secrets. And some of them involve her.

On the day I left for a business trip, my son, Billy Smith, livestreamed his suicide attempt from our home. While I took my time shopping at the mall, my younger sister, Lori Chaney, and my husband, Greg Smith, were beside themselves with panic. By the time I got the call from Lori, I dropped everything at work and rushed home. However, I reached home to see Billy sobbing into the camera. “Mom, whenever Dad isn’t home, you bring Mr. Scott into the house. After that, you’d force me to keep it a secret. When I refused to play along, you abused me in every way you could! I also found the medical report in your nightstand. You have AIDS, but you never told Dad. I’m ashamed to have a disgusting woman like you as my mother!” Billy then jumped from the building and landed on the rescue airbag without a scratch. I, however, became the target of public outrage. I tried to clear my name, but no one believed me. After all, who would risk his own life just to frame his mother? Greg even brought me a glass of poisoned milk and forced me to drink it. He then told everyone that I had committed suicide out of shame. When I opened my eyes again, I realized I had been sent back in time to the day Billy threatened to kill himself.

“Look at yourself, Willow… How can someone like you possibly stand beside me as my Luna?” His eyes swept over my body. “Be honest with yourself… You look like an overfed cow.” ⸻ I've spent my entire life being told I take up too much space. Too fat. Too greedy. Too embarrassing. So when the Moon Goddess finally blessed me with a mate—a mate who also happened to be my best friend... The only person I believed saw me for more than my size... I thought my suffering had finally come to an end. I was wrong. Because that same night, he rejected me before the entire pack, called me an overfed cow, chose my beautiful younger sister as his Luna... then offered me the greatest humiliation of all. He wanted me to become their surrogate. According to him, my body was already ruined anyway. I lost everything that night. Until the last person I ever expected stepped into my life. River Hale. The Alpha's illegitimate son. My childhood bully. The man I hated more than anyone. His proposal was even crazier than my rejection. "Fake date me." Apparently, making the future Alpha believe his rejected mate is screwing his own bastard brother is the perfect revenge. Now I'm living under the same roof as the man I swore I'd never trust while pretending to be hopelessly in love with him. The only problem? The more we fake it... The less fake it begins to feel.

I drive a Rolls-Royce to the venue where my high school reunion is held. When my former classmates ask me how much the Rolls-Royce costs, I tell them that it belongs to the company. They begin telling everyone behind my back that I work as a company driver, and that I'm not living a good life at the moment. Then again, the car does belong to the company. It's just that the company is mine.