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He steeples his hands together, looking clearly surprised. “I’m disappointed you didn’t tell me face to face. You owed me that much, at least.”
My insides almost empty. Why does this sound so personal? I owedhim?I’m his assistant. That’s all I am to him. “I handed you the letter last week and I tried to tell you, but you had me running around doing Alicia errands.”
“Alicia errands?”
I fold my arms. “The name fits, no?”
“Why are you leaving? Do I not treat you right?” I’m slightly bewildered that he’s more concerned about this and not asked me what an Alicia errand is.
“I need to leave, Jett. I've put up with your arrogance for too long.” The words tumble out of my mouth, and for once, they sound strong and certain. Stronger than I feel. I cross my arms, bracing myself.
“My arrogance?” He sits up straighter, his eyes narrowing as if I’ve just thrown him off balance. His face drains of color, and suddenly, I feel like I’ve hit him with a sledgehammer. “I'm your boss. I don't know what you mean by my arrogance.” His reaction is completely different from what I expected. I thought he’d be annoyed, maybe even indifferent. But he looks ... hurt.
“A bit of appreciation would have been nice.”
His mouth falls open, before he quickly composes himself again. “I’ve always appreciated you, Cari.” The telltale muscle flexes along his jawline again. “Why?” he asks, lifting his eyes to mine.
“I’ve been wanting to leave for a while now.” I hold his gaze, even though I’m falling apart inside.
“You have? But why?” He sounds genuinely surprised and confused. And he’s white as a ghost. Dear God. What is this? This isn’t the reaction I was expecting. I expected him to be shocked, maybe thrown off balance for a few seconds. I’m great at my job. I help him with his work and sometimes his private life. But I am replaceable. And for a man like Jett, replacing me should be relatively easy.
I have no idea what to tell him because I most certainly can’t tell him the truth. “I need a change of scenery,” I mutter, knowing how pathetic that sounds.
“Then take a vacation.”
I want to get away from you.“I don’t need a vacation. I need a new job.” One where my boss respects me and treats me with decency. Even as I think these thoughts, I know they're not true. Jett Knight does give me respect, even if he's coarse and demanding. The real reason is something I can never tell him. And now that he's going to marry Alicia, I can no longer put myself through the torture of buying lingerie for her, or picking up trinkets worth more than my rent for a year.
I cannot do that to myself any longer.
He looks stunned, like he can’t process what I’m saying. “You’re doing an exceptional job, Cari. I don’t understand.”
I feel the tension radiating from him, and it’s almost too much. This isn’t how I thought this would go. He’s not supposed to care this much.
“I’m leaving, Jett. I’ve given you my one month’s notice.”
“You can’t leave.” His voice is firm, but there’s an undercurrent of desperation I’ve never heard from him before. This is so new to me, Jett Knight looking lost and bewildered. I almost feel bad for him. “And I don’t accept your resignation.”
“What do you mean you don’t accept it? You have to!” But I understand it then. He’s proposed, and he'll need me to coordinate the celebrations. I laugh, more in disbelief than amusement. “I can leave, and I will.”
He leans back, his eyes searching mine, as if trying to figure out what’s really going on. “What can I do to make you stay?”
The question throws me completely. This is not the Jett I know. He never asks. He orders. But now ... he sounds almost vulnerable.
I sit back, stunned. I expected him to accept it and bark out more chores for the day. He seems tocare. It's as if this news has—dare I say it?—made him sad. “There’s nothing you can do. I need to move on.” The words hang between us. I am perplexed by the turn this has taken. “Mr. Knight?”
He looks up at me and the corner of his lip curls upwards. “You only call me Mr. Knight when I've pissed you off.” Mischief swirls in those blue irises. “It can't be a change ofsceneryorenvironment.” Clearly, he’s having difficulty believing me. He has good intuition for a man. “Don't I pay you enough? I've given you two pay raises each year.”
Which, as Eliana told me, was a lot.
“Money can't buy everything,” I say. “I want to leave. Ineedto leave, what with everything going on ...” I look away, because I don’t want to share my plans with him. What I intend to do for myself. The florist kiosk seems like an escape route from this. From Jett. A new start after a tough few months.
“I know you're going through a hard time. It’s been a difficult year for you, and the last six months …” His voice trails off, but he looks at me earnestly. His face turning apologetic, as if he’s sorry for bringing back my sadness. “If you need more time off, Cari, I'm happy to give it. Take as long as you need.”
It's not about taking time off.
It's about getting away from this man who messes with my head.
“Are you still having your counselling sessions?” he asks.