“No, it isn’t.” She stepped forward, holding out one beseeching hand. “I told you about the life I dreamed of. I can’t have that here. I’m on call every minute of every day, doing tasks that are way beyond the limits of what should be asked of me. I planned a wedding for God’s sake.” He said nothing, so she continued. “Where I’m going I can be home at six every day. I won’t have to work through my weekends or rush into the office at the crack of dawn. Work won’t be my whole life anymore.”
When his silence lengthened, she hoped he was starting to hear the reason of her words. That hope was dashed when he opened his mouth. “You said ‘where I’m going.’”
Had she?
She took a step back, knowing this wouldn’t end well.
“You already have another job lined up.”
“They want me to start by the end of the month,” she said, her voice small. “I can still work through my two weeks’ notice.”
A derisive laugh escaped him. “How lucky for me.”
“I know losing an assistant right now isn’t ideal, but I’ve already started interviewing my replacement. I’ve got a few résumés for you to look at.”
Ignoring the dangerous glint in his eye, she pushed on. “I’ll make sure we get through the wedding, and I’ll brief my replacement on the Sterling deal. I’m sure whoever steps into the role will be everything you need them to be. Hell, they’ll be better than me in no time, you’ll see.”
He advanced on her. “Is this why you kissed me?”
The words took her breath away. “Let’s keep this focused on the office,” she said. “I promise it will be a smooth transition if you release me from my contract.”
“Did you sleep with me because you knew you were leaving?”
“Darian—”
“Did you agree to be friends with benefits because it could only last a month?”
“Please, don’t do this.”
“Answer me!” The shout rang through the office, reverberating off the walls.
“Yes.”
He closed his eyes at the word. It was all she could do not to cross to his side and wrap her arms around him. This was not how she wanted this conversation to go. It was supposed to have been handled calmly, when she had a replacement set up and was ready to introduce him to them.
He wasn’t supposed to get hurt.
“Get out.”
A phantom dagger stabbed into her chest. “We have to talk about this.”
He paced away from her. “Consider your contract void. There’s no need to work through your notice.”
“Darian.”
He turned back to her, looking every inch the business shark she’d seen tear his way through corporate circles. The pain had been wiped from his eyes, leaving only an expressionless facade behind. Worse, he stared at her as if she were an insignificant bug he wanted to eradicate from his life.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you got what you needed,” he said, his voice lashing her. “Not only did you terminate your contract early but you also got laid in the process. Congrats.”
“It wasn’t like that,” she countered. “My plans only gave me the courage to go after what I wanted. I didn’t wake up one morning and decide I should milk my last month for all it was worth. It wasn’t me just looking for some cheap thrill.”
“Much like our employment contract, our sexual relationship was predicated on the notion that we both wanted to be together. The first has changed for you, the latter for me. We are done here, Allison.”
She flinched at the sound of her full name on his lips. “I don’t want to be done,” she said. “Just because I’m getting a different job doesn’t mean I care for you any less. If you’d think about this logically for a moment you’d see the two aren’t connected at all. We can still be together even if I don’t come into this office every day.”
A cruel smile curved his lips. “I am being logical. A man in my position needs to be able to have a certain level of trust with his partners. You’ve been lying to me for weeks. I’m better off without you.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Don’t I?” He took a step forward. “I daresay it will be even easier to replace you in the bedroom than it will be in the office.”
The blow forced her back. “Don’t cheapen what we had.”
“And what exactly was that?” he demanded, stalking closer. “A few nights of pleasure while you got in your kicks sleeping with the boss.”
“It was far more.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” She stopped retreating, lifting her chin as he advanced on her.
“Did you start to care?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Did you want more?” He was a step from her.
“Every day.”
He stopped before her, forcing her to tilt her head back to meet his hard gaze.
Darian leaned down until his lips brushed her ear. “Did you fall in love with me?”
Her breath froze in her chest. What could she say? She knew a trap when she saw one. Telling the truth would only end badly.
Yet how could she not? If this was the last conversation they ever had, she didn’t want to regret not fighting for him with everything she had.
He leaned back enough to meet her gaze. Staring into his blue eyes, only one word rose to her lips.
“Yes.”
His fingers lifted, ghosting over her cheek as if in a caress he couldn’t bring himself to make. Allison held her breath, waiting for his response as her heart beat in painful hope.
“What a shame.”
His hand dropped as he stepped past her.
The breath left her in a whoosh. She stared unseeing at the office as her brain tried to interpret what had happened.
Woodenly, she turned to find her lover by his desk.
“HR will forward you your pay,” he said, writing a note on a pad of paper. “Gillian can conduct the rest of your replacement interviews.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“Would you like to argue whether you are entitled to any of your end-of-year bonus?” he asked, his tone bored. “I’d have to check with the legal department.”
“I don’t give a damn about that,” she replied. “What I care about is you.”
“Yes, your desertion makes that clear.”
“Stop being childish, Darian. We are more than just colleagues who sleep together and you know it. Don’t let this ruin what we have outside the office. Please.”
He turned his gaze back to her, crossing his arms over his chest. “Did I or did I not make it very clear I was not interested in a real relationship?”
“News flash: whether you like it or not, you’re in one.” She marched closer. “We spend most of our waking hours together and a hell of a lot of the sleeping ones, too. We exclusively sleep together, share meals together, watch movies together. We tell each other things we wouldn’t mention to anyone else. Sounds like dating to me.”
“Then you’re mistaken.”
“You are so willing to face facts in your business world, yet so scared of them in your personal life. You don’t have to be scared to care about me, Darian.”
“You’re seeing what isn’t there.”
“The hell I am. Admit it, King. I wasn’t the only one falling here.”
He turned back to his desk. “I’ll speak with HR and get you that bonus. If there’s nothing else, I think you should leave now.”
She stamped her foot in frustration. “This isn’t a problem you can throw money at,” she cried. “I know that’s all you understand. It’s your answer for dealing with any emotional situation involving someone close to you.”
Anger burned bright in his gaze when he swung back at her. “Careful, Allison.”
“Look at the thousands you’ve spent on this wedding. How does it feel trying to buy Jenny’s love?”
“I’m not trying to buy her love but her forgiveness!” he roared.
She stepped back, unable to
look away from the raw pain in his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“You know why my parents were on the road that night, Ali?” He prowled closer. “Takeout. They were picking up dinner. Nothing more pressing than a few orders of chicken.” She retreated as he pressed forward. “My mother asked if I’d run out to get it, but I said I was studying for a test.” His laugh was filled with enough pain to make her flinch. “Really, I was in the middle of a video game I didn’t want to pause. So they went out to run the errand I should have done, and because of that, Jenny had to grow up without parents.”
“It’s not your fault,” she whispered.
“Of course it is. Had I been less lazy, less self-centered it would have been me hit by that car. Me on the slab in the morgue.”
“Your parents wouldn’t have wished that.”
“You can’t know that.”
“But I can,” she said, closing the distance between them. “I know what it feels like to love someone and want to do whatever you can to keep them from harm.” She cupped his face. “No one could love you the way your parents did and wish for you to carry this kind of guilt. I’ve seen Jenny with you. There is not one bone in her body that blames you in any way.”
His hands wrapped around her wrists.
“I know something else,” she breathed before he could tear her away. “No parent would want their child to encase their heart in ice the way you have. They’d want you to find someone to love as much as they must have loved each other.” She swallowed hard. “I’m right here, Darian. I love you. Why can’t you just let me?”
For a second she thought she saw his eyes soften. Please, she thought. Care about me enough to take a chance. Love me enough to see what we could be.
But as she watched, his face hardened.
“I will not lose someone else I care about.” He released her wrists and stepped back.
Her hands dropped to her side as an emptiness she’d never known before ripped open in her chest.
“If you’re going to go, go,” he said, every word a dagger in her heart. “But don’t come back, because I assure you, I won’t be waiting.”
Tears clogged her throat, but she refused to shed them. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“I’ve seen you be a god in the boardroom, never making the slightest mistake,” she said. “This right here? It’s a mistake you’ll regret forever.”
Turning her back on the last four years of her life, she swept out of the office.
Chapter Eighteen
At five in the morning, her alarm went off.
Out of habit, Allison swung from her bed and headed into the bathroom. She was halfway through brushing her teeth before remembering she had no reason to be up this early.
There was no work to go to.
The familiar wave of pain crashed over her, stealing her breath for a moment. She never had to walk into King Enterprises again. Nor see the man who had broken her heart.
Rinsing her mouth, she headed into the kitchen. Sleep would be impossible to return to, so she might as well have a cup of coffee. It took only a few minutes to have a fresh pot brewing. As she waited, her eyes strayed to the orchid pot on her counter.
The edges of the petals were turning a damning brown.
“Hell,” she breathed, reaching for the plant. She’d known she’d kill it, of course, but did it have to pick today of all days to take a turn for the worst?
“Stupid flower.” She didn’t need it. She didn’t need any reminder of the broken man that had thrown her away.
After filling her cup with coffee, she dropped onto her sofa and switched on the news. Today was the first workday she’d had off in longer than she could remember. It was unsettling not to be engaging in the same routine she’d followed for four years.
Everything will be different now, she thought. No more padded paychecks to fall back on. No more building full of people to rely on.
No more Darian.
Rolling her head back on the couch, she stared at the ceiling. It shouldn’t be a surprise. She knew everything would end when he found out she was switching jobs. But did it have to end so badly? Had it been necessary to rip out her heart when the romance ended?
Every time she closed her eyes she pictured his face when he’d finally confessed how his parents had died. No wonder he held everyone at arm’s length. She couldn’t imagine spending all her adult life blaming herself for something so awful.
But why couldn’t he see that she was his way out? That she could love for both of them until he learned how. She didn’t need a promise of forever, just a chance to try for it.
That chance had crumpled like her resignation letter. She knew how this would play out now. Her notice would be handled by HR. She’d sign a few non-disclosure agreements in return for her outstanding salary, and that would be that. She’d be officially finished with King Enterprises. Years from now, they might run into each other at a gala or on the street and Darian would smile politely. He’d treat her like an old acquaintance and continue on his way. Just as she’d always feared, she’d left no impact on his life despite the fact his name was branded in her heart.
“Make better choices next time,” she told herself. No office romances. No falling for the wrong guy. No billionaires.
She’d find a simple, down-to-earth man who could laugh with her. One who would move in with her after the appropriate amount of time had passed. Maybe they could even get a dog, provided he was more capable of keeping small creatures alive than she was.
Lifting her left hand, she looked at her ring finger. He’d ask her to marry him one night after they’d come home from dinner. It would be a simple proposal, off the cuff and spontaneous. They’d walk down the aisle of a courtroom and then live happily ever after with their white picket fence and 2.5 kids.
There would be no designer dress. No celebrity-level ceremony. Her life would no longer consist of dinner that cost more than she made in a week. She’d never again sleep on sheets too sinfully soft to be found in the catalog.
“I don’t need those things,” she whispered. It was true. Darian’s draw hadn’t been his bank account.
All she’d wanted was him.
Too bad the feeling wasn’t mutual.
Tears clogged her throat again. And here she’d thought she’d cried herself out last night.
Shaking her head, she jumped off the couch. She wasn’t going to mope around her apartment, eating ice cream just because someone had dumped her. It was Darian’s loss. At least she’d tried to hold on to what was important to her. All she could do now was heal and move on.
“Jogging,” she said, leaving her coffee behind. She’d always promised herself she’d be more active. No time like the present to turn over a new leaf.
And leave the past behind.
…
“Why do you think you’d be an asset at King Enterprises?”
Darian studied the eager young man before him as the interviewee droned on about how he had the skills to thrive in this environment.
He was the third possibility Allison had vetted before her departure and he rather liked this one best. The kid was wet behind the ears, but he was eager to please.
Plus there was zero chance Darian would get inappropriately involved with this assistant. Definitely a strong case for hiring the man before him.
“How would your previous experience help you in this position?” he asked, listening to the response with half an ear. Allison had been equally nervous when he’d hired her, and look how she’d grown.
His mood plummeted even more.
“Mr. King?”
He glanced up, realizing the interviewee had finished his answer.
“Forgive me.” He leaned forward. “You understand this job comes with demanding hours. I don’t work nine to five and expect my assistant to be available for the job whenever I am.”
“Absolutely,” the man replied. “Ms. Reed already filled me in on how this job goes above and beyond. That
is fine with me. I want to work for you, Mr. King, and learn from you. This position will help me take steps toward building the future I’m dreaming of. I understand what an honor it is to be here.”
Darian tapped the résumé against the edge of the desk. “Late nights, weekends, calls at three in the morning.”
“All fine. I assure you, I’ll be whatever you need from your assistant.”
He needed perfection.
And like an idiot, he’d had it and lost it.
“That’s good to know,” he said, rising. “I’ll let you know my decision in the next few days. Thank you for coming down again.”
“Not a problem. As I told Ms. Reed, I’m happy to be available whenever you’d like to speak with me. If you have any further questions just let me know.”
Darian held out his hand and after a firm shake, sent the applicant on his way.
Gillian strode into the room as the interviewee walked out. Her arms were full of folders as she juggled them to lay a few on his desk.
“The Albert papers,” she said, turning to go.
“Wait.”
She turned back to him.
The words stuck in his mouth. It was inappropriate to ask about Allison. This was the office.
“Sir?”
“Have you talked to Ali?”
Her expression grew guarded. “Just a few texts this morning telling me she wouldn’t be in. I’m meeting her tonight to give her the stuff from her office.”
“Ah.”
Silence stretched.
“If that’s all, sir, I’ve got a lot on my plate until you hire a new assistant.”
“Do you know where she’s going? Her new job, I mean.”
Gillian’s chin lifted. “A non-profit, I think. She found one with a cause she was passionate about.”
“Education?” he guessed.
The other brow joined the first. “Yes.”
Figured. Here she was going to help people fight to make the world better and he’d shredded her for it.
“Thank you. That will be all.”
She inclined her head and left the office, pulling the door closed behind her.
Exhaling, he rocked back in his chair. Nothing was the way it should be. Everything was off kilter. He’d spent the day catching himself when he wanted to call Allison in for this task or that call. He’d taken for granted how much easier she’d made his life, and now that he didn’t have an assistant, he was seeing exactly what she’d always done for him.
Right Billionaire, Wrong Wedding (Sexy Billionaires) Page 18
