Page 5 of The Boss’s Obsession
Slowly, she shook her head. “No, of course not.”
“Then why are you leaving me?” I demanded, my voice stern as hell, but I had no control over it at this point.
“I-I don’t know what to say. You don’t want me to leave?” she asked slowly like such a thing was completely unexpected.
I let out a bitter laugh. “That’s right. I don’t want you to leave, and I have no intention of letting you.”
Her eyes rounded, and I winced internally at my words. I had no idea what exactly I was going to say, but now that I was here, and she was in front of me, my panic seemed to be calming.
“You have no intention of letting me go?” she repeated slowly as if I was talking in some incomprehensible language.
“That’s right. Just tell me what it’s going to take. Do you want a raise? Bonuses? Your own office? Just tell me, and let’s put this fight behind us.”
“Fight? We’re not having a fight,” she said slowly, and her eyes slid over me, finally taking in my outfit. “Are you feeling ok?” She’d never seen me out of a three-piece suit, and now that I was standing in grey joggers and a white t-shirt, she clearly thought I’d hit my head. Maybe she was right. I certainly felt off.
“I’m fine, I just don’t like my work environment being threatened. Why would you want to leave? I treat you well, you are paid well, I respect your opinions, and value them. What else is there?”
“A life!” Her words burst out like she’d been keeping them inside by force of will alone. She flushed, a pretty pink suffusing her cheeks. Her eyes flew from mine, clearly embarrassed by her outburst. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me like I said, and I know my father would have appreciated it a lot too. But I’m ok now, I don’t need you to babysit me anymore. I’m ready to stand on my own, and I don’t want to live for work anymore. I want time to meet my friends, date, have a relationship, travel… celebrate a holiday. I need it,” she said all in a rush. Her dark eyes returned to mine, searching for understanding.
I couldn’t move. The relief I’d felt when I’d seen her had melted away to a brand-new hell of anxiety.
“You need time off to date?” I repeated slowly.
She laughed self-consciously. “I know it sounds lame, but yes. I want to meet someone. I want to meet the one. I never will when I’m working so hard. Thank you for making me a counteroffer. I appreciate it, all of it, but I still need to quit. I promise I’ll find you someone so much better than me to be my replacement.”
With that, she gave me a cheerful smile, turned on her heel, and left me standing on the pavement, staring after her, feeling like she’d pulled my heart out of my chest and stomped on it. It beat pathetically from its position on the blood-soaked asphalt.
It was the first time I realized how savage Sienna could be.
She walked away without a backward glance, without the slightest concern that she’d left me bleeding.
CHAPTER5
Sienna
So, yesterday had been a day of firsts. It had been the first time I’d seen Ronan outside a bar. He had looked odd against the background of workers kicking back. He was too intense to fit in. It had also been the first time that I’d seen him out of a suit, and I already knew the grey jogging bottoms would be making frequent appearances in my dreams from now on.
He’d looked positively disheveled, which wasn’t normal for him at all.
On Monday,when my alarm went off, I dragged myself out of bed and into work. Too many cocktails on Saturday night had sent me to my bed nearly all day yesterday, and this morning, I still felt rough. Maybe I was getting sick? Great, just what I needed when I was working my last two weeks.
At my desk in the office, I peered around the door to see if Ronan was in yet. I was surprised to find he wasn’t. He usually beat me to the office, considering the man barely seemed to sleep and lived nearby. I started to sort out his email inbox and checked his schedule. I got so lost in the work, absorbed in creating a day that flowed well, that I nearly screamed half an hour later when I looked up and found Ronan standing at my desk staring down at me.
“Sienna, I trust you had a good weekend?” his voice rasped, his eyes intensely fastened to mine.
I nodded. “Sure, it was great.”
He barked out a laugh that sounded dryly amused. “Glad to hear it. I need to cancel my first meeting,” he continued briskly.
I nodded, clicking on the meeting in my online schedule and pulling up the contact details.
“Aren’t you going to ask why?” he asked after a moment.
I blinked up at him. “No, it’s not my business,” I pointed out. “I’m sure you have your reasons.”
He let out a long sigh and turned toward his office. “Fine. Bring a notepad in when you’re ready.”
With that clipped instruction, he went into his office and closed the door. I frowned after him, and then made the arrangements to bump the meeting, and went to get him a coffee, grabbing my notebook on the way to his door.
