“I’m not being dramatic and I mean it, I'm resigning.” I repeated. “But don’t worry, I remember what I agreed to in my contract and will give you the professional courtesy of a month’s notice.”
“Because I asked you to stay late?”
“No. It’s because for the past three years, all I’ve done is work overtime, cancel plans, and do everything you’ve asked, without so much as a thank you. I’ve dedicated my life to you and the company, and in doing so, I’ve lost sight of who I am and put my dreams on hold. I can’t do that anymore. I won’t.” I paused. “So consider this my one month notice.” I pressed the elevator button and it opened almost immediately. I stepped inside, leaving Nathan frozen, his face blank and unreadable. “Have a good weekend, Mr. Edge.”
The elevator doors closed, but the image of Nathan’s face lingered with me throughout the ride down, into the lobby, and even in the backseat of Kelsey’s town car.
As the SUV pulled away from the building, the weight of my decision settled in.
I expected regret and anxiety to gnaw at me, but instead, all I felt was peace.
Guess I wasn’t meant to be by Nathan’s side forever.
CHAPTER FIVE
NATHAN
I’D SPENT THEweekendtrying to ignore the weight of my father’s words.
It hadn’t worked.
Dalton sat across from me in my home office on Sunday, legs stretched out like he owned the place, watching me in that quiet way he always did. Patient. Expectant. Like he knew I’d eventually speak the thing I’d been choking on since the letter hit my desk.
I exhaled slowly, the paper burning in my mind again and my father’s neat handwriting spelling out her name as if it were inevitable.
Elise Alexandre.Not just an assistant. Not just the woman who had managed my life with stubborn efficiency for three years. She was the condition. The cost of keeping Edge Records in my hands.
I leaned back in my chair, letting the leather cradle me as I studied Dalton across the desk. The room was quiet but I didn’t mind. Silence suited me when my mind was at work.
“Tell me you’ve found something,” I said finally. “Some clause, some technicality. Anything.”
Dalton shook his head slowly, his expression giving me the answer before his words did. “If there was any way around it, I’d tell you. The stipulation is ironclad.”
The words landed like a fist to the gut, even though I’d expected them. I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to stay still, to keep my reaction buried. “So that’s it,” I muttered. “My father writes her name on a piece of paper, and suddenly my future, my company, everything I’ve built, hinges on a marriage I don’t want.”
Dalton’s gaze sharpened. “You knew your father. If he put this in writing, it wasn’t a mistake.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face, frustration boiling low in my chest. I looked for every possible way out. Spent hours combing through the language of the letter, running through every possible interpretation, hoping there was some overlooked loophole. There wasn’t. And the fact that my father, of all people, had tied my life to Elise Alexandre’s in this way made me want to put my fist through a wall.
Marriage. The word itself tasted bitter. I hadn’t wanted this, not with Elise, not with anyone.
Dalton leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, eyes locked on me. “Tell me you have a plan, Nathan.”
A humorless laugh slipped out before I could stop it. “What kind of plan is there, Dalton? I have to marry her, or I’ll lose everything.”
“You’ve never been the type to roll over,” he countered, calm but firm. “So don’t start now. You’ve got thirty days before she walks out that door for good. What are you going to do during that time?”
Thirty days.The reminder hit me harder than I liked. Elise’s resignation letter was still fresh in my mind, her steady voiceechoing as she told me she was done. That she wanted a life that didn’t revolve around my schedule and my demands. I’d told myself she was being dramatic, but I knew better.
I’d pushed her, piled work on her shoulders, called at all hours, expected perfection, and she’d delivered, every time. Until the trip. Until I asked her to choose the company over her friends one more time. And she finally chose herself.
For three years, she’d seen nothing but the coldest parts of me. The tyrant. The demanding CEO. If I walked up to her tomorrow and asked her to marry me, she’d laugh in my face.
I dragged in a breath, forcing my thoughts into order. “I can’t give her a demand,” I said finally. “I have to give her a reason. A choice she wants to make.”
Dalton studied me, his silence saying more than words could.
I leaned forward, my voice low. “She has to see something else in me. Something real. Otherwise, this doesn’t work.”
