Page 108 of All Tied Down

Because I’m Emerson Fucking Andrews and not a man or a song or the promise of being in love is going to change that.

“Miss Andrews?” Des starts, a single sheet of paper in his hand, his eyes not reaching mine. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Of course.” Since neither of us is pretending everything is fine, I don’t attempt a smile, just wait as he walks slowly across my office and places the sheet in my hand.

Accepting it, I note that his posture is not as straight as usual, his face sporting more than a five o’clock shadow instead of being meticulously cleanshaven like it usually is.

For the second time today, my stomach drops to my incredibly expensive shoes as my eyes glance over the first line.

Please accept this as my formal resignation.

“No,” I tell him, making a show of dropping it into the garbage without reading the rest.

“Miss Andrews⁠—”

A savior, a queen, a battle cry heard.

And all that to say she set fire to my world.

The closing lyrics repeat over and over in my head, Garrett’s voice a shiver racing down my spine as I brace myself for what’s to come.

“Close the door and sit. If you’re going to resign, you’re going to do it to my face.”

Heaving a breath, he rolls his shoulders back, taking his time to close the door before taking the seat across from me.

“I didn’t want to do this today, not after…” He doesn’t finish his sentence, just continues on like Garrett didn’t make a scene in my office. “I don’t have a choice.”

“Explain.”

Des stares at me for a moment, his normally professional mask slipping enough to see the anguish in his gaze—desperation and hope flashing in turn.

“I’ve become my nephew’s guardian. He’s thirteen and even though I love my job…it’s too much for him. He needs stability and I can’t give him that and be what you need. I’m trying to find a new apartment, but it’s hard finding something in my budget and I don’t want him to move schools. It’s just too much.”

Opening my mouth for only a second, I snap it shut as I narrow my eyes. “Forgive me—but I know what you make here. What happened that you’re struggling to stay in budget?”

“Miss Andrews.”

“Right now, it’s Emerson, and I can’t fix it if I don’t have all the details. I’m being selfish, Des. I can’t lose anyone else I care about today.”

Dropping his gaze to his lap, his shoulders slump, the weight of something far bigger than this moment bubbling to the surface in my office.

“My mother was really sick and passed away this winter.”

“Des, I’m so sorry.” I rack my brain to think if he’d taken time off or if he’d even mentioned it and come up empty. “I didn’t know. You were here—the whole time?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Am I that bad of a boss you couldn’t come to me?” I ask, unable to keep the hurt from my voice.

“No—of course not. I knew you’d want to fix it and I just…I couldn’t. It would have been too much and I was already hanging on by a thread.”

“Will you tell me now?”

“Her insurance lapsed from being out of work and then she had nothing. There was some assistance from the hospital, but I had to shoulder the rest. My sister started to fall apart the sicker our mother got and lost her job…”

He trails off and instead of my faithful assistant, I see a man who has held the weight of the world and shown up every single day without complaint even when everything was falling apart around him.

“Where is she now?”