AllFreeNovel
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"Then why are you leaving me?" Shit. That's not what I meant to say, not out loud anyway. "I mean, why are you leaving my company? What's wrong?" I release the edge of my desk and stride toward her. "Tell me what happened, and I'll fix it." I'll sign over the entire company if that's what it takes to fix whatever has her ready to leave. I need her here.
"N-nothing happened, Dominic." She tilts her head back to look up at me. Sadness swims through those baby blues, working like a wrecking ball on my insides.
I thrust my hands into my pockets to keep from scooping her up into my arms to hold her.
"I just think it's time for me to move on."
I know her. I've spent the last six months obsessed with every expression that crosses her face. I know when she's happy and when she's sad. I know when Todd in purchasing is getting on her nerves, and when she and Liberty have been out for drinks. I even know when she's lying—which she doesn't do often. But she's lying now. Something happened to precipitate this decision. She just doesn't want to share it with me.
Well, fuck that.
I'm not letting her go like this. I'm not letting her go at all.
"Is that your letter of resignation?" I ask, pointing at the paper in her hands.
She nods.
I reach out and pluck it from her grasp before stomping across my office to the shredder. I don't even read the letter before shoving it inside.
"Dominic! What are you doing?" she cries, rushing forward.
I watch in satisfaction as the shredder turns the letter into tiny ribbons of paper.
Summer reaches out to snatch it out of the shredder before it's completely destroyed, but I grab her around the waist, pulling her away from the machine before she gets her hands on it. And fuck me. She feels as good pressed up against my body as I knew she would. Better, even.
"What are you doing?" she cries again, her tone equal parts distressed and indignant.
"You're not leaving me until you tell me why," I growl in her ear, anchoring her body to mine.
She wriggles, trying to break free, but I refuse to let her go. Instead I lift her off the ground and plop her down on the edge of my desk, not even caring as a stack of files falls off, scattering documents all across the floor.
"Stop fighting me, sweet girl," I mutter when she shoves at my chest, trying to push me out of her personal space. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"You just shredded my resignation!" she says, her voice full of righteous indignation.
If my heart wasn't lodged in my throat, I'd laugh. But I'm too fucking worried to do that. Instead, I take a step back, giving her a little bit of space so she knows I'm not trying to hurt her or force myself on her.
"I'm not accepting it until you tell me why."
"Because it's my choice," she says, glaring at me.
"You're a terrible liar, Summer."
"I'm not a liar."
"I know, but you're lying to me right now, sweet girl." I rake a hand through my hair, pace in a circle, and then stop, only to immediately make another circuit. "You love working here. You post about how much you love this place on social media all the time."
"You look at my Facebook?" she says and then frowns. "We aren't friends on Facebook. You don't even have Facebook."
Well, shit.
"I have my sources," I lie, not about to tell her I made a fake profile so I could stalk hers. I don't think that would win me any favors right now. I'm also pretty sure HR would hang me by my balls if they found out. "You love your job. Did I do something to offend you? Is that why you're leaving? Tell me what I did, and I'll fix it."
"You didn't do anything."
Another lie. She really is terrible at this. Her little turned-up nose twitches and her gaze slides away from mine like she can't look me in the eye while telling me something that isn't true.
"Are you not happy here?"
