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She shakes her head, nods, and then shakes it again like she isn't sure if she's happy or not. The little furrow between her brows tells me she isn't lying this time. She genuinely isn't sure if she's happy here or not. Fuck.
"I'll double your salary."
Her wide eyes fly to mine. "It's not about the money, Dominic."
"Triple it."
She scowls at me. "You are not paying me triple my salary to stay. Are you insane?"
"Maybe," I mutter, pacing in another circle. If I am, it's because she's driven me there. "Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. Just tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it. Is it because I sent Tomas to get a coffee pot?"
"What? No." She blinks at me, her eyes clouding with confusion and then outright suspicion. "You sent Tomas to get a coffee pot?"
"Ours is broken?" I'm not sure why that sounds like a question. Maybe because she looks annoyed with me right now.
"Did you at least send someone with him?"
"No?"
She gapes at me for a long, silent moment and then her lips twitch like she's amused. "How many times has he called you?"
"A few."
Yeah, she's definitely amused now. Her eyes light up, her lips curving into a smile. And God, she's incredible when she's smiling. That dimple pops out and I swear my heart beats out of my chest like on the cartoons. That dimple is a lethal weapon. It completely annihilates any chance I have of resisting her.
I take a step toward her, unable to stop myself.
"I don't even feel sorry for you right now," she says, pointing a finger at me. "You can't send Tomas out on his own without exact instructions, Dominic. Making executive decisions gives him anxiety. He needs explicit instructions to follow or someone to go with him so he doesn't get overwhelmed."
And that right there? That's why I love her. That's why I need her here. I know technology and coding and engineering. I know fuck all about what needs to be done around here to keep people happy and to keep everything running. I do my best, but at the end of the day, I'm just a computer nerd with a bank account and a desire to make the world a better place.
But Summer knows everything about our employees and she genuinely cares about them and their happiness. She knows who needs what kind of attention and gives it to them. They trust her, love her…would probably crawl through hell to make her happy because they know she will always have their best interests at heart. The people on my staff like me, but they adore her. She's relatable, genuine, approachable. Everyone is so much happier now that she's running things.
She's the best person I know. The most caring woman I've ever met.
"I didn't think about his anxiety," I mutter, taking another step toward her. I should have remembered it though. Maybe I'm getting complacent or relying on her too much. Maybe that's why she's unhappy. Because I'm a jackass. "I just wanted coffee."
"I would have gotten you coffee."
"It's not your job to get me coffee. You already have enough shit to do around here." I rake a hand through my hair again. "Is that why you're leaving? Because I put too much on you?" She's so smart, so capable and dedicated. I never really considered that I might have come to rely on her too much because, to me, she's a freaking goddess who can handle anything.
Shit. Maybe I have taken her for granted.
"You don't put too much on me. I love what I do here and all the people I work with." Her smile slips, sadness sweeping through her expression again.
"Then what is it?" I ask, and then reach out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear because I can't help it. Be
cause she's beautiful and perfect and she's right fucking there and if she leaves now, it's going to break me in half. I cup her cheek in my palm, tilting her head back until her blue eyes meet mine. "What did I do to make you want to leave?"
I know it had to be me. She loves everyone else.
"You didn't do anything, Dominic," she whispers, blinking as tears fill her eyes. "You're the best man I've ever met. The best boss I've ever had. But I have to leave."
"Why?"
"Because." She worries her bottom lip between her teeth, watching my face. A thousand different emotions flow through her eyes, but I'm not sure what any of them mean. I'm not even sure she's going to answer me. Until she does. "Because I'm in love with you and working beside you every day is killing me when I know you don't feel the same." She gives me a watery smile. "So see? I do have to leave. You've been avoiding me for months. Leaving now will make things less awkward for you. For everyone."
Jesus Christ.
