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“Jake messaged me. You can’t quit.” I leave my jacket on and my purse hangs from my shoulder.
“I can, and I did. It’s done.” He heads into his kitchen. “Do you want something to drink?”
I’m not sure what I thought would happen right now, but this awkward tension between us sucks. I rehearsed my speech on the way over, so I might as well get it out. “About today…”
He shuts his fridge door and puts his fingers against my mouth. “It’s on me. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you beforehand. It was wrong of me. I’m really sorry.”
My shoulders fall and I stare into his eyes. How easy would it be to forgive him and move on?
“I can’t say I’m not upset. You should’ve told me, and I still think we should have presented all three ad campaigns, but I see where I probably took it more personally because of our relationship.” I step away from him because I’ll never be able to do this with him so close.
“We’ll have to agree to disagree on presenting all three ideas.”
“Your apology doesn’t hold any weight?” The anger from before resurfaces. Maybe it’s too early to be here discussing this. I should’ve gone home.
“I apologize for not telling you I made the decision ahead of time, but not for pitching the best idea.” He crosses his arms.
“Okay…” I draw out the word, annoyance wrapping around me like barbed wire. I hope he doesn’t veer close to me again. He’s liable to end up cut by my sharp edges right now.
“Look, I have the final say. I’m—was—the senior ad exec, and I did what I thought was best for the client.”
I inhale a deep, calming breath, not wanting to devolve into the same argument we had earlier. We’re not going to agree on this. “I don’t want you to quit. If anything, you should be partner.”
“Mr. Jacobson offered me the partnership. I declined it. I don’t want to work for that company, and Annie…” He lightly grasps my hand. “You need to leave. You’ll never get where you should be if you stay there.”
I stare at him, waiting for more information.
After a few seconds, he continues. “There’s no future for you at Jacobson and Earl. I didn’t want you to go to Houston to work for Blair, but I should’ve told you my suspicions sooner. Mr. Jacobson is a sexist asshole who will keep you down.”
I pull my hand away from his. “What do you mean you should have told me sooner?”
He blows out a breath and runs his fingers through his hair. “I like what we have. I didn’t want you to leave and move to Houston.” His voice loses the edge of arrogance it had earlier. Now, it’s full of regret.
“Enzo, what exactly are you saying?”
“I had a meeting with him weeks ago and got the feeling then that he might not be on board with promoting you. I knew they were dragging their feet on making you a junior ad exec, but I didn’t know the half of it until today. That’s why I quit. I won’t work for a man like that.”
I stumble back a step. “After I blew any future at Coddle? That’s when you decide to tell me? Was this whole thing a ploy? Only present your ad, I get mad and storm out, we fight in your office. All to make me look unprofessional so she doesn’t want me? So you can win?”
“What? No. I just wanted to keep you with me. I’m sorry.” His eyes plead for me to understand.
I shake my head. “My life isn’t a game. If you truly cared for me, you would’ve told me I was being used. Hell, I came up with the entire tampon ad myself and you let me. You let that company profit from me, knowing they didn’t value me.”
I stomp over to his door and start to swing it open, but his palm slams it shut above my head.
His big body cages me between him and the door. “I’m starting my own company. Come with me. We’ll be partners.”
If it were yesterday, I’d have jumped in his arms and said let’s do it. But too much has happened now. “I’m not sure we should work together,” I say to the door.
His mouth lowers to my ear. “I love you. I know my actions are far from showing that right now, and I get I was being selfish, but you’re the first woman to ever make me feel whole. I can’t bear to lose you.”
I close my eyes, a lone tear falling. “I’m not a pawn that you win by outplaying someone else. I’m not sure you understand what love is.”
I open the door and he slams it shut again, neither of us moving.
“Don’t do this. Don’t throw away what we have.”
“I need some space,” I whisper.
This time when I open the door, he steps back, allowing me to walk through. I feel his eyes on me as I walk down the hall, and when I turn around in the elevator, he stands in the hallway, watching me while the doors of the elevator shut between us.
It feels so final that I collapse to the floor and sob.
