“What is this?”
“New contract terms. I’ll double your salary, and I’ll increase your holiday allowance. I’m also adding in one all-inclusive holiday every year, as well as a new car and a new house. It is, however, up for negotiation. If there’s anything else you want, I’d love to hear it.”
She stares at me and shakes her head. “I appreciate the offer,” she says, smiling tightly. “But I must respectfully decline.”
I blink in confusion.Decline? What does she mean, she’s declining my offer? “What is it you want, Valentina?”
She stares at me for a moment, her gaze pensive. “Nothing,” she says, her voice soft. “I don’t want anything from you.”
I look into her eyes, entirely at a loss. “I’m not letting you go,” I warn her. “Everything has a price.”
She tilts her head, and then she laughs, not an ounce of humor in her voice. “I don’t,” she tells me. “You can’t buy me, Luca. Nothing you can offer me will make me stay.”
I rise from my seat and place my palms on my desk as I lean in. “Tell me why you’re leaving.” If I can figure out why she wants to leave, I can fix it.
She hesitates for a moment, and I walk around my desk, pausing in front of her. Valentina looks up at me, but it isn’t me she’s seeing. She seems lost in thought.
“Valentina.” My voice is soft and gentle, almost as though I’m scared to speak too loudly, to do anything that might increase the distance between us.
Her eyes settle on mine, and it hits me square in the chest. “Do you want the truth?”
I nod.
“I just turned twenty-nine, Luca. In all the years we’ve worked together, I’ve never made any friends that aren’t in any way related to you. Do you know why?”
She doesn’t give me a chance to answer.
“Because my job had to take precedent over everything else in my life if I wanted to excel at work. I worked day and night, through weekends and holidays, to the point that I don’t even know who I am anymore. I don’t know what my dreams are, or what I’m doing with my life. I don’t want to wake up one day andrealize that my entire life is empty. Besides, like I said, I’m done growing in this company. The job role I want next isn’t one you can give me.”
I place my hands on her shoulders and hold on to her tightly, all the while wishing I could hold her closer. “Valentina, maybe all you need is a break. Why don’t I just book you a holiday? I can get the private jet ready for you within hours. Just tell me where you want to go, and I’ll arrange it. Maybe you’re just burned out, and I’ve just asked too much of you. I can decrease your hours and workload. I can hire more staff.”
She takes a step away from me, and my arms fall to my side. “No,” she says decisively. “A holiday won’t solve the underlying problem, Luca, and you know it. I do need a break, but not the kind you’re thinking of. I need a clean break. A new start. A chance to find my own happiness. I don’t know what’s next for me, but I know it’s far away from here, from you.”
Panic surges within me, and I take a step toward her, until I’ve got her trapped against my desk. This is all because I touched her when I never should have. I changed things between us, and I can never undo that. “Your own happiness?” I ask. “What does that even mean? Does working for me make you unhappy?” I wrap my hand around the back of my neck to keep from touching her and inhale deeply. “Tell me what challenge you want, and I’ll make it happen. I’ll buy you a company to manage on my behalf. How about that?”
She sighs. “No. I don’t want to work with you anymore, Luca. I don’t know how to explain myself any clearer than that.”
I stare into her beautiful eyes, noting the frustration and pain mingling together. I don’t understand. Why the fuck is she leaving me when I’m offering her the world?
Valentina smiles and hands me a piece of paper. “My notice period is six months. That’s enough time for us to find someone to replace me, and for me to train them. This is a list ofcandidates I’ve hand selected. If you let me know which of them you prefer, I’ll invite them over and start the interview process.”
I stare at the document in my hand and grit my teeth as I crumble it into a ball before letting it drop to the floor. Valentina grins at me and pulls another identical copy out of her trusty leather folder. She doesn’t hand it to me this time. Instead, she places it on my desk.
“Look over the candidates,” she tells me, her voice soft. “Iwill beleaving, and youwillneed someone to replace me.”
She walks away, her long hair swaying with each step. I’m letting her leave my office today, but she’s crazy if she thinks I’ll let her walk out of my life so easily.
Chapter Sixteen
Valentina
My hands tremble as I read over the article The Herald published about Luca and Natalia, announcing their engagement. They were captured having dinner together, and the way he looks at her fills me with equal parts longing and heartache. I know I’m not in love with Luca, but there’s something between us that wasn’t there before. I suppose what hurts the most is the thought of everything that could have been, and everything that was. The history between us will start to fade day by day, until it becomes a distant memory, just like my mother said it would.
I inhale shakily as I stare at the list of candidates I compiled. One of them will end up taking over my job, becoming Luca’s closest aide. If I do this well, he won’t even miss me. The right person will make it so that he barely notices my absence.
It’s not me he’s worried about losing. It’s the workflow we’ve created. It won’t be easy, but six months should be enough time to train someone to do everything I currently do for him. No one is irreplaceable in this world — least of all me.
I sigh as I spread out the documents on my living room floor. I could just interview all of them, but I don’t think we have timefor that. I need to select my top ten applicants, because I know Luca won’t.