bet on me.”
“Wow, a compliment for me and a pat on your own back all at the same time. Impressive.”
“Is the distributor really in Gabe’s office or did you do that just to break up the war?”
“Oh, he’s really there,” she said, walking toward the bank of windows. “But I did want to break up the argument, so I would have made something up if I’d had to.”
“He’s driving me crazy.” Ethan turned and moved to stand beside her at the windows overlooking the Pacific Ocean. January could be cold and gray in Southern California, but winter seas had their own magic. The water was as dark as the sky, with waves rolling relentlessly toward shore. Surfers posed on their boards, waiting for the perfect wave, and a few boats with brightly colored sails skimmed the water’s surface. The scene should have calmed him—it usually did. But this thing with Gabriel was getting more irritating every time it came up.
“He still wants to make some changes to the chocolate line, doesn’t he.”
Ethan glanced at Sadie. “And now he’s got some woman helping him wage his campaign.”
“It’s not a completely crazy idea,” she said with a shrug.
He stared at her. “Not you, too.”
Sadie shrugged again. “Change isn’t always a bad thing, Ethan.”
“In my experience, it is,” he argued. He took her shoulders, ignored the leap of heat inside, then turned her to face him. Once she was, he released her and stepped back before saying, “People always talk about changing their lives. New car, new house, new hair color, hell, new beliefs. Well, there’s something to be said for stasis. For finding what works and sticking with it.”
“Okay, but sometimes change is the only route left open to you.”
“Not this time,” he muttered. Turning his back on her and the view, he headed to his desk, sat down and reached for the latest marketing report. He gave her a quick glance. “Sadie, if you’re going to side with Gabriel on this, I don’t want to hear it. I’m not in the mood to have another argument for change.”
“Right. Well, we all have to do things we don’t want to do.”
“What?” He looked up at her.
She blew out a breath and handed him a single sheet of paper. “I’m quitting my job.”
“You can’t quit. We have a meeting in twenty minutes.”
“And yet...”
Ethan just stared at her, not really sure he’d heard her correctly. This was coming out of the blue and made absolutely no sense. “No, you’re not.”
She waved the paper. “Read the letter, Ethan.”
He snatched it from her and skimmed the neatly typed lines. “This is ridiculous.” He held it out to her. “I’m not accepting this.”
Sadie put her hands behind her back so she wouldn’t be at all tempted to take the letter and pretend none of this had happened. Oh, she had known quitting was going to be hard. Had known that Ethan would fight her on this, and she was a little worried he might convince her to stay. Because she didn’t really want to leave Heart Chocolates.
But, she reminded herself, she really didn’t want to spend the next five years of her life as she’d spent the previous five. Hopelessly in love with a boss who saw her as nothing more than an efficient piece of office furniture.
“You can’t quit,” he argued. When she refused to take back her letter of resignation, he tossed it facedown onto his desk, as if he couldn’t bring himself to even see it again. “We’ve got the spring campaign to finalize, the rehab at the factory—”
“And all of it will get done without me,” Sadie said, and hoped he didn’t hear the nearly wistful tone in her voice.
“Why?” he demanded, scowling at her. “Is this about a raise? Fine. You have it.”
“It’s not about money, Ethan,” she said tightly. She already made more money than she would at any other job. Ethan was generous with his employees. That wasn’t the issue at all.
He stood up. “All right, an extra two weeks of vacation a year, plus the raise.”
She laughed at the idea and suddenly relaxed her guard. Really, for being such a good boss, he was also completely clueless sometimes. “Ethan, I don’t take my vacation now. What good is two more weeks to me?”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
“I’m being pragmatic.”
“I disagree.”
“I’m sorry about that,” she said, and she really was. Sadie didn’t want to leave. Didn’t want to never see him again. In fact, that thought opened up a dark, empty pit in the bottom of her stomach. Which told her she simply had no other choice.
“Then what’s this about?”
“I want a life,” she said, and hated how desperate those four words sounded.
But she’d spent the last eight years of her life working for Heart chocolates, the last five of which she’d been Ethan’s assistant. She worked outrageous hours, hardly ever saw her family, and the houseplants in the condo she’d purchased the year before were dried-out sticks because she was never there often enough to water them.
She wanted romance. Sex. Maybe a family of her own before she was too old to get any of that.
“You have a life,” he said, clearly affronted at the accusation that he’d somehow cheated her. “You’re integral to this business. To me.”
If only.
The real problem here was that she’d been in love with Ethan for years now. It was empty, completely one-sided and guaranteed to leave her a bitter old woman one day. Nope. For her own sake, she had to quit.
Shaking her head, she said, “That’s work, Ethan, and there’s more to life than work.”
“Not that I’ve noticed,” he complained.
“That’s part of the problem,” she argued. “Don’t you get it? We work hideously long hours, come in on weekends, and last year you even called me in from my cousin’s wedding to help you cover that mix-up with the Mother’s Day shipment.”
“It was important,” he reminded her.
“So was Megan’s wedding,” she told him, shaking her head. “No, I have to do this. It’s time for a change.”
“Change again,” he muttered, standing up and coming around the desk to stop right in front of her. “I’m really getting sick of that word.”
“Change isn’t always bad.”
“Or good,” he pointed out. “When things are working, why screw it up?”
“I knew you’d hate this and maybe it was bad timing coming in to talk to you right after your latest battle with Gabe. But yes. I need a change.” She stared up into his grass-green eyes and felt a pang of regret that she was leaving. His dark brown hair was mussed, no doubt because he’d been stabbing his fingers through it again while arguing with Gabe. His tie was loosened and that alone was so damn sexy, her breath caught in her throat.
What was it about this man that hit her on so many levels? It wasn’t just how gorgeous he was or the way he made her yearn with just a glance. He was strong and smart and tough and the combination was a constant temptation to her. So resigning was really her only choice.
How could she want him so badly and stay in a position that guaranteed she’d never have him?
“Damn it, Sadie what is it you want changed, exactly?”
“My