“Yes.” He was looking less amused by the second and I could see the window about to slam shut. If I didn’t get this out now, I was never going to do it. “I will only be working here for another two weeks.”

I kept my eyes on the floor while I broke the news, but even if he was a rude asshole about eye contact, I actually had home training. So I looked up. I expected to encounter absolute disgust in his gaze. There was nothing that Theo Anibal despised more than having his ever-important routine disrupted; to my surprise when I looked he seemed...pleased? Or maybe this was him pissed and I’d seen such rare displays of emotion from him that I couldn’t tell them apart.

“I’m quitting,” I said into the silence, the only sound in the room the whirring of the pool heater. After what felt like an eternity he nodded, crossing his legs.

“All right.” His voice was almost breezy when he spoke, but other than that there was absolutely no reaction. No feigned regret, no I wish you the best. Not a fucking thing.

This motherfucker.

After all this time the least he could do was pretend he cared I was leaving my job. “You’ll need to find another assistant.” This was voiced a little more sharply; I was unable to disguise my annoyance. When he ignored me, I opened my mouth again. “I could train them. And Natasha could help with posting the job and setting up interviews while I’m out.” That part I said because I was a fucking mess and probably had Stockholm Syndrome.

He looked at me for a very long time, so long that I started squirming in my chair.

“What are you doing after this?” He locked his eyes with mine and I realized then that it was a blessing that the man rarely looked at me, because I was having a hard time breathing. “Are you going to an architecture firm?” He asked it casually, but the way his icy gaze narrowed a little as he asked told me he was interested in the answer. Theo’s gray eyes were flecked with brown. It was such a weird hue and at certain times of day or depending on what he wore they could be almost a honey color. And I needed to fucking focus.

I considered how much to say. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t find out. I was friends with Natasha, and Cecilia, his stepmom, knew about Bookish Boudoir. She’d even said she wanted me to do Zoe’s room for her birthday as a surprise. They would blab about what I was doing if he asked. Not that I ever imagined Theo would give me a second thought once I was gone.

“I’m starting my own interior design firm.”