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Standing, I crossed the room and stared out the massive windows at the skyline. All that steel and glass. All that emptiness.

I didn't want this anymore. I had to end it. And I had to end it right now.

Leaving my office with determined strides, I ignored all the curious glances I received as I walked to my father's office for what I knew to be the final time. I vowed to never step foot in this building again.

Bypassing his assistant who took one look at my face and sat back down, I didn't even knock on the door, instead bulldozing my way inside. My father sat behind his humongous desk, like a warlord surveying his territory, Armani suit crisp as always, cufflinks gleaming, his eyes narrowing on me immediately, like my shirt was wrinkled or I had mustard on my face.

Always fucking lacking in his sight. And I was sick to death of trying to win this man's approval.

Well, no more.

"I'm done," I said, my voice flat. No preamble. No intro. Just done.

His prominent brows slammed together. "Excuse me? What are you talking about?"

"I'm done," I repeated. "I'm quitting. Walking away. Effective immediately."

He leaned back, folding his hands together, mouth pinched tight. "You're clearly having a little tantrum about something. What is it? A girl? Of course it's a girl. You'll get over it. No need to have a hissy fit."

"No. I won't get over it." I stepped closer. "Ever. So I'm out."

He released an annoyed sigh. "You're acting like a child."

"And you're acting like a dictator, as usual," I shot back. "You don't see people. You only see money. You don't build anything meaningful. All you do is erase. Erase history. Erase neighborhoods. Erasepeople. And I refuse to be a part of it any longer."

He scoffed. "So what then? You're going to go off to save the world? Become a superhero or something?"

I had no good answer to that. I hadn't quite gotten to that part yet.

His answering smirk was full of arrogance. "You'll come crawling back. I know you will."

"No. I won't."

And then I walked out. No goodbye, no final words. Just freedom.

And God, it was exhilarating.

Stopping back at my office to get my things, I was glad my assistant had retired last week after being with the company along time. So now, there was no one I was leaving in the lurch... with the exception of Tomás.

Fuck.

I hadn't thought about him, and what my leaving might do. He'd be stuck with the Southside Flats project now, wouldn't he? He could probably just slip right into my job and easily take over. Maybe he'd even be happy about that. I didn't know. We hadn't exactly talked about our deepest, innermost feelings to each other.

Throwing a bunch of random shit into a box, I realized I really didn't have all that much I cared about in here. Apparently, I'd checked out a long time ago—maybe from the very beginning—not even bothering to decorate or make this place truly mine.

In the brief time I'd been gone, someone had delivered a small package and left it on my desk. Huh, strange.

Distracted and not really paying attention, I tore off some tape and opened one end...

POP!

A sudden burst of glitter erupted right in my face, tiny shimmery particles blasting into my eyes, coating my hair, my face, my suit, every nearby surface, like an evil unicorn who held a grudge against me.

"What the fuck?" I exclaimed.

Laughter sounded behind me, and swiping at my eyes, I whirled around to see Tomás standing in my doorway.

"Who'd you piss off?" he asked between bouts of laughter. "Not your mystery woman, I hope."