Page 106 of Assistant to the Billionaire CEO

He shook his head. “Stella—”

“And wearedifferent. For example, I’m the kind of person who wants to scream that I’m in a relationship with you from New York’s rooftops, I wanteveryoneto know it, and you’re the kind of person who wants to keep me a secret.”

“I don’t want to keep you a secret. Stella, listen.”

“No, you do,” I said resolutely. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this. Trust me, I’ve made up my mind. You don’t feel the same way about me. We shouldn’t be together. That’s that.”

“You can’t be serious,” he said.

“I’m done.”

“I’m not,” he said. “I won’t let you go.”

44

STELLA

Igulped. “What?”

“You heard me. There’s something between us. There always has been.” He took another step toward me, and I took another step back. “I know you feel something for me,” he added. “Why do you want to give up so easily?”

Okay, that was surprising, even shocking. I hadn’t seen that coming, especially after what Damon had told me about him not wanting a relationship, but I couldn’t let it deter me. I shouldn’t forget that Ace’s first instinct had been to keep our relationship hidden.

Besides, the outcome would still be the same. The outcome would still be a total disaster, for both him and me.

I needed to crush the dangerous hope he had just instilled in my heart. I knew if I let him touch me, I’d melt in his arms, and that was the last thing I wanted. “Yes, I have feelings for you too, I’ve made that more than clear.” I said it as matter-of-factly and coldly as I could. What I really wanted to tell him was that I didn’t just have feelings for him, that I loved him, but luckily, my brain was able to stop me. Instead, I said, “But that isn’t enough.”

He paused. This time, he didn’t come closer. “No. You can’t be sure about that.”

“I’m sure. Can you trust me that this is for the best?” I said it with a hard expression.

He stared at me, not saying anything.

“I’d like us to still be friends,” I added, and my heart knew he would hate that. Band-Aid, remember? I needed to not waver.

“I want you and me, I want what’s between us, for fuck’s sake,” he said, his eyes on me, nearly breaking my resolve.But I refused to waver. Not now.

“You have to accept that I don’t. And consider this my two weeks’ notice.” I fumbled around in my bag to retrieve the note. I walked to his desk and placed it in front of him.

A pause.

He shook his head, in a kind of a way that said, “This is getting better and better.” He sat down, staring at the note, but not taking it into his hands.

To put it simply: I couldn’t continue working here, it would only mess with my heart. It was important to me that I helped finish up the paperwork for the merger, but then it would be time to move on.

I reached into my bag. “And here is the car key back. It wouldn’t be right to keep it.” I placed it and the title next to my two weeks’ notice.

“At least keep the car. You’ll need it.”

“I can’t. I’m sorry.”

He ran his hand through his hair, leaving it in a sexy mess. After about ten seconds that seemed like hours, he looked up at me. “I can’t pretend I’m not saddened by this, but I’d do anything for you, including accepting this. If that’s what you want.” He paused, narrowing his eyes at me. “Is that what you want?”

“It is,” I said, although it wasn’t. My decision was entirely altruistic. If I had made it based on what my heart wanted, I would have been on his lap already, feeling his arms around me. “It will give us enough time to finish up the papers for the merger.”

“Very well,” he said coolly. “We have a meeting with Mr. Hardy and our IT team at 2 p.m. sharp to discuss the new scheduling software they have in mind for us. I’ll see you then.”

“I’ll see you then.” I turned to leave but hesitated once I got to the door’s threshold.

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