MORE THAN A SECRETARY

“What’s the meaning of this Katrina? Why are you doing this? Is this how far you will go to get what you want?”

He asked picking up the letter she dropped on the table and placing it back in her hands.

“Lucas,”

“I am not going to take that from you, we had an agreement,”

“Lucas, come on,”

He stared at her wordlessly, her outstretched hands bore the letter that would end their relationship for good, he didn’t want this, didn’t want her to quit on him, he still needed her around, yes his other assistants were doing a good job but Katrina was his best.

“I thought you promised that you won’t quit on me? Can’t you at least keep that promise? Why do I have to suffer because of your choices? Or did you forget you made a promise?”

“Yeah I did, I remember, but I don’t think I am needed here anymore, and what more I need to start thinking of myself first, this place is no longer healthy for me, and I want a clean start,”

“I am not taking that from you, you can’t just up and run away because you want to, are we not supposed to keep business and private life apart? Why are you letting what we had affect how we work,”

He asked walking away from her to stand by the window, he didn’t want her to quit, he needed her around, she was of great importance to him business-wise, and losing her would be hell of bad for him, trying to function without her around had proved that.

“I am sorry Lucas, but I am going to quit whether you want it or not, I am all that matters here,”

She answered.

“Why are you so selfish Kat? Why do you only think about yourself? You never thought of how it would be if you decide to cross the line and catch feeling and I was caught in between, now you are only thinking of yourself again, did you even think of how much your leaving right now would affect the office functioning? Did you think of how bad timing this is? There is so much going on around the office and I can’t be there all the time, if you quit who else am I going to trust to do those things?”

He asked, his voice going a little louder than he anticipated.

“Yes, I am only thinking about myself, yes I am selfish like you said, and you don’t even need me around anymore, this is doing both of us a favor,”

“How do you mean I don’t need you around, if I don’t why will I still have you working with me? Why didn’t I fire you?”

“Only God knows, you barely ask me to do anything, you give me a time frame to be at work which and even when I do turn up for work the fewer days you give me, I don’t get to do any work, I just sit in the office all day staring at my system, so I decided to just go away, how is that a bad thing?”

She asked dropping the letter back on the table.

“Katrina, I reduced the days you have to be at work because I wanted you to have time to do those things you couldn’t do all those years you spent working tirelessly for me, all those years you never took a break,”

“Well it doesn’t feel that way to me, I feel like you pushed me into a corner and I don’t want that, I told you I don’t want it,”

She replied.

“Why would you think I will do that?”

“I don’t know, I just don’t want to work for you anymore, I am sorry but I can’t see you as just my boss anymore, you are much more to me right now, and I don’t think I can sit or be in the same space with you with all the crazy thoughts in my head, so if you don’t want a crazy woman coming into your office every day just give me what I want,”

“I can’t, I don’t want to lose you, Katrina, not right now,”

“You make it sound like we are in a romantic relationship and I am pulling out, come on Lucas, I am just your secretary, how hard is it to accept my resignation letter, you don’t have to pay me anything, and I am not going to accept it anyway, I barely did any work this month,”

“You are asking me that? We have been together for seven years, now tell me again why I should suddenly get used to the fact that you are not going to be here anymore?”

“Well, get used to it,”

“I don’t want to,”

“Well, we don’t always get what we want, and it’s normal, I mean look at me,”

“Why are you making everything about our relationship outside the office Katrina? That has nothing to do with this, stop trying to make it seem like that, you can’t just up and quit, it’s not fair, you didn’t even warn me beforehand, and you want me to accept this, I am not going to, okay,”

He voiced losing his temper with her, she was so inconsiderate, how could she make these decisions and just dump it on him, this is why he didn’t trust people, he never believed Katrina would pull a fast one on him just because he couldn’t give her what she wanted, she was no different, she was selfish and only looking out for her gain, she claims to love him yet once again the selfish nature of all the women he has ever been intimate still found their way in, if they don’t get what they want, then they make people pay.

“I don’t know how I am going to get it to you, you already made up your mind to call me selfish and I accept it, yes I can’t separate business from personal life, I can’t and I am sorry, not everyone can be you, and my mental health matters to me,”

She voiced, she was almost crying and he didn’t want her to cry, if this is what she wanted then he had no choice but to let her have it, it was better than having her here and keeping the toxic environment, he just have to accept things and make sure not to make the same mistake again, the mistake of mixing business with pleasure, it always never ends well and his case was no different.

“I see you have made up your mind and nothing I will say will make you change it,”

“Yes,”

She replied looking at him for the first time since she entered the room, she looked slimmer and had so much sadness in her eyes that he wanted to pull her close and kiss her better.

“Dude, cut it out, you are the reason she is sad, don’t add to it,”

The tiny voice in his head whispered, and he agreed, he was the reason Kat was quitting, if only he hadn’t touched her, she won’t have thought of quitting, and then there is his family, they are gonna be on his case, his mom hasn’t given him a breathing space even when she said she will not interfere, she calls him and ask of Katrina and he purposely ignores her calls and has been doing that for days now, he just couldn’t understand why they can’t just leave him alone or try to understand that he can’t give what they are asking and what Katrina wants, if only he could, he would have, just to stop her from leaving.

“Fine, you have what you want, you are free, it was nice while it lasted, I hope I see you around,”

“I don’t think so, I am moving,”

She revealed.

“Moving? Why? Where? Since when?”

He asked in shock.

“Somewhere far from New York, I told you I want a fresh start and I mean it,”

“But your life is here in New York, even your family,”

“I guess, it’s time to do me,”

“Where are you moving to?”

He asked, he couldn’t picture New York without Katrina, he couldn’t imagine her anywhere else.

“I haven’t made up my mind yet, and I won’t tell you either,”

“I see,”

He said, he was short of words, she already made up her mind and he didn’t want her to leave with them fighting so he nodded.

“I honestly wish it didn’t have to come to this Kat but, you be fine okay.”

“Yes, Thank you for everything Lucas, even though it ended this way, working for you, knowing you, falling in love with you have been a hell lots of rollercoasters but I had fun, I laughed, I cried, I regretted but in the end, even with the kind of pain and hurt I am feeling right now, I still had fun, and my big reveal before I leave, I love you, I have loved you for a long time now, I don’t think that will change soon, and I won’t force it, I am going to grow with it, and when I meet the one who is gonna be mine, I am going to channel all the love I feel right now to that person,”All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

She said. he didn’t like the thought of her with someone else.

“Then do the right thing idiot,”

The tiny voice whispered loudly, but he clammed it down.

“I hope you find happiness Kat,”

He said and went upstairs leaving her there.

He took his bath and got dressed and by the time he came back down, she had already left, just like that, no final goodbye, no notification, she just left, he tried not to let her leaving affect him, he picked up the USB drive she left, got his things and left the apartment, when he got to the office a few hours later, she already had her table cleared her, she removed every trace of her leaving him with nothing, absolutely nothing to remember her with except the memories of the times they shared together…