RUBY POV
The morning was tense for me—even Ethan felt it. He had little in the way of personal items in the office, but I helped him pack up some awards, books, and a couple shirts he kept on hand for emergencies.
I shook my head as I folded one, trailing my finger over the sleeve. All his shirts were custom made, and his initials RVR
embroidered into the cuffs; a decadent touch only he could carry off.
His items only filled two file boxes. His office was as impersonal as his condo. Glancing around, I realized it didn't look any different.
No one would notice, unless someone was looking.
A small piece of sculpture caught my eye and I stretched up, grabbing it off the shelf.
"Did you want to take this, Ethan?"
He focused his gaze on the sculpture, but before he could reply, his office door flung open and Julian strode in. He stopped dead, looking at us.
Ethan was leaning against his desk, his resignation letter in hand, me standing,
holding the sculpture beside an open box.
Julian's face was like thunder.
"What the fuck is going on here?"
Ethan pushed off his desk, sauntering over to where I stood. He plucked the sculpture from my hand and smirked as he tossed it into the box and fitted the lid on top.
"I think we're done here, Ruby. Go to your desk and wait for me."
I froze in place. The sensation of his fingers drifting down my cheek startled me out of my stupor. "Sweetheart," he murmured.
His voice was a low hum in my ears. "Go."
I blinked at him.
Sweetheart?
What was he doing?
He bent closer, his breath warm on my skin.
"I'll be fine, go to your desk. We'll leave in a minute." His hand wrapped around my waist, pushing me forward.
Completely confounded, I did what he asked. I hadn't made it more than two feet when Julian started yelling.
He cursed and shouted, reaching out to grab my arm. Ethan pushed him away, standing between us.
"You don't touch her, Julian. Do you understand me?"
"What the fuck! Are you . . . are you fucking her, Ethan? Are you telling me you're having an affair with your assistant?"
I held my breath, unsure what would happen next.
"It's not an affair, Julian. We're in love."
David laughed—a dry, brittle laugh that held no humor. "In love?" he sneered. "You can't stand her. You've been trying to get rid of her for months!"
"A good cover. One you fell for—hook, line, and sinker."
Julian's voice dripped ice. "You just signed your death warrant with this company."
Ethan smirked. "Too late." He pushed two pages of heavy company stationery in Julian's direction. "I quit. So does my
fiancée."
Julian gaped. "Your fiancée? You'd throw your career away over a trashy piece of ass? A lousy, worthless fuck?"
It happened so fast, I had no time to stop it. One second Julian was shouting, the next, Ethan was standing over his prone figure, his hand curled into a fist so tight his
knuckles were white.
He towered over him, chest heaving; he was the very picture of a man protecting something, or someone he loved.
"You never talk about her like that, again. You never talk about her, period. We're leaving here today. I'm done with you fucking me over, dictating who I fall in love with and where. I'm done with you and Titan Inc."
"You're going to regret this, Ethan."Julian spat, wiping the blood off his face.
"The only thing I regret is wasting as much time as I have giving you the best fucking campaigns this company ever produced. Good luck with your success record once I'm gone."
He stepped back. "Sweetheart, get your things. We're leaving. Now."
I ran to my desk, grabbing my purse and coat. The few things I found in my desk earlier were already in Ethan's boxes.
I had made sure there was nothing personal on my computer and my area was tidy. I knew Ethan had wiped his hard drive, chuckling as he did something, muttering,
"Good luck, fuckers," then shut down the machine. I could only imagine what the IT department would discover.
He strode out of the office, ignoring Julian, who was screaming obscenities, threatening lawsuits and telling him he was ruined.
He indicated the exit with his head, and I
scurried to open the door, following him down the hall, Julian trailing us, still cursing and flinging insults.
Other employees and executives were staring at the commotion. I kept my eyes focused on Ethan's back, certain he was
strutting.
He held his head high, shoulders straight, not at all embarrassed by the scene he had caused.
When we reached the elevator, he pushed the button and turned to the small crowd who were watching, not knowing what was going on, but loving the drama of it all.
"It's been a pleasure, but I'm out of here. Good luck working for the bloodsucker we all know as Julian." The doors opened and he dropped the boxes inside, then swept his arm in a wide arc.
"After you, my lady."
I stepped in, my face flushed with embarrassment. As the elevator doors began to close, he stuck his arm out, forcing
them to reopen.
"And by the way, so you can stop gossiping
and wondering, yes, Ruby and I are together. She's the best thing this company ever did for me."
With those words, he grabbed me, dragged me to him, kissing me as the doors shut, closing off the shocked gasps.
Immediately, Ethan moved away from me. I stumbled back against the wall, breathing fast. His kiss had been hard, deliberate, with an edge of anger to it.
"Why did you do that?" Bending down, he picked up the boxes and shrugged.
"Might as well leave with a bang." He chuckled. "The way the gossip mill works in this industry, this will be everywhere by tonight."
He started to laugh, his head falling back on his shoulders. "That fucker did me a huge
favor and he has no idea."