I continued to my desk, doing my best not to show Mr. Hammond how nervous I was. He kept his back to me, finishing his phone call, one that didn’t seem to be going too well. Paul walked back in and froze when he saw Walter. He shot me a look and I just shrugged.
Mr. Hammond ended his phone call and turned back around. He noticed Paul and walked over to him, extending his hand. “Paul,” he said curtly.
Paul shook it back asking, “Hello, Walter. What are you doing here, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Walter gave a little grin. “Why don’t we go into your office and I’ll tell you.” He turned and walked by me, never acknowledging my presence. Paul followed him, giving me a look of pure annoyance.
They stayed in there for over an hour. I could hear their tones rise here and there, but couldn’t quite hear what was going on. Walter opened the door and stormed out, never looking behind him.
“Aly, come in here please,” Paul beckoned.
I got up and walked into his office. “Shut the door,” he said. I closed it and sat down.
I waited for Paul to tell me what he needed when he suddenly pounded his fist on his desk and ran his hands through his hair. I jumped at the sound, but didn’t say anything. He let out a breath and looked at me.
“Well, it seems as though Walter isn’t too happy I broke up with his little girl and is threatening to pull all of his funding from Pierce Homes.” He pounded his fist on the desk again. He then stood up and walked over to look out the window. His shoulders were tense and I could hear him muttering under his breath.
I decided to stay seated, even though I wanted nothing more than to go over and try to comfort him. “He can’t do that Paul,” I said, thinking about it.
He uttered a hollow laugh. “Oh he can, and he will.”
“Isn’t there something you can do? Some way to show it’s like bribing?”
He turned around. “Bribing? Are you kidding? He doesn’t have to donate a dime to Pierce Homes if he doesn’t want to and he’s allowed to pull what he has donated at the drop of a hat. There are no rules as to why, Aly.”
I sat there, stung by his words, but I knew they were true. I couldn’t help but feel this was entirely my fault and all I wanted to do was cry. I turned away from his glare and tried to figure out some way to fix this.
“He told me if I take Casey back, he won’t do it.”
My head shot to him at that. He looked devastated. “What did you say?” I asked.
“I told him I wouldn’t. I told him I didn’t love his daughter and did what was best for both of us.”
Relief rushed through me. He continued looking at me. There was more. “What is it?” I asked.
“He obviously didn’t like hearing that, but he said he expected it. He told me Casey has been a wreck ever since I dumped her, as he put it. I apologized saying that was never my intention to hurt her. He then said he had one more condition.”
I waited for him to tell me, but he stayed silent. Whatever it was, I knew it was bad, otherwise he would have said. I started to stand, but he held up a hand.
“Don’t, just stay there Aly,” he said curtly.
I sat back down, hurt. I started twirling my hair around my finger. His eyes darkened even more, but I didn’t care.
“What is the other condition?” I asked.
He ran his hands down his face, turning back to look out the window. “To get rid of you,” he said, barely above a whisper.
I sat there, stunned. Get rid of me? “Why in the world would he want you to do that?” I asked, shaking.
He didn’t turn around to face me. “Because Casey’s convinced I dumped her for you.”
I was speechless. This was out of control. Paul was going to lose a major benefactor for his company if he didn’t take Casey back or get rid of me. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
I stood. I had to get out of there. Everything was falling apart and it was my fault. I couldn’t let Paul lose one of his biggest benefactors because of me. While I knew Mr. Hammond was an ass, he still held the cards at the moment.
I headed toward the door. The room was stifling. I needed some air. “Where are you going?” he asked me.
I paused, keeping my back to him. “I have to go. I need some air. I’ll respect whatever decision you make, Paul,” I said as I dashed out the door.
He called after me, but I didn’t stop. I kept walking, almost running to gain the distance I needed between us. I found myself at the elevator, and I pushed the up button without realizing it.
I stepped inside and pushed the top floor button. I needed to get outside, and the rooftop was where I wanted to go. The elevator arrived and I walked out, pushing through the door.
Paul had the roof set up as a place to hang out for a relaxing time. Tables and chairs were set all around, along with a few BBQ grills. Plants were everywhere, giving it a homey feel. Umbrellas adorned the tables on summer days, as it was right now. There were a few chaise lounges and swings as well. I sat on one of the swings and pushed back and forth with my legs. The light breeze hit my face and managed to soothe me, just a little.
I couldn’t believe the new situation I was in. I’d finally realized who I was meant to be with and now this. I hadn’t thought about whether or not I would stay working for Paul once I told him but now it looked like the decision was being made for me. I resisted the urge to slam my fist against the armrest and instead just leaned my head back and closed my eyes.
I sat there for a while longer, swinging back and forth, the sounds of the city passing me by. I didn’t hear him come up behind me and jumped when I felt his hand on my shoulder. He gave it a squeeze then came to sit down beside me.
“I thought I’d find you here,” Ethan said, joining me in pushing the swing back and forth with our legs.
I continued looking forward. “Why were you even looking?” I asked.
He sighed. “I went to your office to ask Paul a question on the Glendale project and noticed you weren’t there. You still weren’t there when I walked out so I asked him where you were. He told me he didn’t know, but told me what happened with Mr. Hammond.”
The tears finally came, and I put my hands over my face. I felt him pull me close, wrapping his arms around me and letting me cry. He didn’t say anything as he held me, continuing to push the swing with his feet.
We stayed that way for what seemed like hours, neither of us uttering a word. I finally stopped crying. I was sniffling and doing my best to stop my nose from running. The thought of not working at Pierce Homes anymore was killing me, but I didn’t see any other way.
Ethan turned me to face him. “You okay?” He was looking at me with such love and tenderness.
“No, but I know what I have to do,” I answered.
He gave me a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”
I let out a sigh and started twirling my hair around my finger. “I am going to resign.”
His eyes widened. “You’re what?”
I started nodding. “I have to, Ethan. I will not be the reason Paul loses one of his biggest benefactors. My mind is made up.”
He held onto me. “You listen to me. This is ridiculous, and I know Paul would tell you the same thing. You should never give into blackmail. You need to stay strong. Paul has plenty of benefactors, he will survive if Mr. Hammond follows through on his threat.”
I shook my head. “But I can’t be the reason why he withdraws his financial support, Ethan. I can’t. I’m going to go tell Paul right now,” I said, starting to stand.
Ethan pulled me back down. “Don’t, Aly,” he said. “Listen to me, don’t do anything you’ll regret. You’re upset. Plus, with what just happened between us at lunch, you’re going to have to deal with Paul soon anyway. We don’t know if you’ll continue working here after you tell him about us, just don’t do anything right now.
“I have to, Ethan. Don’t you see? I’m going to be hurting Paul when I tell him about us, I can’t be responsible for him losing Mr. Hammond’s funding too.”
Ethan sat back and sighed. “I understand why you feel that way but I still think you shouldn’t make a decision this big until after you’ve told Paul about us. Mr. Hammond is an ass to do this as well, don’t give into that.”
“I hate that I have to, believe me. But I cannot live with myself for being the reason Paul loses such a big benefactor, especially when I will be breaking his heart. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
When I stood to leave, Ethan didn’t stop me. I leaned down and kissed him. He held onto my hand and finally dropped it when I walked away. Looking back, I could see him staring after me, sadness on his face.
When I got back to the office, Paul was on the phone. When he saw me, he stood. “I’ll have to call you back,” he told whomever he was talking to.
I went to the doorway and stopped. “Do you have a minute?” I asked him.
His eyes softened. “Of course I do,” he said, walking around and perching himself on his desk.
I shut the door and walked toward him. I stayed standing and smoothed out my skirt. I raised my head to look at him, and saw him watching me.
I took a deep breath. “I’ve thought about it, and I feel it best that I resign,” I stated firmly.
His eyes widened in shock and he started to shake his head, coming toward me. I lifted a hand and backed up a few steps. I couldn’t do this if he got any closer.
“Aly, no. I won’t let you,” he said quietly. Although he’d stopped walking toward me, he reached out his hand. “Please, it kills me you were even considering this. I won’t let you,” he said again.
I stayed strong. “Well thank goodness it’s not up to you, Paul. I’ve made up my mind. I refuse to be the reason your company loses a huge benefactor. I cannot have that on my shoulders.”
He shook his head. “Aly, please. You’re taking this way too far. Pierce Homes will be okay without Hammond’s money. It’ll be a hit, sure, but we’ll be okay. Don’t give into his ridiculous demand.”
I thought about it for a minute, but realized I had to do this. “I’m sorry Paul. My mind is made up. My resignation takes effect immediately. I’ll just go clean out my desk.”
I turned to leave when he called out to me. “Don’t do this, Aly. I don’t accept your resignation.”
I stayed turned away from him. “I’m sorry you don’t, but it’s for the best. It kills me to leave, especially before Hidden Creek even begins, but I won’t be the reason Mr. Hammond takes away his funding, Paul. I won’t.”
He was suddenly in front of me, grabbing onto my shoulders. “You are so stubborn. Hammond can take his money and shove it up his ass. I don’t care. I can’t lose you, Aly. Please don’t do this.”
His eyes were pleading, begging me to change my mind. He looked frantic and it almost broke me. I started to doubt my decision, wondered if I was letting my emotions get in the way.
I looked up at him. “I don’t want to leave, I really don’t, but I also can’t handle being the reason why he withdraws his funding. I can’t emphasize that enough.”
He drew me into a hug, running his hand along my hair, my back. “I don’t care what his reasons are. I refuse to go back to Casey and I refuse to let you go. I don’t want someone like that involved with Pierce Homes anyway. I promise you, the company will be fine. I promise.”
As we stood there, I began to think he was right. Maybe it was stupid of me to let Mr. Hammond get his way, without a fight. Also seeing the pain in Paul’s eyes, I couldn’t do it, not when I knew I’d be causing him pain for a different reason soon enough. Ethan was right; I couldn’t do this right now.
“You’re right. I’m not going to let him bully me into leaving. Forget what I said. I won’t resign.” Yet, I thought to myself, my heart sinking.