Chapter 2 - “I Was Smiling Because I’m Free”
“Personal,” Declan repeated.
Audrey’s fingers tightened around her phone.
Four years ago, that single word from him would have frightened her into explaining everything.
Not tonight.
“There’s nothing in my employment contract requiring me to explain why I smile.”
Declan went still.
Audrey had contradicted him before, but only about shipping manifests, schedules, legal filings, or business strategy.
Never about herself.
“Employment contract?”
“Yes.”
His gaze dropped to the phone in her hands.
“Unlock it.”
Audrey almost laughed.
“No.”
The silence became enormous.
Outside the windows, rain streaked across the city.
Declan’s expression hardened.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Audrey.”
She slipped the phone into her blazer pocket.
Something changed in his face.
It was subtle.
For years, Audrey had studied him closely enough to notice subtleties.
“You think someone is texting me,” she said.
Declan said nothing.
“Oh my God.”
Understanding struck her.
“You’re jealous.”
“I don’t get jealous.”
“Of course not.”
Her mouth twitched.
“Powerful men apparently interrogate their secretaries about smiling because of normal administrative concerns.”
“Audrey.”
She should have stopped.
Instead, freedom was making her reckless.
“There isn’t a man.”
His shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly.
Audrey saw it.
That irritated her more.
“And even if there were, it wouldn’t be your business.”
The relaxation vanished.
Declan moved closer.
“You spend fourteen hours a day inside my organization. Your father’s debt—”
“Is paid.”
Everything stopped.
Declan stared at her.
“What?”
Audrey pulled out her phone.
She opened the account confirmation, but she did not hand him the device.
She simply held up the screen.
“Zero dollars.”
Declan read it.
His expression became unreadable.
“I paid the final balance today.”
The answer to his question suddenly existed between them.
No lover.
No secret admirer.
No mysterious man.
She had been smiling because she was free of him.
Somehow, Declan found that worse.
“That’s why?”
“That’s why.”
“You were smiling because you paid me?”
“No.”
Audrey looked directly into his eyes.
“I was smiling because I don’t belong to you anymore.”
Declan’s face changed.
The words struck somewhere far beneath pride.
Audrey walked around him.
He caught her wrist.
Not painfully.
Almost instinctively.
They both looked down.
His tattooed fingers circled her wrist.
For four years, they had barely touched.
“Let go.”
He released her immediately.
Audrey rubbed the place anyway.
Declan looked disturbed by his own action.
“When were you planning to tell me?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tell me what?”
She met his eyes.
“I’m resigning.”
For perhaps the first time since Audrey had known him, Declan Mercer had absolutely nothing to say.
She continued.
“My contract required me to remain employed until the debt was resolved. It’s resolved.”
“You’re my executive secretary.”
“Currently.”
“You know every sensitive operation in this company.”
“I signed confidentiality agreements.”
“You’re indispensable.”
“That sounds like a staffing problem.”
“Audrey.”
She reached the door.
His voice stopped her.
“What are you going to do?”
She turned.
The question contained none of his usual authority.
She almost did not recognize it.
“I don’t know.”
“You’re resigning without another position?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Audrey stared at him.
Because I’ve forgotten what my own life feels like.
Because I haven’t taken a vacation since I was twenty-four.
Because every time my phone rings after midnight, my stomach knots because I think it’s you.
Because I can tell from your footsteps whether someone is about to lose a company, a fortune, or something worse.
But she gave him the simplest answer.
“Because I can.”
Then she walked out.
At 8:07 the following morning, Declan found an envelope centered perfectly on his desk.
Audrey’s resignation.
Thirty days’ notice.
He read it three times.
Then called legal.
“Find a way to invalidate this.”
His attorney was silent.
“Mr. Mercer, her debt agreement has been satisfied.”
“I know.”
“Then there isn’t one.”
Declan disconnected.
Outside his office, Audrey was answering emails as though nothing had happened.
Declan watched her through the glass.
Thirty days.
For the first time, he understood that every morning she entered this building now carried a countdown.
At 11:00, an unfamiliar man stepped from the elevator.
Tall.
Expensive coat.
Confident smile.
He approached Audrey’s desk carrying flowers.
Declan was standing before he even realized it.
The man bent toward Audrey.
“Audrey Collins?”
“Yes?”
“I’m Nathan Cole.”
Her face transformed with surprise.
Declan’s stomach tightened.
Nathan offered her the flowers.
“I heard you’re finally free.”
May you like
Inside the office, Declan’s hand slowly curled into a fist.
Apparently there was a man after all.
