"So, am I answering your question as my boss while you're not my boss? Or—" Her brows knit together, but at least the tears had stopped.
"No, but it would be helpful to know."
"Well, I'm definitely not going to be heading home today. So, uh, there's that?" The corner of her mouth pushed into her cheek, revealing a dimple he'd never noticed before.
"Okay, now that's settled, why don't you tell me why you're leaving? Are you not happy here? I hear the boss is a real asshole, so, I can understand that."
She smiled at him, and hope pricked at his senses. Maybe they could get this sorted out after all. "I really appreciate this but it's just—Well, it's a little personal." The last word was measured, and her cheeks flooded with color as she pronounced it.
"I understand if you don't want to talk about it. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to help you. I wouldn't want to lose you over something that could have been fixed if you'd only asked. So, financial stuff, that kind of thing, I'm willing to make the investment to keep you around."
"It's not really like that." Her mouth hung open, like she was willing more words to come out, but nothing happened. She just sat there, surveying him, wondering how much to say.
If there was anything business had taught him, it was that now was the time to play dead with the opposition. He remained cool and quiet, fanning out the bridal magazines on the coffee table, and then straightening them again. Waiting. She'd come around to telling him. They always did.
"My fiancé and I had," she paused, "a bit of a falling out. That's all."
Ah, so that was it. A case of cold feet. He'd been expecting it, but he didn't think it would be quite so drastic. The last time anyone in the office had gotten married they tended to be found crying in the bathroom, or, in one case, splayed out naked on his desk. That had been an awkward conference call.
He'd be lying, though, if he didn't admit that he'd been expecting more from Rachael. She always had her shit together. It wasn't like her to fall apart. Then again, he'd never met her fiancé. And considering the fact that the wedding was next month and the office had only just found out she was engaged, he’d suspected there was something peculiar happening.
"Cold feet?" He smiled in what he hoped was an understanding way.
Apparently, it didn't play exactly as he'd hoped since she grimaced in response, "Not exactly."
“There's no reason to leave your job because of a break-up. Are you sure you can't work it out?”
That was when she laughed. A crazed, sleep-deprived laugh. "Working it out is not negotiable. And as far as leaving…" Her face fell. "I don’t want to. I like this job. But I have a younger sister who’s a little wayward and can really use my help. I think I should head home and be with her. I was only staying here to get married. You know, to take care of my husband." She sneered at the word.
He settled back, playing on another business tactic. There would be more. Something to negotiate with. He just had to wait it out, then strike while the iron was hot.
And just as he'd predicted, she released a deep sigh and began again, "And then I’ll be around my parents so they can remind me exactly how colossally I’ve messed up. I have nothing to show for the last miserable four years except a bunch of debt from Lance’s trumped-up medical bills. I can’t afford to keep my house on my own and I can’t leave my sister alone with them. Going home is my only option.”
"I’m confused. Wouldn't your parents be happy you weren't getting married to someone you didn't want to be with?"
"You would think so. But my parents…Well, let’s say they still think I’m the same person I was a very long time ago.” She got up from her chair and headed toward the door. "Listen, why don't we put some coffee on and I'll tell you about it over breakfast? If I'm going to spill my soul, I may as well have a bagel to comfort me."
He followed her into the kitchen and before he had time to sit she was already measuring out coffee grounds and dumping water into the machine. She reached for two mugs from the overhead cupboard, sat them down on the counter, and then placed one hand on either side of the counter as if to steady herself.
“You okay?” He asked. His jaw ticked and he focused intently on her. All of this—the drama, the drinking, the crying? It was so unlike her. Of all his employees, she had always been the one he’d counted on to keep it all together.
“I’m fine. Just trying to figure out how I could have been so stupid.” She offered a half-hearted laugh, and then abandoned the empty coffee mugs to sit across from him. “I know it was stupid, but every time I think about it, I don’t know how I could have done anything else…”