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And it makes me want to do more, to be more for Amaya. Letting her deal with any kind of discomfort all on her own doesn’t sit well with me.
“I’m not letting her slip away,” Kace says, noticing my concern. “None of us are doing that, Finn. But if she’s not responding when we’re trying to reach out to her, it’s obvious she needs a bit of room.”
“I get that, too.”
“We need to at least reassure her about the estate,” I say. “We’re not selling and she needs to know that.”
“We will tell her,” Kace replies, then picks up his phone. “I’ll reach out to the board in the meantime. I need to get them to drop the idea, regardless of what Ramada might’ve told them. Had I known she’d contact them behind our backs, I would’ve handled it differently yesterday.”
Elias scoffs. “Ramada is more of a nuisance than ever before.”
“She is. But she is also useful for a little while longer,” Kace says.
A knock on the door has the three of us going silent for a split-second. We’re not expecting anyone.
Amaya comes in, and all the blood in my body seems to have suddenly vanished.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she says.
“No, it’s okay, please,” Kace replies, and the three of us immediately stand up.
She looks beautiful but pale. Maybe it’s the peach-colored tank top, or the fact that she’s got her curly hair pulled back in a tight bun. Or maybe it’s the shadows under her deep, brown eyes. “I won’t keep you for long,” Amaya says.
“You can keep us forever,” I chuckle softly in a bid to take some of the edge off. It’s razor sharp, and I know it has something to do with what happened yesterday. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. But I’m tendering my resignation,” she says and places a document on the table. I stare at it for what feels like forever. The title is clear, black on white. Letter of Resignation. What the hell is going on here? “I do apologize for the short notice, but I’m fine with losing the severance package. I won’t be returning to the estate on Monday. Today’s my last day.”
“Amaya, hold on,” Kace is quick to respond. “What are you talking about? Why are you doing this?”
“I need to leave.” she says, holding back so many emotions, it’s hard to keep track of what I see flashing in her eyes along with the tears that are welling up. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Amaya, this isn’t right,” I say.
She takes a couple of steps back, well aware that our reaction cannot be what she may have hoped for. “It’s done. Thank you for the opportunity to work here. I won’t be asking for a letter of recommendation, given my sudden departure.”
“Why?” Elias asks, his gaze darkened to a pitch black.
“It’s a personal decision and I hope you will respect it,” she says.
“It doesn’t work like that,” Kace replies. “Amaya, you can’t just up and leave. Surely, we can talk about this.”
“No, we cannot,” she insists. “I’m done. Please, just accept my decision. I’ll be out of the house by eight this evening, so housekeeping can clear it for your next employee.”
“Amaya, stop, don’t do this,” I say. “Whatever this is, we can work it out.”
She shakes her head. “No. It’s over. Goodbye.”
I’m about to jump in front of the door to stop her from leaving but Elias grabs me by the arm. “Don’t,” he whispers, his gaze never leaving hers.
The three of us watch helplessly as Amaya leaves the meeting room. We listen to the sound of her receding footsteps, rushed taps along the solid marble floor until the last echo dissolves into the heaviest silence. I’m not sure how long it is before any of us are able to even process what just happened.
Amaya chose to end everything with a simple letter of resignation. It’s not just the job she’s saying this abrupt goodbye to, she’s saying goodbye to us, as well. And it doesn’t make a lick of sense.
My head is a thick blur, my heart is crumbling. There’s an ache in the pit of my stomach that threatens to cripple my senses altogether as I stare at the door.
Kace releases a heavy sigh. “I don’t understand.”
“She’s hurt,” Elias says. “And she’s running away.”
