Chapter 5: Too Late to Hold On

“Yes. I want nothing from you. I just want a divorce.”

Dexie kept her voice calm, though the words brought back the last moments of her previous life.

Luke’s voice on the phone. The nurse standing over her. The terrible effort it took to breathe.

She had waited for him even then.

She would not make that mistake again.

Luke stood beside her open car door, watching her. She had answered his questions, yet he still looked as though he expected something more.

Dexie rested her hand on the door.

“Grandpa Dawson gave me those shares because he wanted me to have something to fall back on if our marriage failed,” she said. “He was worried you might hurt me.”

Luke’s expression changed slightly.

She paused, giving him a moment to take that in.

His grandfather had tried to protect her in the way he could. The shares were worth billions, enough to give her security even if the marriage ended.

Dexie had been grateful for his kindness.

But money had never been what she wanted from Luke.

“Even though you never loved me, you were generous with the settlement,” she continued. “Now that we’re getting divorced, I want to end things properly. I don’t need to keep the shares.”

“You know what they’re worth.”

“Yes.”

She did not need another explanation of their value. She had read the agreement before signing it.

“I don’t need anything from the divorce settlement either. Whatever belongs to you can stay yours.”

Luke said nothing.

Dexie met his eyes.

“Once we’re divorced, there’s no reason for us to stay in contact.”

She gave him a polite smile.

“Don’t you agree, Mr. Dawson?”

His face went still.

The name felt strange on her tongue, but it suited the distance she wanted between them. She could be polite without offering him the closeness he had never wanted.

Luke continued to stare at her.

Dexie waited, then checked her watch.

“There’s less than an hour before the office closes. Let’s go. I don’t want to waste any more time.”

She got into the car and closed the door.

For a moment, she sat with her hands resting in her lap.

She had told him clearly. There was nothing left for him to misunderstand.

All they needed to do now was finish the divorce.

Back inside Dawson Corporation, Cindy could still hear the employees talking.

“Mr. Dawson is really getting divorced?”

“His wife said it herself.”

“She’s the one rushing him to finish it.”

“Does that mean he’ll be single soon?”

Cindy looked toward the entrance.

Her jaw still ached, but the humiliation hurt more. Dexie had insulted her in front of everyone, and some of those people had laughed.

She would remember their faces.

One day, she would make Dexie regret speaking to her that way.

The thought became easier to believe as she listened to the whispers. If Dexie was leaving, the place beside Luke would be empty.

Cindy had already accompanied him to business dinners. She knew how to dress for those occasions and how to carry herself beside him.

Why should she not have a chance?

Then Luke returned through the entrance.

Alone.

Cindy straightened.

He had not gone with Dexie.

She could not know why, but the sight gave her hope. Perhaps he had decided there was something more important to deal with first.

She quickly lowered her eyes and let the hurt return to her face.

“Mr. Dawson…”

Luke stopped in front of her.

Cindy looked up. His attention was finally on her, and for a brief moment, she forgot the laughter.

He had not denied her relationship with him when Dexie made the accusation. He had not told everyone that she meant nothing to him.

Perhaps she had been right to believe those dinners mattered.

“What did you say to Dexie when she came here?” he asked.

Cindy’s hopeful smile disappeared.

“I… I didn’t say anything.”

Luke watched her without speaking.

The silence made her nervous. She had expected him to ask whether she was hurt, not what she had done before he arrived.

“When Mrs. Dawson came in, she called me a slut,” Cindy said. “She accused me of being the reason you don’t go home.”

She lowered her head.

“I tried to explain, but she wouldn’t listen.”

Luke gave no answer.

Cindy kept her eyes down, though she wanted to look at his face. If he believed her, there was no need to say more. Too many details might sound like excuses.

He walked past her.

She let out a small breath.

Then his voice came from behind her.

“Have Finance settle whatever salary she’s still owed.”

Cindy froze.

“Make sure she leaves Dawson Corporation immediately.”

She turned.

“Mr. Dawson?”

Luke continued toward the elevators.

For a second, she could only stare after him. Then the meaning of his words struck her.

“Mr. Dawson!”

She hurried forward, but Warry stepped into her path.

“Mr. Warry, please. There’s been a misunderstanding.”

“Enough.”

His cold reply stopped her.

Cindy glanced past him, searching for Luke. He was still walking away.

“I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Mr. Dawson hates people who create unnecessary trouble,” Warry said.

“But she was the one who—”

“There are plenty of secretaries who can accompany him to business dinners.”

Cindy’s words died in her throat.

Warry looked directly at her.

“I arranged for you to go because it was convenient. I could have chosen someone else.”

Her face grew hot.

“You were never special to Mr. Dawson.”

For a moment, the office seemed to fall silent around her.

Luke had not chosen her.

Warry had.

She thought of the two dinners, of every remark she had made afterward, and of the way she had let the other secretaries believe she enjoyed special treatment.

Dexie’s words returned to her.

Maybe that’s yours.

Cindy had been so angry at the insult that she had not considered whether there was any truth behind it.

Now Warry had stripped away the importance she had given herself.

“Mr. Warry,” she whispered. “Please help me.”

He did not move.

Cindy reached for his sleeve.

“I know I was wrong. I won’t do it again. Please speak to him for me.”

Warry pulled his arm away.

“Leave on your own.”

Being dismissed was bad enough. Being dismissed on Luke Dawson’s direct order could follow her long after she left this building.

If other companies heard about it, who would want to hire her?

“Please,” she said again. “I need this job.”

“Then you should have thought about that before creating trouble.”

Cindy looked toward the elevators.

Luke was gone.

“If you refuse to leave, security will escort you out,” Warry said. “You don’t want everyone watching that.”

She glanced around.

Employees who had once asked about her dinners with Luke were watching from a distance. None came forward. Some quickly turned away when she looked at them.

Her hand fell to her side.

“Mr. Warry…”

He left her standing there.

Warry entered the elevator and pressed the button for the upper floor.

The doors slid shut, cutting off Cindy’s last plea.

He exhaled.

He had no intention of asking Luke to reconsider. His boss was already angry, and Cindy had given him another problem to deal with.

What Warry could not understand was why Luke had come back inside in the first place.

The divorce had been Luke’s idea. Dexie had finally agreed, yet she seemed to be the only one making any effort to complete it.

Warry had seen her refuse before. He had expected tears, arguments, or another request for more time.

Instead, she had told Luke that he was wasting hers.

His phone rang.

Dexie’s name appeared on the screen.

Warry looked at it for a moment.

Usually, she called him when Luke would not answer. She wanted to know where her husband was, whether he was working late, or when he might return home.

Today, Warry had a good idea what she would ask.

The elevator opened before he decided whether to answer.

A secretary approached him.

“Mr. Warry, the president is looking for you.”

Of course he was.

Warry headed toward Luke’s office with the phone still ringing in his hand.

When he entered, Luke looked at it immediately.

“It’s Mrs. Dawson,” Warry said.

Luke’s expression darkened.

Warry stood near the desk, waiting for an instruction. The ringing continued.

“Mr. Dawson, should I answer?”

Luke’s gaze moved from the phone to his face.

“Answer it.”

“Yes, sir.”

Warry accepted the call and put it on speaker.

Dexie’s voice filled the office.

“Mr. Warry, tell Luke Dawson that my time isn’t his to waste. If he can’t finalize the divorce today, tell him to give me an exact time when he can.”

Warry glanced at his boss.

Luke sat very still.

That did not reassure him.

“Mrs. Dawson,” Warry began carefully, “Mr. Dawson has some important matters to handle today.”

He paused, hoping Luke might take over the conversation.

Luke said nothing.

“Could you wait a little longer?” Warry continued. “Once he’s less busy, I’ll speak to him again.”

There was a short silence.

“Fine,” Dexie said.

Warry’s shoulders began to ease.

“But tell him to hurry up. It’s only a divorce. He needs to stop wasting my time.”

Warry pressed his lips together.

He could feel Luke watching him, though none of this was his fault.

Before he could reply, Luke reached across the desk and took the phone from his hand.

“Dexie.”

Luke held the phone close to his ear.

There was no answer.

His irritation sharpened.

“Dexie?”

Still nothing.

He lowered the phone and checked the screen.

The call had ended.

For a moment, Luke stared at it.

She had hung up before he could speak to her.

Perhaps she had not heard him. The call had ended so quickly that he could not be sure.

But that offered little comfort.

In the past, Dexie would have stayed on the phone, hoping Warry might pass it to him. Even after learning that he was busy, she would have left a message or asked when she could call again.

Now she had given her instruction and ended the conversation.

She wanted an exact time for the divorce.

Nothing else.

Luke’s grip tightened around Warry’s phone.

Across the desk, Warry stood quietly, making no attempt to take it back.

“It’s only a divorce.”

Dexie had said it as though completing it should be simple.

It should have been.

Luke had wanted this. He had sent the agreement and offered enough to make the separation comfortable. Now she had accepted the divorce, refused the settlement, and asked him to finish what he had started.

Yet all day, he had found himself questioning her, watching her, and trying to make sense of every change.

She no longer cared whether he approved of her words.

She no longer waited patiently when he kept her waiting.

And now, she no longer stayed on the phone for the chance to hear his voice.

Luke stared at the dark screen.

That damn woman.

She really had changed.

What angered him most was that he was beginning to realize how much he hated it.