Chapter 3

She instinctively grabbed my hand and explained, "Don't read too much into it. Young people these days just like pulling stuff like this. Matt only sees me as an older sister and is just messing around."

She walked over and took down the banner, muttering under her breath, "Didn't I text you and tell you not to come? What are you doing here?"

Matt scratched his head and gave a sheepish laugh. "Sorry, Patrick. I was just messing with Leona. I didn't know you were taking her to the airport. I hope you didn't get the wrong idea. Everyone at the company knows how much she loves you."

As he spoke, a quick, almost imperceptible smirk crossed his face.

I waved it off and said casually, "It's fine. You two can just go to the airport together. I'll head back."

Leona hesitated, looking stunned as Matt ushered her into the car.

Watching the car disappear down the road, I finally understood where the Porsche I'd given Leona had gone.

She had given it to Matt as a birthday gift.

Back then, she had been jealous of a friend who always had a luxury car pick her up from work, so she had pushed me to buy that Porsche right after we graduated from college. I had to live on a tight budget and put every penny I'd saved toward paying off the loan.

And now she'd given it away without a second thought, then lied to me that her dad was driving it.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts, drafted a resignation letter, and headed to the office.

When Lindsay Coleman from HR saw my letter, she handed it right back. "Mr. Casey, you can't be serious. If Ms. Sampson finds out I accept your resignation, she'll probably fire me."

I'd almost forgotten that I'd already transferred ownership of the company to Leona. She'd once told me she was tired of working for other people and wanted to be her own boss. So I handed over the company I'd built to her.

She was now the chairwoman, and I was nothing more than a regular employee.

I'd loved Leona with everything I had, but she took it all for granted. Now I finally saw how stupid I'd been.

I went into my office, printed out a formal resignation form, and tried to figure out how to get her to sign it.

Just then, a notification popped up on my phone. Leona's flight had been canceled due to bad weather.

With the flight canceled, Leona and Matt came straight back to the office. She looked surprised when she saw me standing there.

She walked over and slipped her arm through mine. "Patrick, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be off today? Did something happen?"

I shook my head and came up with an excuse. "I saw the news that your flight was canceled, so I figured you might come back to the office. Since it's already lunchtime, I thought I'd take you out for a meal."

Leona smiled and agreed. "Sure. Give me a second. I need to use the restroom."

I took her handbag and waited for her.

In the quiet hallway, Matt crossed his arms and dropped his act. "Let me be straight with you. I love Leona. We're going to end up together anyway. If you know what's good for you, you should walk away. By the way, I know that car was originally yours."

I tightened my grip on her bag. Reaching into the desk drawer behind me, I pulled out the resignation form and handed it to him.

"Fine by me," I said. "Get her to sign this, and I'll leave right away."

Matt blinked, clearly caught off guard by how easy I was making it. "That's it?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's it."

When Leona came out of the restroom and saw me waiting outside the door, a smile spread across her face. "Even at work, you can't bear to leave me alone, huh?"

I didn't answer. I just walked out with her.

While we were having lunch, I received a call from the bridal shop. Someone was interested in buying my wedding dress.