“More than I’m making here, but that’s not really the—”
“I’ll match it,” he said, without hesitation.
“Jake, I’m really not—”
“I’ll go five-thousand over whatever they’re offering.”
Again, he sounded like he was making a deal. Not losing something he cared deeply about.
Of course, he wasn’t. That wasn’t who she was to him.
She took a slow breath. “It’s not about the salary. You’ve always been generous in that regard.”
He had, although living in this area was so expensive that she still didn’t have much money to spare.
“You’re not even going to give me a chance to give you a counter offer?” He was still stiff, although his voice now had a rasp to it.
“There’s no counter offer to make here. It’s a marketing job. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve liked being your assistant, but I don’t want to spend my entire career in this position.”
He stared at her for a few moments with gray eyes that looked strangely urgent. Then he said, “I’ve given you more responsibilities. You have the ability to advance here. I hadn’t realized you’d wanted to—”
“I wasn’t expecting you to keep giving me new job titles. You don’t seem to understand what the issue is. It’s not that you haven’t treated me well. It’s that this is not the job I want.”
For a moment, he stared at the empty air just past her head. “You don’t…want it.”
“I’ve always wanted to be in marketing. You know that.”
“I can give you marketing—”
“To do in my spare time?” She was starting to get annoyed because he didn’t seem to be hearing her and was thus making this conversation harder than it had to be. “Let’s be serious. Even if you changed my position, I’d still end up doing the marketing job on top of the assistant’s job. I know exactly what would happen. You’d try. We’d try. But you’re used to relying on me, so you’d still ask me to do most of what I’m already doing, so I’d have two jobs instead of one. It would never work. I need to move somewhere else.”
“Marketing is not more important work than what you’re doing now. If I’m willing to match your salary, then why—”
She made a frustrated sound. “I already said it’s not about the money. It’s that I want a job that will be more…more…”
“More what?” He leaned forward, looking like he might want to reach out and grab her shoulders or shake her or something.
“More fulfilling.”
The words had a visible impact. He jerked slightly and leaned back.
She groaned and rubbed her face. “I’m sorry, Jake. I know this is hard. But try to think about it from my perspective.”
“I am trying to think about it. I just didn’t realize you weren’t happy here.” He wasn’t looking at her now. He was staring down at his desk. And she realized he was really bothered by this idea.
“I have been happy. It’s been a good job. But most people don’t stay in the same job all their lives. What’s good at one point in your life might not be good at another point.”
“So you’re just going to quit?”
“Two weeks’ notice. I can help you try to find a replacement—”
She broke off when he made a strange sound in his throat.
For a moment, she was bombarded with a wave of grief and guilt, but as she processed the feeling, she was suddenly angry.
There was no reason for her to feel guilty about this. She was doing what was right for her. She’d been perfectly loyal to Jake for seven years. He should think for a few minutes about what might be best for her. Maybe he could even be happy for her.
She stood up. “I realize this has taken you by surprise, so I’m sorry to just spring it on you. But it’s going to happen. I can help you find my replacement if you want, or you can do it after I’m gone. It’s up to you.”
She started walking for the door, but he followed her, stopping her with a hand against the wall next to her shoulder the way he had with the file cabinets earlier in the day. “Why are you doing this, when I’ve just offered you anything you want?”