Page 43 of Irresistible

"Scarlet, you know I love you. I probably haven't told you that enough over the years. I can't tell you what to do. It wouldn't be fair of me to steer you one way or the other. But I can tell you that you've demonstrated an incredible capacity to make good decisions for yourself. You're informed and you know the risks of what could happen here. All I want is for you to be happy. I want you to know that your Mom and I are here for you always, no matter what happens."

"Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate it. I love you both," Scarlet said, holding back tears before saying goodbye to her father and hanging up the phone.

Scarlet wondered exactly how she had gotten into this situation. She could have gone one of two ways from the very beginning. Her first option was to just let everything go and write the whole thing off as an unattainable fantasy. If she had done that, she probably would be calling Jim and getting details on his latest wild weekend. Her second option was to just completely give herself over to her fantasy and give Richard the benefit of the doubt from the very beginning. She could have believed him when he said that he had no feelings for Carly Pomodoro. But she didn't do either of those things. She put herself in a position where she had to decide what would win. Also, she had no idea what Richard thought of her right now. It was entirely possible that he thought she was crazy and was now having second thoughts of his own.

Against her better judgment, Scarlet brewed a cup of coffee. She told herself that it was fine because she made sure half the mixture was decaf. In the back of her mind, she knew that it was going to keep her up all night. But it was worth it. Coffee helped her think, and she had a lot left to process before going back to work the next day. One of the reasons Scarlet purchased this particular home was the presence of a bay window on the second floor. It quickly became her nook and her refuge when times became tough. Even though the window only looked out onto her street, the cars driving by in the night time provided a lovely and background for times of deep thought. She nestled herself in the small cranny, clutched her cup of coffee and drank deeply. A twinge of guilt struck her. She had essentially let Richard serve as a sounding board and a guinea pig for her lack of maturity. It was time for her to make the next move.

After a few minutes, she hopped down from the ledge and went into her second bedroom, which she had repurposed as an office. Her laptop fired to life and she quickly began typing on a single page in a word processor.

"To Whom it May Concern: Please accept this letter as notice of my resignation from Local Citizens Bank, effective immediately. Sincerely, Scarlet Higgs”

It was short, sweet, and to the point. She was going to march into the branch the next morning and present Richard with that letter. No matter which way things, went she knew she would need it. Richard would know that Scarlet wanted to be with him if he still wanted to be with her. If he was no longer interested, she would use that letter of resignation to get out and start a new life. There was no way that she could be successful in this bank knowing that Richard was her boss and that they could not be together. If he still wanted to be with her, as he claimed he did, then she would need the letter of resignation to avoid any issues with other employees. Even Scarlet recognized that it was a bad look to date your boss, and she didn't want to start their relationship off with a problem. She would quit to pursue their relationship, and she felt comfortable with her options.

Scarlet licked the envelope containing the letter, left it on her kitchen table for the next morning, and went back upstairs to go to sleep. Rest was important, and she knew she had a big day coming up.