you did the right thing and i think you know that. in time you will feel a lot better. i am so proud of you. and if she is really all that when it comes to running your office then she should be able to find another job pretty quickly as i am sure you will give her a gread ref.

big hugs to you :}

Jim, please get this straight.....you did not hurt her. She did it to herself!!!
She created the situation which made it impossible for you to continue having her working there. She has to suffer the consequences of her own actions. She made the choices that changed everything, and judging from her behaviour and reactions, I doubt there was anything else you could have done to create a different outcome.
Give yourself some credit....you tried for several weeks to keep her in her job, but she didn't make it any easier with the way she treated you. SO this is the result she has to live with, thanks to her own choices and behaviour.
I am sure you can find someone else to fill her shoes who can do her job just as well as she did, and please do yourself the favour of never getting romantically involved with someone who works for you. Mixing business and pleasure is not a good idea as you have sadly learnt.
Hang in there. You will really start to heal now that you don't have to deal with her at work.

You are doing right by you, and that's all that matters. Im proud of you, and here's to your new life! Time will heal your hurts.

I'm sure you will provide a glowing reference for her work performance, and she will quickly land back on her feet.

xoxo

You need to stop this way of thinking. You didn't do anything. Like new2free says - she did it to herself.

Get back to work - keep busy - spend time with your son and try not to think about her.

Jim, you seem to be romaticizing this woman. Many of us do that, bot out the pain and all of a sudden all the good times and the little notes and hearts and flowers, while forgetting what occured to lead us to where we are now.

My therapist became quite terse with me at one point as I was in such a state of fear and denial and said "NewAgain!!! Could you ever really be a wifge to this man after what he has done???" The answer of course was no. I was simply wallowing.

After the choices this woman made for herslef, it is time to let her go and stop feeling responsible.

I'm sorry you're still struggling, but it will get brighter.

Blot out the pain...

My wrist is in a brace, sorry for typos

She needed to go. The wound was just too deep for you to keep her around. She was a constant reminder.
Now you can begin to heal and deal.
She is a manipulative survivor, she will be fine. And you will find someone who is as good or better to replace her.

Sharing and venting is so VERY healing.

Gentle ((hugs))
:-) Patricia

As others have said, you did not do the hurting and you also weren't the one who did the letting down.

If she's as sharp a worker as you depict, I'm sure she'll land on her feet eventually, even in this economy. Real good workers, the ones that truly add value, are a rare commodity.

Your duty and responsibility to her is now ended. Now you owe that duty and responsibility to yourself and your children.

Hang in there. I know you'll make it and come out stronger and shining brighter than before!

Self -Esteem,Sanity,Peace of Mind all good things for you....as others have said here on this post..........YOU DID THE RIGHT THING!!!!,and dont down grade your other office staff either,they may just surprise you by stepping up to the plate and taking over where she left off,,,,I know not good to hear right now,but time does heal all wounds,your a strong capable person you can handle this,always look forward dont look back....Take Care.

Not trying to be harsh but I am sure you have heard this advice before...Never dip you pen in the company's inc.k. I hope you find someone soon that will work just great..Perhaps your judgement may be clouded and she did so so work but sex was great...which made it seem like her work was awesome..Never mix work with pleasure again , it never works out..I am sure you have learned a lesson from all of this..Get an ugly secretary, one who will appreciate you more and and average woman with more beauty from within...Trophy women always run off with the other guy..as do high mainanance ones..