DEAR CAT: I am ready to break up with my live-in boyfriend after a 2 1/2-year relationship. We have a multimillion-dollar business together and I'd like us to remain business partners. We've really had nothing but a business relationship for the past 18 months (i.e., no sex) and I am terribly lonely and want a more fulfilling relationship. Our social lives are almost entirely disparate; we travel separately, we have different interests, friends, etc. He maintains that he still loves me, but we fight most of the time when we're together, mostly about me being emotional while conducting business. Any suggestions on facilitating a breakup while maintaining a business relationship?

-- CO-WORKERS ONLY

DEAR C.O.: This is a pivotal time where you have to be plain and pointed -- tell him exactly what you want. Even though you are connected personally and professionally, try to be unemotional when discussing the company. That doesn't mean "cold," it means "business." The only way your idea can work in the future is if both of you can actually work together productively, without tears and fights. As for his claim of still loving you, it's not enough to keep things going as they are. You feel awful all the time and your lives are all but separate. On the other hand, if you still love him ...

Cat's Call: There's a chance the breakup talk could become the make-up talk.

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DEAR CAT: I told my girlfriend I'd buy her a pair of shorts for a bike ride we were going on. We went to the store and she found a pair she liked. I got distracted by an e-mail on my phone, and I also found some camping gear and a pair of shorts, too. Being a total zombie, I didn't buy the shorts for her. She hinted to me at the register but I wasn't thinking, so I purchased my shorts and we left. She brought it up and said I am selfish, not as attentive as I used to be and it was wrong, rude and pathetic. She won't accept my answer of "I'm stressed and I just didn't think about it." We haven't spoken much since then, and when we do it's a fight because she wants an answer. This was the first time anything like this has ever happened in the relationship. Should she be this upset, causing days of not speaking or hanging out? I think it's a little overboard.

-- ZOMBIE GUY

DEAR ZOMBIE: Yes, it's overboardish to drag it out this long, but you asked for it. It'd be one thing if you purchased nothing for yourself and simply wandered around until she found a pair of shorts. But you responded to an e-mail, checked out camping gear and then, for the cherry on top, bought shorts for yourself! Wasn't the whole point of the outing to buy shorts for her? She's not having second thoughts about dating a guy who won't buy her a pair of shorts. She's second-guessing dating someone selfish. Or at least in a selfish mode right now. Sorry, I don't believe this is a one-time incident.

Cat's Call: This is just the latest in a series of similar events.