3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
“I’m so excited for you,” Gigi said to Kim, smiling through the panic rising inside her. “I just can’t believe you’re leaving.”
“I know, I know.” Kim sighed, handing Gigi her laptop like she was handing off a baton. “But working full time and raising two kids is driving me to insanity. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like with three. I wish I could clone myself.”
Gigi pursed her lips, trying to understand Kim’s decision. “You sure you want to resign, though?” It was hard to picture Kim as a stay-at-home mom. She wasn’t exactly the warm and fuzzy type.
“Yeah,” Kim replied, though her face didn’t exude confidence. She sighed again. “Last week, little Joseph called the nanny ‘Mommy.’ I missed Danny’s first steps, and I can’t even remember the last time I went on a date with my husband. Something is going to break if I don’t make a change, and it might be me.”
Gigi offered a sympathetic smile. “I get it. You need to put your family first.”
“I’m sorry to spring this on you with the Gal’s Gift Guide events just starting.” Kim gave her a flat smile. “But I don’t know how much help I’d be, anyhow. My morning sickness has been terrible with this one.” She placed a hand on her stomach. “Actually, it’s more like all-day sickness.”
“It’s okay. I can handle it,” Gigi consoled Kim, noticing how pale she was. “It’s not a problem.” She brightened her expression, even as she wondered how she’d do it. Honestly, Gigi was practically at her breaking point herself. It wasn’t like SheTime had a big team. Outside of Kim and Gigi, there was one product manager and two sales reps. They’d all given Kim their congratulations and were exiting the conference room, leaving empty coffee cups and a hard-hit box of donuts on the table near the door.
“I’m sure I can round up some help from the team,” Gigi added, knowing their schedules were tight this time of year too. She had three weeks full of holiday events, all of which were outside of work hours. How was she going to do it by herself?
“You’ll have help.” Kim gave her a pat on the shoulder just as Dean walked through the door. “Dean and I already talked about it.”
“Good morning,” Dean greeted them with a big smile, but Gigi’s attention fell on the tall man who followed behind him.
Is that . . .? Her insides hiccupped.
Sharp gray suit. A jaw that could cut glass. Hypnotic, sea-glass eyes.
Mr. Swanky Suit?
“Gigi,” Dean greeted. “I’d like to introduce you to my brother, Harris.”
Gigi blinked. Hard . Did Dean say this was his brother?
For a moment, Harris’s eyes went wide with recognition. Was this morning’s disastrous encounter replaying through his head? Because all Gigi could think about was how she’d slapped, tripped, and head-butted this man, before landing on top of him while her spicy audiobook played in the background.
Oh. My. God.
Dean looked between Gigi and his brother. “Do . . . you guys know one another?” he asked, confused.
The surprise vanished from Harris’s face. “We ran into each other this morning on the elevator.” Gigi’s stomach clenched, waiting for him to expand on how they ran into each other. Instead, he offered his hand. “But we didn’t get properly introduced. I’m Harrison—Harris—Ryan.”
“Oh,” Gigi squeaked, shaking his hand absentmindedly as she connected the dots. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ryan.” She’d made a complete fool of herself with Harrison Ryan? The prodigal son who’d infamously left the family business? “Gianna Ricci.” She gave her full first name, as if that would help repair his image of her.
Kim squinted at Gigi. “Do you prefer being called Gianna?”
No. Only her mother called her that—when she was mad.
Gigi shrugged noncommittally. “You can call me Gigi.”
“Okay.” Harris nodded, accepting her offer. “Nice to meet you, Gigi.”
“Alrighty then,” Dean said, dismissing the awkward introduction, seemingly unaware of the elevator mishap. “Kim already knows this, but Harris will be taking over for her.”
Kim bobbled her head, looking content with this piece of information. Gigi was stunned. This past summer, when rumors had swirled through the office that Harrison Ryan might come back to the family business, she’d heard a million different reasons why he left. None of them were good. He’d run off with his secretary. He’d embezzled, stealing from his dad. He’d gone on a bender in Vegas.
She didn’t trust this guy. Why was he back?
“You’re taking over for Kim?” Gigi asked, remembering the other piece of gossip she’d heard. The “other Ryan brother”—the one staring at her like she was a mystery he needed to solve—had created that notorious dating app, GambleOnLove. It was wildly popular, but for all the wrong reasons. It was an app people used to hook up, not to find love.
This guy was going to run a business that catered to women? Did he even know what women wanted?
“Yes,” Harris confirmed with a nod. “And I’ve already reviewed SheTime’s financials. They’re concerning. We need to make it more profitable. That’ll be my priority.”
Gigi’s stomach sank like a rock in a river.
“More profitable?” she questioned, unable to hide the skepticism in her tone. Gigi had poured her heart into building this brand, and now the brother that’d abandoned his family and made a sketchy dating app was going to mess with it? She glanced at Dean, but he didn’t look as worried as she felt. “How so?”
Harris tilted his head, emphasizing his arrogance. “By making smart business decisions. We need to align our investments with our business goals. We can’t continue supporting a brand that isn’t making money.”
Gigi’s cheeks flamed, but this time, it wasn’t from embarrassment. Was he insinuating that SheTime was a poor investment? Anger bubbled in her chest, threatening to spew out.
Kim intervened, sensing the tension. “Gigi, Harris has a background in business and technology. I’m sure he’ll bring valuable insights to SheTime. You two will make a great team.”
Gigi pressed her lips together, keeping her skepticism and comments to herself.
“And speaking of teams,” Kim continued, “Harris will help you with the Gal’s Gift Guide events.”
Gigi’s eyes widened. She almost dropped the laptop she’d been clutching. “Wait, what?” She exchanged a quick glance with Harris, who seemed equally unenthusiastic about the idea.
“I don’t know about that—” Harris started, but Dean jumped in, interrupting his brother.
“That’s right.” Dean smiled brightly, overcompensating for his brother’s blatant rudeness. “Harris is going to take Kim’s spot and attend the Christmas events with you.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Harris spoke up, clearly not thrilled about the prospect. “Dean, I saw what these events are costing us. Why don’t we focus on the bottom line and skip the holiday fluff? We don’t need these events to sell soap to women.”
Sell soap to women? Gig’s mouth hinged open. SheTime was so much more than that. Clearly, this guy didn’t have a clue about the business. And now he was going to be running it?
“Not happening.” Her words came out sharp. Harris grimaced like she’d poked him with a pointy stick. “SheTime is a major sponsor of the Gal’s Gift Guide. We’ve already committed. There’s no backing out now. It starts tomorrow.” She’d spent all year planning the event with the Chicago Women’s Association, but Harris saunters in and suddenly knows best? He wanted to cut the event with no concept of the backlash? “If we cancel, we won’t get reimbursed for our sponsorship. Plus, we’d lose out on the opportunity to connect with thousands of holiday shoppers, both at the events and through the extensive media campaigns.” Not to mention, the company would look ridiculous for canceling last minute.
“See?” Dean shrugged, looking happy at Gigi’s rebuttal. “No cost savings in canceling. Looks like you’re going to be busy for the next few weeks.”
“Few weeks?” Harris looked like he’d just seen the Ghost of Christmas Past. “How many of these events are there?”
“Ten,” Gigi said, raising a brow.
“You’ve got to be joking,” Harris replied.
“It’s the perfect way for you to learn about the business,” Dean said, still smiling despite Harris’s furrowed brow and deep frown. “You’ll have time to interact with customers and understand the product. It’ll be your crash course for SheTime, and a lot more informative than just staring at spreadsheets.” Dean locked gazes with Harris, and they seemed to exchange an entire conversation without another word.
Finally, Harris blew out a breath. “Fine,” he conceded.
“Great!” Dean smacked his hands together in a clap. “You’ll get to spend a ton of time with Gigi. She’s very knowledgeable about the market. You could learn a lot from her.” Dean gave Gigi a supportive smile.
Harris squinted, looking suspicious, but he didn’t protest further.
“Great,” Gigi replied, but without the same enthusiasm as Dean. She couldn’t shake the bad feeling coursing through her. Kim was leaving and her new boss was about to rip apart all of Gigi’s hard work. The Gal’s Gift Guide would be a disaster. After all, what could the creator of a hookup-dating-app contribute to a business that catered to women? His values were about as far from SheTime’s as one could get.
Working with him was like discovering a big lump of coal in her Christmas stocking.