Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
CHARLOTTE
“In the office.” That’s how I ended Gabriel’s sentence in my mind before watching him walk out my front door.
At least it wouldn’t be today. I’d completely forgotten he was heading up to the Los Angeles office in order to meet with the small team located there and not returning until tomorrow morning. I was grateful for the small reprieve, especially since I was meeting with the owners today.
A meeting for which I needed to get myself prepared.
Taking a deep breath, I yelled out to my mom, “Jumping in the shower. Be right back.”
“Take your time. And your man with you if you’d like.”
Jesus.
By the time I came back downstairs, dressed in my work clothes and wearing a mask of composure, my mother was on her second cup of steaming coffee and eating toast with butter.
“So…?” she prompted.
I let out a long sigh. Ever since Steve, I’d purposefully not introduced anyone to my family. Especially not to Austin. As far as I was concerned, no relationship would ever again be serious enough to do so. “Can we not? Please. And whatever you do, don’t tell Michelle.”
Her smile curved around the rim of her cup, sly and knowing. “Mm. Fine.”
I knew that would only buy me twenty-four hours, tops.
Walking into the office an hour later than usual, I went straight into work mode. Work mode was safe. Work mode was comfortable.
At least until Olivia knocked and came in with a big smile. “How was your night?”
Dammit. I could already feel my face heating. Although I trusted her in so many ways, this wasn’t something I was ever going to say out loud, let alone burden her with. “It was fine, thank you. You did a wonderful job, as usual, helping to organize the event. Thank you.”
She beamed at the note of appreciation. “It’s always a pleasure. Um, hope it was okay to send you a text so you could talk with Gabriel.”
Shit. I’d almost forgotten about her being the one to send the text. I could ask her about how she’d gotten involved, but I didn’t want to add any fuel to Olivia’s romantic notions. “Not at all. It was a welcome reprieve. And it gave us a chance to talk about him going up to LA today.”
She appeared mildly disappointed by my explanation of the reason for my conversation with Gabriel during the gala. “Oh. Yeah. Good. Um, so what time is your meeting with the owners today?”
Back to safe ground. “In twenty minutes. Wish me luck.”
Turned out I needed it.
I met the McMillion brothers in their executive conference room. Reggie greeted me with his easy smile and Ronald with the perpetual frown capable of curdling milk. We didn’t waste any time getting down to business.
Reggie flipped through the report methodically while Ronald only skimmed his copy, his brow furrowing while he asked the question, “Why are there two options?”
“One outlines the straight five percent reduction you requested. The other shows an alternative of three percent in personnel cuts, with the remainder offset by a potential lease renegotiation in London. Doing so would give us more flexibility to assess teams as the merger stabilizes.”
Ronald’s frown deepened. “Our directive was five percent, not a workaround.”
“Understood,” I replied evenly. “You’ll find the full five percent reflected in the first option. The second option doesn’t need to be on the table if you don’t wish to entertain it.”
Reggie gave a dismissive chuckle. “We’ll stick with the five percent by the end of next week. As for saving money with the lease, have the team investigate it.”
“Of course.”
The words were smooth, practiced. But the quiet weight of it settled. Five percent of the staff would lose their jobs by the end of next week.
It had been on the tip of my tongue to mention the lease idea had been Gabriel’s, but when Ronald’s expression hardened at the mere suggestion of sparing jobs, I was grateful I hadn’t.
As Reggie shifted the conversation to revenue forecasts, something inside me went still.
I’d spent years believing our choices came from strategy and foresight, not convenience or indifference.
But currently, listening to them speak so easily about cuts and numbers representing real people, I couldn’t shake the quiet realization that maybe I’d been giving them too much credit.
That night after work, I met my sister at spin class, something I never thought I’d look forward to. But after the day I’d had, I needed to sweat out a mixture of frustration and anxiety. The latter was mostly about how things would play out with Gabriel in the office tomorrow.
Michelle was already perched on her bike, high ponytail bouncing as she adjusted her pedals, appearing infuriatingly cheerful for someone about to suffer.
“Saved you a bike.”
“Thanks.” I braced for the inevitable. If Mom had told Michelle about my overnight guest, I’d hear about it before my butt hit the seat.
When Michelle didn’t say anything, relief loosened my shoulders. I climbed onto the bike gingerly. Every muscle protested, reminding me spin class hadn’t been the wisest choice after…well, after Gabriel.
Michelle’s eyes narrowed. “Did you injure yourself?”
“No.” I adjusted the seat, keeping my tone casual. “A little sore.”
Her brows shot up. “Are you cheating on me with another workout buddy?”
“No. Just leave it.” Frack. I could already feel my face heating.
She paused, a spark of devilish glee igniting across her face. “Oh my God. You’re sore from sex.”
“Shhh.” My hiss wasn’t nearly sharp enough to make her the least bit contrite.
Her grin widened. “You are. Holy shit, your expression right now is priceless.”
“Could you please keep your voice down?”
Thankfully, the instructor interrupted, cranking the music to start class. But Michelle had enough breath between climbs to mutter, “Well, I know boring-ass Daniel didn’t give you a good dicking.”
“For fuck’s sake, Elle.” She’d inadvertently met Daniel at a charity event we’d both attended, and instantly likened the interaction to having a conversation with a potato.
She only shrugged, shameless as ever, while pedaling like a machine. Federal judge by day, nosy, ultra-athlete little sister by night.
“Nothing to be ashamed of,” she added. “We could all use something better to ride than this bike.”
“Thanks?” I puffed, half laughing, half mortified.
She picked up her phone when it suddenly lit up with a notification, and a slow, satisfied smile spread across her face. “Mom says his name is Gabriel, and he speaks Italian?”
My mom held a secret like a bucket with holes in it held water. I pinched the bridge of my nose and upped my resistance, driving into the hill the instructor shouted out.
Michelle’s eyes went wide. “Wait. Gabriel? How do I know that name?”
Three. Two. One.
“Holy freaking shit. He’s the guy from work, isn’t he? The one you said is after your job?”
“Ladies, if you’re able to chitchat, then you’re not working hard enough on the hill,” the instructor barked.
Mercifully, Michelle clamped her mouth shut, at least until after class.
Later, steam clung to the tiled walls as, wrapped in towels, we settled into the steam room. I wasn’t na?ve enough to think the interrogation was over. But at least in here I could lean back and close my eyes.
“Scale of one to ten,” she pressed.
I sighed, knowing resistance was useless. And frankly, I could use someone to confide in since my emotions were all over the place. “An eleven.”
She whistled. “Damn. Then I won’t bother lecturing you about dating someone from work, let alone someone who reports to you. Because an eleven might be worth it.”
“We’re not dating. It was a one-time thing.” The words tasted hollow as they left my mouth.
Because part of me wanted more, wanted to believe Gabriel when he said it could be simple.
That once the promotion dust settled, we’d find our way forward.
But I knew better. Titles and competition had a way of shifting the foundation of a relationship, of turning affection into resentment.
Frankly speaking, there was no way I became the permanent CEO, and Gabriel wouldn’t feel bitter about it.
And I wasn’t above letting my feelings sabotage a chance for the relationship, either. If he got the position, I wasn’t sure I could stomach sitting across a dinner table listening to him talk about running the company into which I’d poured years of sweat and tears.
Michelle shook her head. “Bullshit, Char. You don’t have men spend the night at your house for a one-time thing. Has Daniel ever seen your bedroom? Has any man since Steven?”
I rolled my eyes because of course she was right. I didn’t invite men into my home. Until Gabriel. But then again, he’d already met my son. And now my mother. The lines weren’t just blurring, they were eroding fast. It left me uneasy.
“I don’t need the complication. And that’s assuming he doesn’t submarine me with a call to HR.”
Her teasing faded, replaced by a sharp frown. “You’re worried about him reporting you?”
“Maybe, maybe not. I don’t know.” I wanted to trust him. I really did.
“If he does, he’s a bigger loser than your ex.”
“Thanks for reminding me my track record with relationships isn’t exactly inspiring.”
She nudged me with her shoulder. “Hey, not like my love life is any better. At least you came out with the most awesome kid on the planet.”
“This is true.” My sister might not have plans to have kids in the future, but I did wish she could find a life partner who valued her passion for life and adventure.
“So what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
I blew out a breath. “It’ll be business as usual…unless it’s not.”
The question was whether I could keep it the former.