Page 91 of Miss Manage

Chapter Fifty

CHARLOTTE

When my eyes blinked open, it took a moment to remember why I was in bed, in the middle of the day, no less. Sunlight streamed across the comforter, too bright after two nights of fractured sleep.

Then I realized I wasn’t alone.

Gabriel lay on his side, one arm tucked beneath his head, his eyes closed and his lashes impossibly dark and long against his cheek. With his guard down, he looked nothing like the impenetrable man I’d first met. He appeared boyish. Human. Touchable.

His eyes blinked open before fixating onto mine. A slow, drowsy smile curved his lips, and my chest ached with something tender and impossible to name.

“Hi,” he murmured.

“Hi.”

“I meant to come up and tell you lunch was ready.” His voice was gravelly with sleep. “But you looked so peaceful I climbed in. Sorry.”

He shifted like he was about to leave, but my fingers shot out before I could think, tangling with his and tugging him back down. “No. Stay. Please.”

He didn’t waver. He never did. Just sank down beside me as though he belonged there. “It’s going well downstairs,” he started. “Two adults for every kid, three if you count Austin. My mom’s already taken over the kitchen. She’s planning a big Italian dinner, enough for us and also for Austin to take over to feed his grandparents and aunt.”

It was so unbelievably generous. Not only for me, but for strangers. “I can’t believe they dropped everything to spend their day here today. They didn’t have to.”

He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “That’s what family does. And your mom and sister are on their way from the airport, too, according to Austin. He invited them for dinner. Hope it’s okay?”

It should have felt suffocating to have my quiet little sanctuary turned into a revolving door, but instead it felt…right. “Of course,” I whispered. “Thank you. For everything.”

He scootched closer, eyes steady, voice low and certain. “I meant what I said, Charlotte. I’m in this with you. Not just for the easy parts. For all of it.”

He had shown up for me, for Austin, for my ex’s kids, without hesitation. But the doubt I’d been carrying still sat heavy on my chest. Maybe it was time I heard him out. “Tell me what happened on Thursday.”

His expression shifted, soft warmth giving way to something harder. He leaned back slightly, like he needed room to say the words.

“I was called upstairs for what I thought was a last-minute client meeting. When I walked up, Rosie let me know there was no client, and instead the McMillion brothers wanted to speak with me. When I took a seat, they told me they were there to offer me the CEO position.”

A lump formed in my throat.

“I was…shocked.” His voice was rough with honesty. “I’d just finished telling Rhys I thought you’d get it. That you deserved it. I’d already decided I’d stay long enough to help you transition, make sure you weren’t left in a bind.”

He hesitated, seemingly struggling with the words.

“Don’t sugarcoat it, Gabriel. I need to hear all of it, even if it’s not easy.”

He nodded. “I said something to them to the effect of being surprised they’d chosen me. Then they made a comment about never giving the position to a woman.”

He exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “They went on to say the alternate layoff plan showed you didn’t have what it took to lead. That you couldn’t make the hard calls. So I told them the truth about it being my idea, and you presented it because I asked you to.”

I kept my voice calm. “How did they react?”

“They didn’t care,” he continued quietly. “They pivoted like it didn’t matter. Stated it was creative when they found out it was my idea. I know, right? Creative when I did it, but soft when you did. I was still trying to wrap my head around it when they brought up San Francisco.” His tone darkened. “They said you’d blown it with Julian. That you should’ve been willing to ‘do what it took to keep him happy.’”

I was suddenly nauseous.

“I lost it,” he confessed. “I told them you’d been nothing but professional, while he was the one who couldn’t keep his hands to himself at dinner. I only told them you got sick afterward because of how awful it was. I didn’t stop to think about the promise to keep it between us because I was just firing off words. Naively, I thought if I laid out the truth, as someone who witnessed it, they’d be as horrified as I was.”

“They weren’t.” It wasn’t a question. The truth landed heavy and cold.

He swallowed hard. “You’re right. They brushed it off… then said it was one more reason a man should run the company. Claimed I wouldn’t have to ‘worry about being hit on.’ One of them even joked I could hire Julian an escort to keep him entertained.”