Page 49 of Sincerely Not Yours

A chill grabbed Gigi’s spine. Harris wanted to dissolve SheTime? Her breath increased as their conversation sunk in. Had Harris wanted this all along? What did that mean for her job? For her future? Harris was kissing her and holding her and telling her she was so wonderful . . . and at the same time, he was planning to fire her?

Harris spoke again, but his tone was so low that Gigi couldn’t make it out. However, she clearly caught his father’s response.

“SheTime isn’t viable,” his father almost growled. “It’s not personal. It’s business. You know that. Or, at least, you should know that.”

Tears stung Gigi’s eyes. Her heart pounded in her ears. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Unable to bear another word, she plowed forward, wanting to get out of the restaurant as quickly as possible. She hoped to God Harris didn’t see her because she couldn’t face him. Not now. She wouldn’t believe a word he’d say. The man she was falling for didn’t think she was capable, didn’t think the business she’d built was worth saving, and that hurt more than she could’ve imagined.

Fleeing the restaurant and jogging into the store, Gigi zigzagged around shoppers, heading for the elevators. Her vision blurred as she ran, disappointment and heartache deceiving her, pushing tears over her lashes. And her heart leapt to her throat when she heard her name.

Harris was behind her, calling to her.

Please, let an elevator be open.I just want to leave.Never in her life had she run out on a job or a commitment, but she couldn’t look him in the face. She just needed to be away . . . by herself, to process.

“Gigi!” he called again as she neared the elevators, finding them all closed.

“Come on,” she groaned, pushing the call button multiple times, but not one elevator obliged her plea. When Harris rushed around the corner, she squeezed her eyes shut, telling herself she wouldn’t cry in front of him.

“Gigi, wait,” Harris said, and she wiped her eyes with her fingers. When he put a hand on her arm, she yanked it from him, and he had the nerve to look hurt.

“Why would you lie to me?” she asked, questioning every gut instinct she had. Harris was not the man she thought he was. How could she have looked past his red flags? Why did her heartblind her so? Did she have some weird fetish for men that would break her heart? “You’re going to dissolve SheTime?”

Color drained from his face. “It’s not what you think—”

“What is it, then? Because I think you’ve been playing with my emotions while planning to eliminate my job.”

“I haven’t—” Harris stopped himself, taking a breath as if he were the one in the tough spot. “I haven’t been playing with your emotions.”

She immediately noticed he didn’t reference her job. “But youhavebeen planning to fire me?”

“No, I—” He tossed a hand through his hair. “What you must’ve overheard . . . it’s not the whole truth.”

She peered at him, scanning his face, not sure why he looked conflicted. “What’s the truth, then?”

His features steeled, but his eyes somehow stayed soft. “I did propose to dissolve SheTime,” he admitted, and Gigi’s mouth fell open. “Before I met you. Before we worked together.” His jaw squared, and Gigi questioned the flex of muscle. “The first thing I did when I got to Chicago was a financial analysis. I went through the numbers. I thought I was being efficient, that I’d help streamline the business before I went back to my life in New York.”

She shook her head like she might rattle some sense into it. Eventually. “And you decided it would be best to get rid of SheTime?”

“I did,” he breathed. “But then I started working with you, and you changed my mind. You helped me understand the potential of the business. You proved me wrong, and I’ve been fighting for SheTime ever since.”

Gigi’s mind swirled, ruminating on his words. Raw emotion shot through her. “But your father said—” A lump hit her throat, cutting off her words.

Harris shook his head, looking torn. “My father was upset because he saw us together, in front of your window, when I was just about to kiss you.”

“What?” Her stomach roiled, crashing like a wave. Could anything else possibly go wrong?

“I’ll handle him. Please don’t worry. He’s only upset because of the proposal—”

“I can’t.” The words slipped out of her mouth, stopping Harris mid-sentence.

“Gigi, I—”

She reached out, putting her hand on Harris’s chest, stilling him. “I don’t know what to think. I need time. Space.” Her heart was heavy, pulling her down. She wanted to go somewhere quiet, to process what had happened and all the sharp emotions cutting through her.

Harris’s mouth parted, looking defeated by her response. But instead of fighting her, he quietly said, “I understand. Take all the time you need. Just know that I’m here when you’re ready to talk.”

Just then, an elevator finally opened. Gigi dropped her hand to her side. She couldn’t bring herself to say another word. She took a step back and turned, leaving Harris for the empty elevator. But as the doors closed, she caught the longing in Harris’s eyes. Instantly, her heart clenched, and her stupid instincts told her to throw a hand out to stop the door. Instead, she fisted her fingers, keeping them from making another reckless mistake.

Chapter Twenty-Three

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