Page 7 of Sincerely Not Yours

Gigi smiled at her supportive friends. “Thanks, guys.” The thought had crossed her mind as well. She would’ve jumped at the chance for the promotion, but wasn’t given the option. “I guess I don’t have the right last name.”

“That’s stupid.” Paige sipped her drink and tucked her dark, curly hair behind an ear. “I guarantee you’re more qualified than Harris. Even if it is his family’s business.”

“Why’d he come back suddenly?” Alice asked, quirking a brow.

“I’m not sure,” Gigi said, recounting Harris’s disapproving looks and all the rumors she’d heard. “But I think he’s got something to prove.” In the conference room, she could almost see a chip sitting on his shoulder.

“Like what?” Paige slid her legs off the armrest, sitting up curiously. She leaned forward, sipping her margarita while peering at Gigi over the rim. “You have some juicy gossip to share?”

The three of them shared everything. Nothing went outside of their circle—unless Paige put it in one of her books. But even then, names were changed, and Paige tweaked the information to fit her stories. Gigi loved reading Paige’s books and finding Easter eggs that only she and Alice would catch.

Pursing her lips, Gigi considered her intel and then spewed it. “He’s the oldest son. Used to work for his dad a decade ago, alongside Dean. Something happened. I’m not sure what, but I’m going to get to the bottom of it. He quit and ran off to New York City. Hasn’t been back to the office until now.”

“He hasn’t been back for ten years?” The needles in Alice’s hands moved faster, blazing through another row of the blanket she was knitting. She leaned forward, waiting for more information. “What’s he been doing?”

Gigi quirked a brow, ready to clue her friends in on the next juicy tidbit. “You know that dating app, GambleOnLove?” She scratched Mister Tuxedo’s head. He rolled around in her lap, purring louder.

“I’ve heard of it.” Alice paused, tugging at one of her stitches. “I think.”

“The one that’s like Russian Roulette?” Paige cocked her head, using one of her knitting needles as a stir stick—which was how she preferred to use her needles. Ice clinked against the glass.“Isn’t that the app that was all over the news when the governor used it to cheat on his wife?”

“Yep, that’s it,” Gigi confirmed, reaching for the saucy plate of meatballs on the coffee table and poking one with a toothpick. “Harris Ryan created it. He owns GambleOnLove.” She popped the meatball in her mouth and chewed, feeling vindicated in her disapproval of her new boss.

“The app?” Paige gasped, halting her stirring. “He’s got to be worth a fortune. That app blew up after it was all over the news.”

Gigi licked sauce from her bottom lip, enjoying the spicy tang of the meatballs she’d whipped up last night. “I’m more concerned that the guy who created a hook-up app will now run SheTime. Obviously, he doesn’t know what women want or need, and that’s going to be a problem.” She didn’t care about his net worth. She cared that he was going to mess with her job.

Paige nodded slowly, considering Gigi’s predicament. “That could definitely make your day-to-day interesting.”

“Interesting? I was thinking more along the lines of painful.” Gigi sighed, slumping back against the couch and running through all the ways Harris could upend all her hard work.

“How does the app work?” Alice asked, pulling her long, silky hair over a shoulder and out of her cowlneck. “It’s been so long since I’ve been in the dating scene. All these apps are like a foreign language to me.”

It didn’t surprise Gigi that Alice wasn’t familiar with GambleOnLove. She’d been dating her boyfriend for seven years and waiting on an engagement ring for the past six—which really irritated both Gigi and Paige. How could Alice’s boyfriendnotput a ring on it? She was an absolute catch. Total devoted-wifey material.

“I’m not exactly sure how it works.” Gigi didn’t know the details, except what she heard on the news. She stayed off dating apps. Even if she was looking for love, she’d much preferfinding it organically. Like at a farmer’s market. Or a coffee shop. She didn’t trust anyone hiding behind technology. “But I know it’s anonymous. That’s why the governor was using it. It’s completely anonymous until you meet your match in person. No pictures or anything.”

“What?” Alice asked, with a gasp. “So, you don’t even get to see the person until you meet them?”

“Yep,” Gigi confirmed.

Alice and Gigi wrinkled their noses at each other, disturbed by the concept, but Paige had other ideas. She grabbed her phone and started tapping away.

“Now you’ve got me curious.” Paige focused on her phone. “I need to know how this app works. I’m downloading it now.”

“What? No!” Gigi yelped, but she couldn’t deny she was also curious. Especially since the creator was her new boss. She’d be spending a lot of time with him from now until Christmas.

“It’s research. We’re getting to the bottom of this,” Paige declared, in her I’m-not-taking-no-for-an-answer voice. Gigi chuckled, knowing she couldn’t stop her. Out of the group, Paige was the most daring. She enjoyed pushing boundaries, and Gigi admired her for it. Even if she thought it was a waste of time to research Harris’s app.

As Paige set up the app, Gigi grabbed her needles and completed a few more stitches, though they didn’t look anywhere near as neat as Alice’s work. Hopefully, Gigi’s sister wouldn’t mind a scarf that looked like an abstract piece of art. She plucked at a loose stitch. At least it’d be warm.

“Okay, okay. Here’s the gist of it.” Paige held up a finger, getting everyone’s attention. She scrolled. “You have to set up a profile, using your basic information, interests, location, and dating preferences, but the only public-facing information is your username.”

Gigi set her needles on her lap, on top of Mister Tuxedo. “OMG! I just remembered the governor’s username . . . it was HangingWithMyGnomies!”

“No!” Alice giggle-squeaked.

“Yes!” Gigi replied, before they all broke into belly laughs.

---