Page 10 of Miss Manage

He leaned back, unimpressed, the faintest smirk tugging at his mouth.

I didn’t rise to it. “If we treat this merger like two separate entities,” I continued, “we fail before we even start. Every person is now part of Arrow and will be evaluated by the same metrics and review process. That’s the only way this works.”

Before I could move on, Gabriel spoke. “Charlotte is right, this isn’t about which side anyone came from. It’s about who’s performing and who isn’t. The sooner we all start acting like one company, the better off we’ll be.”

The room shifted subtly, resistance softening around the edges. Even John straightened a fraction, like he’d just recognized he was outnumbered.

I hadn’t expected backup, least of all from Gabriel. Yet the sound of his voice, steady and certain beside mine, sparked something I hadn’t felt in days. The faint but unmistakable sense that I wasn’t completely alone in this.

A dangerous thought, especially when it came to the competition. I pushed it aside and outlined the plan for the next few days, forging on as if nothing had shifted at all.

I left the office at six, tempted to skip spin class and collapse into a hot bath instead. But my younger sister, Michelle, would never let me live it down if I bailed.

She was already in the back row, ponytail high, and had saved me a bike. “Thought you’d flake,” she teased.

We shared our mother’s big brown eyes, long lashes, and a button nose. From our late father, we got his unshakable determination and attention to detail. In every other way, though, we were opposites. Michelle was tall, toned, and athletic, her hair a perfect shade of blond since college. I was petite, brunette, and would happily boycott anything involving Spandex or a whistle.

“Tough day, but I’m here.” I’d filled her in over the weekend about the meeting with the owners.

Michelle was a superior court judge who handled stress on an entirely different level. She leveled me with a look that made it clear she wasn’t buying the casual act. “A merger stacked on top of an acting CEO role you might not get to keep, and layoffs to boot? That’s a hell of a load, Char.”

“Guess there’s no better way to prove myself.” I clipped into the pedals, forcing my legs to wake up.

She grinned, wicked and knowing. “You? Proving yourself? Stop the presses.”

That was the thing about sisters who doubled as best friends. They knew the truth beneath the drive, and could spot the real motivation behind every decision, including the ones made to prove a point to my ex.

“Cute.” I grabbed my towel. “By the way, if you don’t have dinner plans tonight, Austin’s coming by.”

Michelle’s nose wrinkled. “Isn’t tonight Steve’s night?”

“Yeah. Not sure what’s going on, but I’m hoping to get to the bottom of it.” Something had definitely been off lately at my ex’s house.

“Best I’m not there.” She reached for her water bottle. “I tend to cross-examine without meaning to. And as you know, the only good thing that ever came out of your stupid ex is my wonderful nephew. Probably because he’s ninety percent your gene pool.”

A laugh escaped before I could stop it. Everyone deserved a sister as fiercely loyal as Michelle.

My ex could still stir old doubts. He’d often made me feel selfish for wanting both family and a career. But six years had taught me to turn leftover anger into fuel rather than poison. “Speaking of cross-examination, I could use you to rattle a few of the Juniper guys,” I teased. “Just to watch them squirm.”

Michelle smirked. “I’m sure you do a stellar job putting them in their place. Hope your boxes are packed for a proper ‘fuck you’ walkout if they’re dumb enough not to make this permanent.”

“They’re on standby.” Jill, my recruiter friend, had already told me the quiet search for external candidates was underway, and interviews would follow in the coming weeks.

Michelle’s expression softened. “Don’t let them take you for granted.”

“I won’t.”

She smiled big. “Good. You’re going to blow away the competition, of that I have no doubt.”

Of course Gabriel’s handsome face flashed, unbidden, across my mind.

I really, really didn’t want to think about him, at least not in any way other than exactly what he was: competition. But it was difficult not to recall how he’d backed me up in the conference room earlier today. Gabriel had the kind of presence that made people turn instinctively, a confidence threaded through every movement, every glance.

But the last thing I needed right now was a distraction wrapped in a tailored suit.

I turned my attention to the bike.

As I pulled into the driveway ninety minutes later, my mood lifted instantly at the sight of Austin’s truck.