Tell Me It’s Right (Sweetspire #1)

Chapter 49

Chapter Forty-Nine

GRACIE

I give myself a weekend. One weekend. Where I do little else but mourn and sulk and shuffle around my apartment wearing Liam’s clothes and going through a box of tissues a day. We agreed to no contact, but I find myself constantly checking my phone just in case he reached out all the same. I have to delete our text conversations entirely to force myself to stop rereading them.

And I wonder, at least a dozen times a day, if I’ve made a huge mistake. If I’m taking the hard route of my life for no reason.

I could’ve stayed with Liam. I could’ve stayed in Sweetspire. Maybe forever. I could’ve let Liam continue to finance my life and let Leo put a roof over my head.

I could’ve called it quits the second this new life didn’t turn out to be as shiny as it was in my daydreams.

And maybe it would’ve been enough. Maybe the happiness would’ve lasted.

But I don’t know if I’d ever be able to meet my eyes in the mirror if I did.

So even though my face is puffy and red from crying and I only got a handful of hours of sleep, on Monday morning, I roll myself out of bed, put on the cutest dress I can find, and stop to grab a fancy coffee on my way to work.

The day passes mostly the same as every one that came before it—minimal mind-numbing projects slid my way and an ungodly amount of time to fill on my own.

But today, I look at it differently. Today, I use that time to plan. And research. And prepare.

Luckily, my website and portfolio are already in great shape since I worked on them so much this summer. But instead of acting as a digital résumé, I’ll need to tweak things now to look like a business. A business I don’t even have a name for—or frankly, any idea how to run. That, I guess, is as good a place as any to start my research.

I wrap up the small tasks Heather and Aria assigned me by noon. The floor mostly clears out as people take their breaks, leaving me alone in what I’ve come to think of as the design corner. I carry my microwave lunch to my desk to hunker down. I’ve had virtually no appetite since I returned to the city, but I’m determined to force at least a few bites down. Even though it makes me feel a bit silly, I type how to start a business into the search bar.

I ignore the slight pang in my stomach as it occurs to me I could’ve asked Liam for help.

But then again, he had to figure all this out at some point too. If he could do it, so can I.

I think the hardest part is going to be finding clients in the first place. And if I want to grow relatively quickly, I might need to seek them out myself.

I open a new tab to search for small businesses in the area.

“Oh, hi!”

I blink, my eyes burning from staring at the screen. A girl who looks about my age in hot pink trousers and a matching waistcoat stands a few feet away, holding some pasta in a Tupperware bowl.

She smiles when I meet her eyes, exposing the rows of silver braces on her teeth. “You’re new!”

“Um, yeah.” I hop up to offer her a handshake. “I started a few weeks ago. I’m Gracie.”

She shakes my hand, the warmth in her smile never wavering. “I’m Sloane. I’m over in accounting. I’m new too. Been here about a month.”

“Oh, cool. Nice to meet you. I love your outfit.”

“Thank you! I just got it from this thrift shop a few blocks from here. I love your dress too. The little bows on the sleeves are so cute. Do you thrift at all?”

I shrug. “I’ve never really tried it. I’m from a pretty small town. Didn’t have a lot of store options.”

“Oh my God. I’ll have to take you then! They had so much stuff there that looks like it would be your style.”

She says it so confidently, as if we’re already friends. Compared to my happy hour attempts, a thrift store sounds a lot more my speed. “That would be great.”

Voices carry through the halls as people filter in from their break. Sloane smiles and steps back to let a group pass her. She points at me before waving and heading toward her desk. “I’ll come find you later!”

I smile and wave. When I return my gaze to my computer, I find myself fighting the sudden urge to cry. Not about Liam or this job or any of that. Maybe it’s small, and maybe I’m being ridiculous, but I can’t help but feel like this was the universe trying to give me a sign that everything’s going to be okay after all.