Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 137

Christian’s POV

Sitting in the back seat of Marcus’s car, I adjusted the tiny earpiece for the third time in the last five minutes. The sound was clear-I could hear every word of the conversation between Zoey and Alex through the recorder hidden in her purse. But it wasn’t doing a damn thing to calm me down.

“Relax, man,” Marcus muttered from the driver’s seat, watching me through the rearview mirror. “You look like some obsessive stalker.”

“Shut up, Marcus,” I ground out, my eyes locked on the café window where I could make out the shapes of Zoey and Alex.

“He’s not wrong,” Annie said from the passenger seat, a teasing smile on her lips. “You’re practically chewing your nails off. It’s kinda cute, actually.”

Alex’s voice came through the earpiece, smooth and smug in a way that made my fists clench automatically.

“Zoey, you look amazing. You always knew how to drive me crazy, didn’t you?”

Annabelle let out a low whistle. “Wow. He’s not wasting any time, is he?”

“Annie,” Marcus warned, though there was amusement in his tone too.

“What? I’m just making an observation,” she said with a shrug. “It’s fascinating seeing how different men handle the same woman. Alex is all sweet talk and nostalgia…”

“While Christian here’s more of a ‘you’re mine and that’s final’ kind of guy,” Marcus added, earning a death glare from me.

“Can you two focus on the job?” I muttered, trying-and failing-not to let Alex’s voice get under my skin.

“Remember when we used to come here on weekends?” Alex said through the feed. “You always ordered that cappuccino with extra cinnamon.”

Zoey laughed softly.

“I remember. You always complained it was too sweet.”

Annie chuckled. “I’m getting a sugar rush just listening to this. Don’t look like that, Christian. It’s normal. They have history, and Zoey’s using it to her advantage. It doesn’t mean anything.”

But it meant something. Not in a romantic way-I trusted Zoey completely. It was that Alex knew her in ways I was still learning every day. He knew she liked cinnamon in her coffee. I didn’t even know that.

Their conversation drifted to lighter topics-work, life, how things had changed. Alex was being charming, attentive, exactly the kind of man that always got on my nerves when he turned that act on my wife.

Then the tone shifted.

“So, how are things with Elise?” Alex asked.

Annie and Marcus both straightened in their seats, the playfulness gone.

“I’m asking for a divorce,” Alex said.

“Interesting,” Marcus murmured. “Suspicious timing.”

“She’s not who I thought she was,” Alex continued. “All she cares about is growing Elite PR, making the right connections, meeting the right people. Especially since she started working with that arrogant Valentian woman.”

Annie and I exchanged a sharp look. Marcus adjusted the mirror again, eyes narrowing toward the café.

“Arrogant Valentian woman,” Annie repeated slowly. “I’m guessing that’s…”

“Francesca,” I finished for her, my stomach tightening into a knot.

“She’s kind of obsessed with it. Keeps talking about expanding into international markets, about how that Valentian woman has connections that could open doors for her in Euradia.”

“Francesca’s working with Elise,” Marcus said, his voice low and focused. “That explains a lot.”

I kept listening, waiting for Zoey to push for more details about Francesca, but to my frustration, she smoothly steered the conversation in another direction. Smart move-it wouldn’t do to seem too interested-but damn, I wanted more.

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