Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 198

Chapter 198

I went back to the office in a state of absolute shock. My legs felt like jelly, and my mind was completely blank, as if someone had flipped a switch and shut my brain off the moment Nathaniel Carter walked into that café.

Nathaniel Carter was my boss, the COO of Kensington London.

The same man I’d slept with in an airplane bathroom two months ago.

“Annie?” Gwen’s voice pulled me back to reality. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

A ghost would’ve been easier to handle. Ghosts couldn’t fire you. Ghosts couldn’t ruin your career. Ghosts definitely couldn’t tell your brother-in-law how unprofessional you were.

“I’m fine,” I lied, dropping into my chair and pretending to be interested in the emails that had piled up during our coffee break.

“Fine? Annie, you broke a coffee cup in the middle of a café and didn’t say a single word the entire way back. That’s not fine.”

I tried to focus on the screen, but the words blurred and danced in front of me. How was I supposed to work knowing he was in the same building?

“It’s just… cultural adjustment,” I improvised. “Still getting used to the British formalities in workplace introductions.”

Gwen gave me that look-the one that said she wasn’t buying a single word of it.

“Annabelle Bennett,” she said, folding her arms, “I’ve known you for two months. I’ve seen you handle impossible clients, survive stressful presentations, even that wine spill that ruined your white blouse. I’ve never seen you react like this to a simple introduction.”

Crap. Gwen was way too observant for her own good.

“It was just a weird reaction, okay?” I tried again, though my voice came out higher than usual. “Sometimes it happens.”

“Aha.” Gwen pushed back her chair, came over, and perched on the edge of my desk, clearly ready for an interrogation. “And this weird reaction wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that you turned red as a tomato the second Nate walked in?”

“I did not turn red!”

“Annie, you were the color of the red wine we tasted last week.”

I exhaled, long and deep, trying to gather my thoughts. Not that it helped. My brain was still looping the fact that my impulsive, midair hookup had just turned into my professional nightmare.

“It’s complicated,” I muttered at last.

“Complicated how?” Gwen leaned in, intrigued. “You two know each other?”,

“In a way.”

“In a way?” she repeated, raising a brow. “Annie, you either know him or you don’t. There’s no in between.”

I looked at Gwen, weighing my options. She was my best friend in London, and she worked directly with Nathaniel. Maybe she could give me some insight into what kind of boss he was. Whether he was the type to mix personal and professional matters…

“Promise you won’t judge me?” I asked hesitantly.

“Annie, I’m Valentian. In my family, drama is an art form. You can tell me anything.”

I took a deep breath, summoning every bit of courage I had.

“I… met Nathaniel before. On my flight to London.”

“On the flight?” Gwen’s eyes went wide. “You two traveled together?”

“Not exactly together. He was sitting next to me.”

“What an amazing coincidence!” Gwen said, genuinely excited. “So what happened? Did you talk? Was he nice?”

“Yeah, we talked…” I trailed off, scrambling for a version of the story that didn’t involve questionable altitude decisions. “I was really nervous because of the turbulence. He tried to calm me down, you know, by talking to me.”

“How sweet! Nate’s always been that kind of guy-thoughtful, attentive.”

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