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.”

“It was…” I hesitated, refusing to finish the sentence. “It doesn’t matter, Gwen!”

“It matters a lot!” She got up from her chair, clearly enjoying herself. “Annie, you’ve got two choices here. Option one: freak out and turn this into a huge mess. Option two: accept that it happened, that it was good, and deal with it like the grown, confident woman you are.”

“And how exactly does a grown, confident woman deal with this kind of situation? Because I’m pretty sure I’m not that woman.”

“You go to the meeting tomorrow, act professional, and see how he behaves. If he crosses a line, you make it clear things are strictly professional now. If he’s respectful, you keep working like nothing happened.”

“And if he fires me because of it?”

“He can’t fire you for something that happened before you worked here.”

“But he can make my life miserable.”

“He could,” Gwen admitted, then gave me a reassuring smile. “But the Nate I know isn’t like that. He’s professional, fair, and focused on the job.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’ve known him for years. And because if he ever tries to fire you or make things hard for you, I’ll personally tell Christian about his inappropriate behavior.”

The thought of Christian finding out made my stomach twist into knots.

“Please, Gwen, don’t tell anyone else about this.”

“Of course not!” she said, looking almost offended. “You’re my friend, Annie. This stays between us.”

I managed a small, shaky smile, comforted by her loyalty. Maybe she was right. Maybe I was blowing this way out of proportion.

But as soon as I pictured tomorrow’s meeting, my stomach clenched all over again.

It was going to be a long night.