Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 225

Chapter 225

Monday morning had been fairly calm until my phone buzzed with a message from Zoey. I was reviewing the sales reports for the organic line when her name flashed across the screen.

[Guess who’s going to London soon?]

I smiled instantly. Zoey had a talent for brightening my day with a single text.

[Hmm… let me think… The Pope? Lady Gaga? Some celebrity I should know but don’t? Or maybe… I don’t know… my favorite sister who has a perfect baby I miss like crazy?]

Her reply came almost immediately:

[LOL! Very funny! Big international Kensington meeting. Christian hopes to close million dollar deals, I hope to drink a lot of wine and wander around with my beloved sister. Get ready!]

My heart jumped. Zoey coming to London meant more than killing the homesickness. It meant seeing Matt in person, seeing how she was handling motherhood, and having a piece of home close by.

[That’s amazing! When are you getting here? And don’t tell me there won’t be a party… it’s not a Kensington meeting if there isn’t a huge event. And chaos.]

[Not sure of the date yet, but in the next few days. And I don’t know about chaos, but apparently Christian’s cousin is organizing a reception for all the international partners.]

[What cousin?]

[Someone named Alexandra. Christian said she knows all the best places in the city.]

My stomach dropped. Of course. Of course it would be Alexandra organizing everything. That woman had a way of appearing at every major moment of my London life. Always flawless. Always in control. Always making me feel like an intruder in my own story.

I didn’t answer the bit about Alexandra right away. No way I was unpacking that mess over text. Instead, I wrote: [It’s going to be perfect having you here! I can’t wait to see Matt in person. And to drink way too much wine with you.]

I set my phone down, caught somewhere between excitement and dread. I was genuinely thrilled to see Zoey. But the thought of Alexandra hosting a party for a family I was now technically part of made my stomach twist. Knowing her, she’d make sure everyone remembered exactly where she thought I belonged.

Chaos was practically guaranteed.

I was about to return to the reports when I noticed a notification from the dating app. My heart kicked a little. Could it be a reply from Wanderer?

I opened the app, and there it was: [I promise I’m far less dangerous than Raymond Burr. But I get the caution, Hitchcock taught us the most charming men tend to be the most suspicious. How about we find out if there’s chemistry through words first? London isn’t going anywhere, but a good conversation… that’s far rarer.]

A ridiculous smile spread across my face. Raymond Burr. He didn’t just get my Rear Window reference, he went specific enough to name the actor who played the murderer. And the part about discovering chemistry throughwords… that was exactly the kind of clever I didn’t expect to find on a dating app.

“But I do want to keep going,” I said, looking at the message again. “I want to keep talking to him. There’s something… different about these messages.”

“Different how?”

“Like he’s actually paying attention to what I say. Like he wants to know me for real, not just… I don’t know, score a date.”

Gwen studied me for a few seconds.

“Just promise you’ll be careful. And if you meet him, it’ll be in a public place with plenty of people around.”

“I prop

that too.”

ing before you go.”

That was when I saw Nate walking past our office. He was focused on some papers, but when he passed the glass wall, our eyes locked for a split second.

It was only a moment, but a shiver ran through me. There was something in the intensity of that look, something that reminded me why I’d developed feelings for him in the first place.