Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 236

Chapter 236

Nathaniel’s POV

Wednesday morning found me in my office, staring at quarterly reports while my mind wandered far from the numbers on the screen. Ever since yesterday, Alexandra’s comment about how we would “steal all the attention

at the Kensington party kept echoing in my head. The way she said it was so effortless, as if we were automatically a pair.

As COO, people expected me to show up to events like that with someone on my arm. Normally it didn’t bother me. I’d bring someone I was seeing casually. Sometimes Alexandra herself. It was corporate theater. Nothing more.

But this time the idea gnawed at me. I didn’t want to spend another night pretending to enjoy empty small talk or playing a part that meant nothing. Maybe it was the conversation with Marcus. Or Christian’s suspicious looks lately. But the thought of performing again already exhausted me.

Around noon, I decided to get some air and clear my head with a coffee. The café next door was half full, buzzing with the usual lunch-hour hum. And that’s when I saw Annie, sitting alone at a corner table by the window, flipping through some papers while drinking what looked like a cappuccino. There was something peaceful about her. Focused. Unbothered by the noise around her.

I hesitated. Normally, I’d grab my coffee and head back upstairs. Keep the professional line intact. But something about seeing her like that. Unarmored, outside the office, made me want to try something different.

“Mind if I sit?” I asked as I reached her table.

She looked up, clearly surprised.

“Sure,” she said, gathering her papers to make space. “Just going over some projections for the Franconian team.”

“Working through lunch?” I said as I sat across from her. “You should rest and eat properly.”

“Funny coming from the man hiding in a café instead of eating lunch,” she shot back with a small smile.

“Fair enough.” I laughed.

The conversation started light. Work. Weather. How Westcliff had suddenly decided to be pleasant the moment no one expected it. The upcoming meeting with the Eisenwald investors. How the whole office felt more awake with Christian in the building.

It was strange how easy it felt. Away from the formal walls of the office, away from our complicated history, we slipped into something almost normal. Two people having coffee on a random Wednesday.

“By the way,” I said after a moment, trying to sound casual. “I was thinking about the Kensington party on Friday.”

“It’s supposed to be a big event, from what Gwen said,” Annie replied, stirring her cappuccino.

“It always is.” I paused, choosing my words. “I was thinking that… well, they always expect me to bring someone to events like that. It’s part of the role, you know. And I thought that… maybe… you could go with me.”

Annie stopped stirring her coffee and looked straight at me. Surprise clear in her eyes.

Before she could take it the wrong way, I added quickly.

“As friends, of course. Just to make the social part easier. For both of us. Since we’re… friends.”

Annie didn’t answer. She just moved her cup a little. But I knew she understood what I meant.

We talked about lighter things after that. Work. Projects. The party. And while she spoke, I found myself watching her in quiet pieces. The way she moved her hands when she explained something. The bright spark in her eyes when she talked about a project she loved. The sharp comments she made without ever sounding like she was trying to impress.

That was the kind of company I wanted at the party. Someone I could actually talk to. Not perform beside.

“Well,” I said at last, checking the time. “I should get back. Christian wants to go over a few numbers before tomorrow’s meeting.”

“Of course,” Annie said, gathering her papers. “I need to finish these projections anyway.”

We both stood. And for a moment, we just stayed there. Like there was still something hovering between us that neither of us dared to touch.

“It was nice talking,” I said.

“It was,” she answered, smiling in a way that felt real. Warm.

We walked back to the office together in silence. Each of us lost in our own thoughts about the approaching party. About choices we were going to have to make. About easy paths versus the ones we actually wanted.

I couldn’t read her mind. But mine was painfully clear.

She was the path I wanted.