Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 248

Chapter 248

I was buried in a third-quarter sales report when something soft landed on my head. I looked up to find Gwen beside my desk, hands on her hips, wearing a mischievous grin like she was extremely proud of herself.

“Gwen, what…?” I started, reaching up and feeling fuzzy fabric.

“Christmas hat.” She announced it with theatrical flair, like she was presenting a masterpiece. “It looks perfect on you.’

I couldn’t help laughing at how pleased she looked. I pulled the hat off and checked it out. One of those classic red ones with a white pom-pom, probably bought at a department store nearby.

“Isn’t it a little early for this?” I asked, still laughing. “It’s only November.”

“Annie, look outside!” she said with that contagious excitement that was basically her signature. “All of London is already in Christmas mode. There are lit-up trees on every corner, stores are fully decorated, even the red buses have garlands. How can you resist that?”

She wasn’t wrong. The Kensington lobby had turned into a full holiday installation. A huge tree stood in the center, covered in gold lights and elegant ornaments that matched the company’s polished aesthetic. Green garlands with red bows wrapped around the columns, and even the receptionists were wearing tiny snowflake pins.

“It is pretty,” I admitted, setting the hat on my desk. “But this time of year makes me a little emotional.”

Gwen frowned and leaned back against my desk like she was gearing up for a serious talk.

‘Are you the Grinch?” she asked. Half joking. Half concerned.

“The Grinch?” I echoed, laughing. “No, nothing like that. I actually love Christmas. It’s just… hard to get into the spirit when you know you’re spending it away from your family.”

Her expression softened instantly. Understanding flickered in her eyes.

“Why don’t you go to Verdania?” she asked gently. “I’m sure the company would give you a few extra days, especially with how hard you’ve been working.”

I sighed, rolling the pen between my fingers while I tried to put words to a feeling I didn’t always understand myself.

“I’m kind of… scared.”

“Scared of flying?”

“No, not that.” I shook my head. Even though I remembered far too well how terrified I’d been on my last flight. “I’m scared that if I go back, if I see everyone again and fall into that warm, familiar routine, I’ll lose the courage to come back to London. That I’ll just… give up everything I’ve built here.”

Gwen watched me for a few seconds, letting my words settle.

“You’re afraid you’ll feel so at home in Verdania that London won’t make sense anymore?” she asked. Her insight caught me off guard.

The part about “broken pieces” lingered in my mind. It was exactly how I felt sometimes. Like I was trying to match pieces of who I was in Verdania with who I was becoming in London, hoping the final picture would make sense.

most without thinking, I began typing. But instead of replying to what he’d said, curiosity tugged at me. Who was the man behind these words? What was his story? What had shaped him into someone who understood emotional messiness so well?

So I sent my fifth question.

[And you? Are you emotionally broken too? What was your last big love… and how did it end?]

I hit send before I could talk myself out of it. Now all I could do was wait and see if he’d be as honest with me as I always was with him.

I pocketed my phone quickly when Gwen finished her call and turned back to me with that warm, familiar smile.

“So,” she said, grabbing the Santa hat I’d left on my desk, “can I leave this here? For when you’re ready to get into the Christmas spirit?”

“Go ahead,” I said, smiling. “Who knows. Maybe by the end of November I’ll wear it willingly.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Gwen laughed and popped the hat back onto my head before darting away so I couldn’t protest.

I stayed there with the hat slightly crooked. Smiling to myself in my cubicle. Thinking about the question I had just sent to Wanderer.