Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 257

Chapter 257

I walked back into the apartment in silence, still trying to process what had just happened in the hallway. The image of Nate walking away was burned into my mind-his tense shoulders, the controlled steps, the way he’d looked at me in those last seconds before turning the corner.

I headed straight to the kitchen, grabbed a glass vase from the cabinet, and filled it with water. The bouquet of red roses felt heavy in my hands. Trimming the stems and arranging the blooms seemed to magnify the storm of questions spinning in my head. Why had Nate chosen those flowers? Why had they felt so familiar the moment I saw them? And why, for God’s sake, had having him in my home shaken me the way it did?

“Red roses definitely aren’t ‘the team misses you’ flowers,” Marcus said behind me, dripping sarcasm.

I didn’t look at him. I kept fussing with the roses, giving them more attention than they deserved.

“And where’s the card signed by everyone?” he pressed, clearly not planning to drop it.

The question made me freeze. Slowly, I sifted through the stems, separating each rose, each leaf, each white filler flower. There really was no card or message. Nothing that backed up Nate’s story that these were from the office.

And that bothered me more than I wanted to admit.

Office bouquets always came with fancy HR-crafted cards like warm messages and long signatures from half the company. But these roses… these had nothing. No signature or explanation. They were too intimate and personal.

They were too much like Nate.

It was very strange, but I wasn’t about to give Marcus the satisfaction of seeing me doubt it.

“What are you still doing here?” I finally asked, setting the vase on the counter as I turned to face him, irritation barely concealed.

Marcus leaned against the doorway, watching me with that calculated expression I knew too well. But there was something different now, something heavier, more serious than the casual provocations he’d been throwing while Nate was here.

“I have a proposal for you,” he said plainly.

I crossed my arms, waiting. I wasn’t in the mood for games. If he had something to say, he needed to cut to the chase.

“Christian sent me to London to fix the situation with the board and reinstate you in your position,” he began, choosing his words carefully. “But… what if you came to the Imperial City with me instead?”

I actually laughed. A short, bitter burst of disbelief.

“You already have someone in my role,” I said, shaking my head. “My own brother.”

“Matthew would do well in Euradia,” Marcus replied immediately. “Or I could work with both of you. The Ascian market is growing fast, Annie. There are opportunities there London can’t offer you.”

Would he face the board for me? Risk his own career?

“And how exactly do you plan to protect me?” I threw the question back at him. “Because last time I checked, I was just entertainment. And what happens when you get bored again?”

Something shifted in Marcus’s expression. The casual confidence drained away, replaced by something more

vulnerable. More sincere.

“I know I made mistakes back then,” he said quietly, his voice lower. “But this time is different, Annie. And you’d have Matthew there. Family.”

I didn’t answer right away. Part of me wanted to reject the idea instantly. But another part that was tired, bruised, and worn thin by the last few days saw the logic in what he was saying.

I closed my eyes for a moment and let myself imagine it. Imperial City. A new apartment. A workplace where no one whispered when I walked by. Meetings where my competence wasn’t questioned because of rumors about my personal life. Matthew nearby, grounding me with that familiar piece of home. And Marcus… known, predictable in his unpredictability.

But would that be courage? Or cowardice? A fresh start? Or running away?

In the Imperial City, I’d just be Annie Bennett. A capable executive transferred to help expand operations.