Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 266

Chapter 266

The email landed in my inbox at nine a.m., formal and straight to the point. [Subject: Reinstatement to Position – Annie Bennett.] My heart still sped up as I opened it, even though Gwen had already told me yesterday’s meeting had ended with me getting my job back.

[Dear Ms. Bennett, we inform you that the administrative board of Kensington International has decided on your reinstatement to your position. Please report to the Human Resources Department at 10:30 a.m. to sign the pertinent documents and receive a briefing on the procedures for the temporary supervision period.]

The words temporary supervision felt like a constant reminder that even cleared, I was still being watched, evaluated, and measured. Better than suspension, but far from a real victory.

I arrived at HR right on time, doing my best to look composed despite the storm inside me. Clara, the HR rep, greeted me with a polite smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and handed me a stack of documents to sign.

“Welcome back, Annabelle,” she said, gesturing to the chair across from her desk. “I’m sure you’re relieved everything got resolved.”

“I am,” I answered, taking the pen she offered. “It was a… complicated situation.”

“It really was,” Clara agreed, sorting the papers while I signed. “Fortunately, someone on the board intervened very strongly on your behalf.”

Something in her tone made me look up from the forms.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, nothing major,” she said quickly, but the flicker in her expression told me there was more. “It’s just rare to see such a thorough, well-prepared presentation. Whoever put your defense together really put in the work.”

I finished signing and left HR with more questions than answers. I needed to understand what really happened in that meeting, and I knew exactly who could tell me.

I found Gwen in our office, reviewing documents with that laser focus that always impressed me. I knocked, and she immediately looked up, smiling widely.

“Annie!” She stood and pulled me into a hug. “How does it feel to be back?”

“Confusing,” I admitted, closing the door behind me. “I need to know what actually happened yesterday. Clara from HR made a few comments that left me uneasy.”

Gwen sat back down, motioning for me to take the seat across from her. There was something in her expression, like she’d been waiting for this conversation.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” I said plainly. “Who defended me? How did they prove I was innocent?”

Gwen exhaled, choosing her words carefully.

“Marcus presented your defense during the meeting. He was very convincing, very well prepared. The evidence he brought was irrefutable. There were system logs, camera footage… proof you weren’t even in the building when the accesses were made.”

“Marcus put all that together by himself?” I asked, feeling a tug in my gut. There was more. I could feel it.

“Well…” Gwen hesitated. “He only had all that evidence because Nate gave him a complete dossier. Nate did all the investigation.’

The information hit me like a punch. Nate had helped me, just like he’d promised. But why let Marcus be the one to stand in front of everyone and present it?

“Why didn’t Nate present it himself?” I asked, trying to make sense of it.

And just like that, he walked away before I could respond, leaving me standing in the corridor with the sinking feeling that my life was being mapped out by everyone but me.

The tension I’d been carrying all morning finally cracked open into hard questions: Did Nate actually want me to stay? Or had he decided it would be easier if I moved on? Was his help yesterday genuine concern… or a way to ease his conscience before watching me leave?

I left Kensington mid-afternoon, since I wasn’t officially back to work until Monday. Marcus’s words kept looping in my mind the entire way home.

By the time I reached my apartment, the need for answers had become unbearable. I spent nearly an hour pacing from one end of my living room to the other, trying to piece everything together.

The situation was too clear to ignore: decisions about my future were being made behind my back. Marcus wasn’t offering an opportunity but executing a plan. And the question gnawing at me was: Was Nate part of that plan?

I checked the time. It was eight p.m.

Nate was probably already home-maybe getting dinner, maybe buried in work like he always was. The thought of him opening his door and finding me standing there made my heart kick hard in my chest.

But I needed answers. I needed to look him in the eye and hear the truth about what he wanted for us, about whatever deal he’d made with Marcus, about whether I was someone he was trying to protect… or someone he was trying to quietly push away.

I grabbed my keys and my coat, resolve settling into my bones. It didn’t matter how uncomfortable the conversation might get or how many illusions might shatter. I needed to know where I truly stood in his life.

The door to my apartment closed behind me with a final click, echoing my determination.

Tonight, Nathaniel Carter was going to give me the answers I deserved.