Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 726

Chapter 726

+25 Bonus

My office door was closed.

My name was still there.

I held the handle for a second before opening it. Just to feel it.

When I stepped inside, I found Matthew sitting at the desk.

Not in the main chair.

In the guest chair.

The detail made me smile before a single word was spoken.

Matthew stood the moment I walked in.

He had the kind of presence that comes from a man who learned how to be discreet even when he deserves applause.

Even so, his eyes looked lighter.

“I wanted to officially return the crown,” he said, with a smile that balanced humor and respect perfectly. “Symbolically, of course. I didn’t actually buy a crown.”

I laughed.

The sound came easily. No defenses.

“Good,” I replied. “That would’ve been an unnecessary expense. I already have an entire board to remind me how heavy it is.”

He laughed too, and the office felt less like an office and more like a place.

“And I bet you probably have one in your closet.”

I pretended to think about it.

“Maybe,” I said, and we both laughed again.

I walked over and hugged him.

A real hug.

Not the polite, distant kind this building usually demands.

I felt his body stiffen for a second, like he still wasn’t used to being… appreciated like that.

“I’ll never be able to thank you for everything you did for me,” I said quietly.

Matthew took a slow breath.

“That’s what friends are for,” he answered simply.

I stepped back and moved to the desk, setting my bag down in its usual spot.

My office looked exactly the same.

But I wasn’t.

“I want you to stay,” I said, getting straight to the point. “If you want to.”

Matthew looked at me carefully.

“Stay?” he asked. “In Florentia?”

2/4

Chapter 205

+25 Bonus

I leaned lightly against the edge of the desk.

“As Executive Director of Operations,” I said.

I watched his expression change.

The kind of surprise that happens when someone realizes they’re not just being useful.

They’re being chosen.

“Christian will offer you the position formally,” I added. “So pretend to be surprised.”

Matthew let out a quiet laugh.

“Yeah…” he said, like he was testing the idea inside his head. “That actually sounds perfect.”

Warmth spread through my chest.

“I’ve been thinking about a change of scenery anyway,” he added, with a hint of humor.

“Then welcome to Florentia,” I said, and the words came out like a blessing. “May Valentia bring you as much happiness as it brought me.”

Just then, there was a light knock at the door.

Mia appeared with the same expression as always. Insolent on the outside, watchful underneath.

“So, are we having lunch?” she asked, stepping inside without waiting for permission, like the place already belonged to her.

I frowned.

“Did we make plans?” I asked honestly. “I don’t remember that. I actually had lunch with Nick before coming here.”

Mia pointed at me like she was correcting a mistake.

“Not you,” she said.

Then she smiled at Matthew with very clear intentions.

“Him.”

Matthew blinked, caught off guard..

I raised an eyebrow.

“Oh,” I murmured.

Mia shrugged, satisfied.

Matthew rubbed the back of his neck, hiding the embarrassment in a way I found almost funny.

“Ah, right… sure,” he said, like he’d just remembered a meeting on his calendar. “See you later, Gwen.”

“See you,” I replied. “Enjoy lunch.”

Mia was already heading for the door, waiting for him.

Matthew gave me a quick wave and followed her out.

When the door closed, the silence returned.

But this time it wasn’t threatening.

Chapter 728

It was a good silence.

I walked to my chair and sat down.

And for the first time in a long time, I let myself smile without worrying about what came next.

Things were good at home.

Things were good at work.

And I knew, with a quiet certainty, that this was happiness.

COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus

Comments

Support

Share

+25 Bonus

GET IT

4/4

Chapter 720

Chapter 726

Nick’s POV

The Valement Estate had a sound.

+25 Bonus

Not just one clear, recognizable noise you could identify with your eyes closed. It was a blend of smaller sounds that came together and turned into a rhythm. The gate creaking open at dawn. Tires crunching over gravel. Quick footsteps echoing down the service hallway. The soft clink of dishes in the kitchen. The coffee machine running nonstop. Wood groaning under footsteps that no longer tried to be careful, because this place had stopped being a project and become a home.

And it had a scent.

Strong coffee. Warm bread. Ripe grapes that lingered in the air even out of season. The clean smell of freshly pressed laundry drifting from somewhere. That standard hotel soap Martina had approved with all the seriousness of a board meeting. As I crossed the courtyard, I could still catch the faint scent of cold stone beneath it all. A reminder that these walls had history.

By the time I walked into the kitchen, the routine was already in motion.

One of the staff girls was lining up trays. Another checked a list with a pen tucked behind her ear. Heat poured out of the oven, thickening the air. And Martina stood right in the middle of everything without looking like the center of anything.

“Double cappuccino for the couple in room three,” she said, not even glancing at me. “And the family in seven wants fruit without honey. No honey, Nick. I know you think it’s ridiculous, but that’s what they asked for.”

“I didn’t say anything,” I replied, opening the fridge.

Martina shot me an amused look, and I smiled back.

“And don’t forget. We’ve got two early arrivals today. The squeeze-ins.”

I pulled my phone from my pocket. The screen was already lit up with notifications.

Squeeze-ins.

That word had become normal over the past few weeks. People calling, texting, emailing. Asking if there was “any opening,” any room,” “any date.”

I stepped over to the counter, grabbed a cup, and took a sip of coffee before checking the day’s schedule.

Fully booked for the next six months.

Six months.

Part of me still felt like that had to be some kind of polite lie.

Gwen kept telling me I needed to learn how to accept that sometimes things actually work out without asking your permission.

I glanced at Martina.

“We’re booked through…” I started, because I still needed to hear it out loud to believe it.

“Six months,” she finished flatly. “And if you don’t stop making that shocked face, I’m going to start charging admission.”

I let out a quiet laugh, but it didn’t shake the solid, grounding weight in my chest.

The service door swung open, and Paula walked in pushing a cart.

“Nick, the bread delivery just came in,” she said.

My first problem of the day arrived right on cue.

+25 Bonus

“Except…” she hesitated, “it’s wrong.”

I set my cup down on the counter.

“How wrong?”

She pointed at the invoice.

“They sent whole grain and gluten-free. Where are the regular ones?”

I closed my eyes for a second.

I could already hear the guests complaining about the “rustic bread you promised.”

“Give me the invoice,” I said.

I called the supplier before I even finished my coffee.

“John,” I said when he picked up. My tone carried a warning. “You messed up the order.”

On the other end, he immediately got defensive, confused, swearing he hadn’t.

I didn’t argue. I just got straight to the point.

“I have two early check-ins today, and the kitchen needs the basics. You either send the correct order within an hour, or I’ll buy it somewhere else and you lose this contract going forward. Simple.”

Silence.

Then the sound of papers shuffling.

“Nick, I… I’m checking now. There was a mistake at the warehouse.”

“I know.”

“I’ll fix it.”

“Great.”

I hung up and caught Martina watching me, approval in her eyes she’d never actually put into words.

“All set,” I said, like I owed her a report.

“I saw,” she replied. “Now go check everything else before something else lands in your lap,”

As if the universe had been listening, my second problem showed up as a message in the staff group chat.

There was a gap in the tasting schedule.

One of the guides had called in sick, and the eleven o’clock slot the one that always sold out had no one assigned.

I looked at the screen, thought for about two seconds, and started walking toward the main hall.

“I’ll take it,” I typed in the group.

I’d done tastings with way more nerves back when the estate was still just a dream. Now it was work. And work, I knew how to

handle.

In the hallway, I heard a child’s laughter coming from the entry room.

It was Bella.

She had her backpack on, her hair tied up in a way that was clearly Gwen’s doing, and a bow that didn’t match anything—which

2/4

Chapter 726

+25 Bonus

was exactly why it suited her.

“I’m ready!” she announced when she saw me, like I was her personal driver.

I bent down and kissed the top of her head.

“Ready for what?”

“For school,” she said, giving me a look that clearly meant duh. “And to show my new butterfly.”

“New?”

Bella opened her backpack and pulled out a crumpled drawing.

It was a huge butterfly, with oversized wings and glitter in places I didn’t even want to think about how it got there.

“I made it with Julia,” she explained. “She’s my friend. She lives nearby. And she said there’s a cat at her house that tries to catch real butterflies.”

“A mean cat?”

“A curious cat,” Bella corrected, like it was a matter of principle.

I held back a smile.

A friend.

That mattered more than any judge’s stamp.

Gwen appeared in the kitchen doorway with her laptop in hand.

She was wearing a sweatshirt and a light shirt, her hair pulled back, that kind of effortless beauty that only exists when a woman isn’t trying to impress anyone.

“I’ll take Bella,” she said. “I’ll do my call on the way, okay?”

I nodded.

Gwen stepped closer and kissed me quickly. A routine kiss that still left me with that same sense of luck.

“You okay?” she asked softly.

I glanced out at the courtyard. The movement. Martina running everything without looking like she was in charge.

“Yeah,” I said. “It just… still feels like I’m going to wake up and realize it wasn’t real.”

Gwen smiled.

“Then wake up again,” she said. “Because it is.”

She took Bella’s hand.

“Come on, Miss Butterfly.”

Bella made a pleased little face and tugged Gwen along as they headed out.

3/4

Ch

+25 Bonus