Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 96

Chapter 96

The two men stared at each other in a silence that seemed to stretch endlessly. I realized then that I was holding my breath, my fingers gripping the banister with unnecessary force.

Finally, a slow, calculated smile spread across Anthony’s face.

“Crystal clear.” He stepped back half a pace, conceding space but not defeat. “I only wonder if Joseph shares this… reordering of priorities.”

“Why don’t you ask me directly?” Joseph’s voice rang out from the entry hall, startling all of us.

The patriarch stood at the foot of the stairs, leaning on his cane with Carmen at his side. His expression was stern, but his sharp eyes missed nothing of the scene before him.

“Grandpa.” Anthony recovered quickly from his surprise. “We shouldn’t trouble you with operational matters.”

“This is my house and my company.” Joseph began climbing the steps slowly, each one deliberate. “There is nothing that happens here that is ‘too much trouble’ for me to know.”

He stopped when he reached us, standing one step below, which placed him directly between Christian and Anthony.

“Zoey isn’t well, I hear.” His kind eyes found mine. “How are you, my dear?”

“Better, Joseph.” I smiled, genuinely touched by his concern. “Just a virus, according to the doctor.”

“Good, good.” He nodded, satisfied, before turning his attention back to the two men. “As for the two of you… my eyesight may be failing, but my ears work perfectly well. And I don’t like what I heard.”

“Grandpa, I only expressed concern about Christian’s commitment to-”

“To the company you’ve coveted since you were a boy?” Joseph cut him off, his voice surprisingly sharp. “Yes, I’m well aware of your ‘concerns,’ Anthony.”

The silence that followed was heavy, weighted with decades of complex family dynamics I could only imagine.

“Christian made the right decision today.” Joseph looked at his eldest grandson with unmistakable approval. “A company is made of numbers, yes. Contracts, deadlines, meetings. But it is also made of people. Of family.”

He reached out, placing a hand on Christian’s shoulder with surprising strength for his age.

“Your great-grandfather taught me something I never forgot: business will always be there tomorrow, but the moment to care for those we love may not return. Christian honored that lesson today. He put family first. I am proud, not disappointed.”

I saw something flicker across Anthony’s face-a flash of emotion that might have been anger, envy, or perhaps even pain-before his mask of polished indifference slipped back into place.

“A touching perspective, Grandpa.” His tone skirted the edge of insolence but remained technically respectful. But the Niharan investors may not share such sentimentality.”

“The Niharan investors,” Christian interjected, his voice once more cool and professional, “signed the preliminary agreement this afternoon, during the meeting with Marcus. The initial deposits will be made next week.”

I saw the surprise on Anthony’s face, quickly masked.

“Well, that’s… convenient.”

“No, that’s competence.” Christian smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “Marcus executed the plan exactly as we designed it. Because at Kensington, contrary to what you seem to believe, we don’t rely on a single person. We are a team. A family.”

That last word lingered in the air, heavy with meaning beyond its literal sense.

“Fascinating.” Anthony adjusted his tie, stepping back another pace. “Well, it seems everything is settled then. If you’ll excuse me, Victoria must be waiting for tea.”

With a bow of his head that bordered on disrespect, he strode down the corridor, his footsteps echoing againstthe marble.

When he was gone, Joseph let out a long sigh.

“That boy has always been his own worst enemy.” He shook his head, genuine sadness in his eyes. “So bright, and yet so blind.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify