Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 590 Nicholas' POV | left the house before the sun had fully risen over the hills. | didn't want Bella to wake up and see me leaving. | didn't want to have to explain where | was going, or why. Martina knew. She had seen the card Renee left on the table and the look on my face. She didn't say a word. She only nodded as | passed through the kitchen and handed me a thermos of coffee, no questions asked. The hotel was exactly what I had expected. One of those luxury places with a perfectly restored historic facade. Expensive flower arrangements in every window.

A uniformed doorman at the entrance who looked me up and down, clearly deciding whether | belonged there | immediately felt out of place. My clothes were clean but worn. My car was parked between Mercedes and BMWs. My work boots left faint traces of dirt on the polished marble floor of the lobby. ---- "May | help you?" the receptionist asked, wearing that professional smile that never quite reached her eyes. "I'm here to see Renee Sandler," | said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "Room twenty-three." She picked up the phone, dialed, and waited. "Ms. Sandler? You have a visitor.

Nicholas Valemont." A pause. "Yes, of course. I'll send him up." She hung up and gestured toward the elevators. "Second floor. Last door on the left." | stepped into the mirrored elevator, watching my reflection multiply endlessly. | looked tired. | looked stressed. I looked exactly like a man who hadn't slept after his ex-wife had suddenly appeared at his daughter's birthday | knocked on the door of room twenty-three, and Renee opened it almost immediately. And | froze. ---- She was wearing lingerie. Expensive lingerie, obviously. Black. Lace. Leaving very little to the imagination.

One strap had slipped slightly off her shoulder. Her hair was tousled, as if she had just woken up. Her makeup was light and flawless. "Nick!" she said, with a surprise that felt a little too practiced to be real. "I'm sorry. | just woke up and didn't have time to get dressed properly. Come in, come in." | stood there for a moment, processing. Seriously considering turning around and walking away. But | needed to deal with this. | needed to make it clear she couldn't just show up and demand Bella back. So | went in. The room was spacious. Not the presidential suite, but clearly expensive.

armchairs separated the living space from the bedroom | couldn't see from there. A balcony overlooked the distant mountains. A bottle of champagne sat in an ice bucket, even though it was barely morning. "sit," Renee said, gesturing toward the small sofa by the window. "Would you like something to drink?" ---- She

own | picked up the glass, then set it back down, sliding it slightly away. "It's barely seven in the morning," | muttered. "Would you prefer coffee, then?" she asked, tilting her head. "! can have them bring some up." "I'd rather get straight to the point,"

the rim of her glass. "The situation is simple," she said at last, setting it aside. "I'm back in town. For good. I'm looking for a house to buy. Something nice. With space. And | want contact with my ---- daughter again." "That's not going to happen," | said immediately. "Lcan take this to court," she replied calmly, as if we were talking about the weather. "You disappeared for four years," | said, feeling anger

fine with you. | just want the right to be part of her

about your husband?" "We're divorced," she said simply. "It's been a year." ----