Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 275 Nathaniel's POV The afternoon had been unusually productive when I heard a knock on my office door. Through the glass wall, I saw Gwen walking in with a folder in hand and that perfectly professional posture she used whenever she was trying to pretend she wasn't there for personal reasons. "Come in," I said, saving the document I'd been reviewing and leaning back in my chair.

"I brought the performance reports you asked for," she said, closing the door behind her as she stepped closer." The numbers from last quarter are better than expected." I took the folder she handed me and skimmed through it, but I could already tell there was something else behind the visit. I'd known Gwen long enough to recognize when she was just doing protocol-and when she had something real on her mind. "Excellent work," I said, setting the papers aside. "The team keeps outdoing themselves." "Yeah, they do," she agreed, but she didn't make any move to leave.

Instead, she stood beside my desk, clearly waiting for the floor outside to clear out a bit before getting to whatever she actually came to talk about. We filled a few minutes with small talk about deadlines and targets, until the hallway got quieter and everyone seemed absorbed in their own tasks. That's when Gwen's whole posture shifted. "Annie told me," she said bluntly, folding her arms. "About you two." Instinctively, I glanced toward the glass wall, checking if anyone might be close enough to overhear.

The last thing I wanted was to feed office gossip-not when Annie was still working to rebuild her reputation here. "We decided to keep it quiet," I answered carefully. "For now, only the closest people know. At least until she's out from under supervision. It feels safer this way." Gwen nodded, but something in her expression put me on edge. Not disapproval, exactly-more like tension. Like we were only at the beginning of why she was really here. "And the other secret?" she asked, meeting my eyes head-on.

secret?" Gwen studied me for a few seconds, as if checking whether I was actually confused or just pretending. Apparently she decided I was being honest, because she didn't bother softening the blow. "That you're the mystery guy from the app." I leaned back in my chair with a sigh. I'd known this moment would come eventually-Gwen had figured out I was Wanderer weeks ago, and she'd been

kind of took advantage of that to win her over in real life." Her words hit like punches-not because she meant to hurt me, but because she was right. From the outside, 1/3 stripped of emotion, the whole situation did look manipulative. I dragged both hands through my hair, trying to get my thoughts in order. I knew

would sound like an excuse, but it was the most honest truth I had. "When we're more steady as a couple," I said, choosing my words carefully. I paused, glancing out through the glass wall at the office floor-where Annie was probably working, completely unaware of the conversation happening in here. "I'm afraid that if I tell her now,

her to understand, "that everything I did was because I actually fell for her both as Wanderer and as Nathaniel... I think she might be able to see the truth." Gwen took a few seconds, her expression finally softening a little. "Okay... that's fair," she said at last. "But just so you know,

that information. And she's curious." I closed my eyes for a moment, fully aware of the mess I'd created. Every misstep was making things harder, stacking more questions that would eventually lead Annie straight to the truth. "I'll fix it," I muttered, mostly to myself. She rose from the chair slowly, adjusting the folder she'd brought as an excuse, and before