Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 264 My phone buzzed on the coffee table while I was finishing up straightening the apartment, still mentally trying to process everything that had happened the night before. The call with Wanderer had been... intense in a way I wasn't prepared for. Every time I remembered his voice, the things we'd shared over the phone, I felt a mix of excitement and nerves that completely threw me off balance. I picked up my phone and saw a message from him. It was the answer to my last question. My heart immediately sped up. [Maybe the mistake isn't trying to reconnect...

maybe the real mistake is thinking fun and something serious can't exist together. Isn't that what makes everything worthwhile? Last night was incredibly fun... and I can't stop thinking about it. But I also can't stop imagining what it would be like to have you beside me every day, not just for fun.] I read the message three times, a smile tugging at my lips before I could stop it. Wanderer had a way of saying things that always caught me off guard, always landing exactly what I needed to hear at exactly the right time.

Just as I was soaking in every word, my laptop started ringing with an incoming video call. Zoey and Gwen had scheduled a check-in today to see how I was holding up with all the drama around my suspension. I accepted, and their worried faces immediately filled the screen. "Hey, sis," Zoey said the moment my image popped up. "How are you holding up? Christian told me about the meeting this afternoon." "I'm fine," I answered, still holding my phone. "Actually, I'm better than fine. I just got a message from Wanderer that..." I held the phone up so they could see the screen. "See?

He's perfect!" Gwen leaned closer to her camera, clearly trying to read the message, while Zoey raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Hold on," Zoey said with the mischievous smile I'd known since childhood. "What exactly was so fun about last night?" My face heated instantly, but I couldn't stop the smile spreading across it. Zoey and Gwen had always been open about everything, especially when it came to relationships. "The call got... heated," I admitted, laughing nervously. "Woooowww," Gwen gasped, her eyes going wide. "And did you guys do it on video?" "No!" I said quickly, shaking my head.

a call. But his voice... my God, Gwen, his voice alone was enough to make me lose my mind." Gwen laughed, clearly loving every second of my embarrassment, while Zoey shook her head with a big-sister smile. "So let me get this

the ten questions before planning a date," I explained, remembering the rule we set when we first started talking on the app. "It's kind of... our thing." Gwen sighed dramatically and laughed. "Zodiac sign, favorite food, favorite color... so many options for

of the picture now?" I froze. My gaze went automatically to the bouquet of red roses he'd brought me, still beautiful in the vase on the kitchen counter. There was something about those flowers that kept tugging at me. Gwen had confirmed they were from the office

Gwen burst into laughter at my resolve. "Sometimes it's hard to keep up with you, Annie," Gwen said, shaking her head in amusement. "Why?" I teased, trying to lighten the tension building in my chest. "Who hasn't lived a love triangle?" Zoey laughed that genuine, contagious laugh that always made me smile. In your case, it's a love square," she

leaned closer to the screen, her expression shifting into something more serious. "But that's not actually a possibility, right?" she asked, and there was something in her voice that showed she genuinely wanted the truth. I shook my head immediately. "No, not a chance," I said with