Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 235 The late afternoon felt heavy in the office. Not just that usual end-of-day slump. It was a specific kind of tension. The Kensington party was coming up, and everyone seemed wound a little tighter than normal. Like the pressure to impress the international partners was squeezing every employee in the building. I was at my desk, scrolling through my phone with no real purpose. Ever since I deleted the dating app, I'd developed this annoying habit of refreshing my Instagram feed over and over, like my brain was looking for something that wasn't there anymore.

"You still have that abandoned-puppy look," Gwen said, saving a file before spinning her chair toward me. "I already told you I'm introducing you to the perfect guy for Friday. You'll forget this 'Wanderer' in about five minutes." I let out a long sigh. "I doubt it." "Annie, seriously?" Gwen stared at me like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You're missing a guy you've never even seen?" "It's not that," I said, though I wasn't sure what it actually was. "It's just... as irrational as it sounds, I miss talking to him." And that part was true.

No matter how hard I tried to be reasonable. No matter how much Gwen's warnings made sense. There was something about Wanderer I couldn't shake. The questions he asked. The way he wrote. The feeling that someone was genuinely interested in my mind and not just my body. The truth was messier than anything I could explain to her. Wanderer had asked things no one else ever had. Not to impress me or to flirt, but to understand me. And his answers... there was something in the way he talked about skydiving and feeling free. About discovering music in an old bookstore.

It felt too specific to be fake. Too heartfelt to be some random act. "Annie," Gwen sighed. "You're idealizing a stranger from the internet." "Maybe," I admitted. "But he didn't seem like a bad person. He didn't show up at my door after I deleted the app. He didn't try to call. He didn't follow me on social media. He didn't do anything creepy... he just disappeared." That was the part I couldn't make sense of. A real stalker would've tried harder. He would've pushed. He would've been invasive. Wanderer had done the opposite. One click and he was gone. And as strange as it was...

I talked to him. Seen. Understood. Interesting. "Exactly," Gwen said, as if she'd just proven her entire argument. "He was just another guy killing time online. You're building a whole romantic fantasy around someone who probably doesn't even remember your name.' "Probably," I said. Not convinced. "Trust me." Gwen stood, grabbing her bag. "The party will be full of interesting people, and I already have someone in mind for you. He's the perfect antidote

breath. Gwen's idea of "perfect match" didn't always line up with mine. But I was tired. Tired of checking my phone for messages that never came. Tired of feeling stuck between two versions of my romantic life. Tired of spinning in circles. "Fine," I said at last. "I'll go with the flow." "Great!" Gwen beamed. "And wear that

when my mind worked the hardest, and today was no different. There was something I hadn't admitted. Not even to Gwen. The mess in my chest about missing two men at the same time. Wanderer. Someone I barely knew but who somehow made me feel seen through nothing but messages. And Nate. Someone I had real history

couldn't I just let both of them go. The worst part was that both situations felt

could feel rejected by two men in two completely different ways at the same time. I grabbed my phone again and opened Instagram out of habit. I scrolled without really seeing anything. My mind still stuck on what Gwen had said. Maybe she was right. Maybe I'd gotten attached to the idea of someone I never truly knew. Maybe I'd built a fantasy around a man who