Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 234 Nathaniel's POV Monday came with that familiar back-to-work energy. But this time it felt amplified by Christian's presence in the office. He walked in at eight sharp wearing a flawless gray suit that basically screamed CEO on inspection tour. And he hadn't stopped since. He spent the whole morning reviewing quarterly reports line by line. Talking with the regional directors about performance and targets. Checking every detail of Kensington's London operations himself. That was his style to be hands-on and never satisfied with numbers on a spreadsheet or surface-level summaries.

When Christian visited a branch, he wanted to understand not only what was working, but why it was working. I was used to his routine when he came to London. But this time there was extra weight to it. He wasn't just the CEO checking financials and logistics. He was my best friend from university. Someone who knew me too well to be fooled for long. Especially when I was trying to hide something. And especially after Marcus's comment at brunch and the way I'd reacted like a man with no self-control. All morning I could feel Christian's eyes on me from time to time. Studying me.

Looking for signs of something he couldn't quite pin down. It was a familiar feeling. The same one I had in college whenever he suspected I was keeping something from him. Around two in the afternoon, after a long meeting with the finance department, Christian appeared in the doorway of my office. He closed the door behind him deliberately and leaned back against the desk with his arms crossed. "You shut down Marcus pretty fast yesterday," he said. No warm-up. No small talk. Straight to the point, like he always got when he wanted the truth.

I kept my eyes on my laptop, pretending to focus on the emails in front of me. The words blurred together. I couldn't read a single line. "He needed to be shut down," I said. "He was disrespectful." "He was," Christian agreed. "But your reaction was... intense. Almost like it was personal." I hesitated for a fraction of a second. Long enough for him to catch it. "Marcus was being insensitive," I said, closing the laptop and finally looking at him. "Anyone decent would've reacted the same way." "Anyone," Christian repeated slowly.

friends." "Friends," he echoed, testing the word. Turning it over. Measuring it against everything he'd observed. "Yes, friends. We've been working together for months. It's natural to develop mutual respect when you spend that much time collaborating." Christian watched me in complete silence. I could

signature scent and a theatrical smile that seemed to take up half the space. "Christian!" Alexandra exclaimed, dramatic as ever, like she hadn't seen him in weeks instead of a few hours." So good to find you here,

stepped closer to my desk with that carefully practiced walk she used whenever she wanted attention on her body. "Because I came to talk about something much more interesting than reports or spreadsheets." "What would that be?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral. Inside, I was praying it wasn't what I suspected. "Friday's party,

CEO voice. "It will. It's going to be the corporate event

tightened before I could stop it. I kept my expression neutral, but my mind was busy trying to figure out when exactly I had agreed to be half of any couple with Alexandra. Or when she had