Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 205 I managed to keep myself busy for a few hours, pretending to review reports and answer emails. But my mind was miles away. Every time someone walked past my desk, I felt that paranoid twist in my stomach that they were looking at me funny. Then I realized it wasn't paranoia. They actually were. I noticed the whispers that stopped the second I walked by. The sideways glances, followed by hushed conversations. Margaret, Nathaniel's secretary, greeted me with a smile that looked painfully forced. James from finance looked me up and down in a way he had never done before.

When Gwen finally got back from lunch at two-thirty, she headed straight to my desk wearing an expression caught between concern and pure nosiness. "Okay," she said, dragging a chair beside mine. "Why is the entire office buzzing about the Verdanian girl who was supposedly giving..." She made air quotes. "Sexual favors to the COO in the elevator?" All the color drained from my face. This was worse than I'd imagined. "What do you mean 'buzzing'?" I asked, even though I already knew I wouldn't like the answer.

"Annie, since I walked in from lunch, I've heard at least three different versions of the story. One has you on your knees. Another mentions clothes coming off. And the most creative one claims you two got caught in the act. What happened?" Nausea curled in my throat. Instead of answering, I asked the question that had been eating me alive. "Who is Alexandra Kensington?" But a long sigh and leaned back in her chair. "On," she said, as if everything suddenly made sense. "Now it's clear." "Clear how?" "Alexandra is Anthony's sister. She's always had a thing for Nate.

But as far as I know, nothing ever happened between them." My stomach tightened. Of course she had a thing for him. "Actually," Gwen went on, "Christian, who used to be really close to Nate, especially when he spent more time in London, even encouraged some kind of Carter-Kensington union. But let's be real, after everything that happened with Anthony, that side of the family isn't exactly popular anymore. And that's coming from the bastard daughter, mind you." "So she's the one who spread this?" I asked, though I already knew. "Probably. Alexandra has always been...

was a complete misunderstanding."

moment. "It really was just a misunderstanding?" Gwen asked when I finally

not true, and you know it." "It doesn't matter what's true," I hissed, lowering my voice before anyone overheard. "What matters

everything you've built?" "I don't know what to do!" I ran both hands through my hair, exasperated. "First, you keep doing the excellent work you've always done. Second, you hold your head high. And third, you deal with this situation with Nathaniel." "Deal with it how?" "By making it clear to him that this mess needs to be addressed. Your professional reputation is being damaged. 11 "What if he doesn't care? What if, to him, I really am just... whatever people think I am?" Gwen's expression

you really think he'd bring you to that important dinner if he thought that?" She had a point. But my insecurity was screaming louder than logic. "Maybe he just wants me around for... I don't know, whatever happens after dinner." "Stop. You're being irrational." "I'm being realistic!" My voice rose before I could stop it. "You're the one who said he doesn't do commitment. And now everyone thinks I'm just the next one on the list." "Then you