Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 198 I went back to the office in a state of absolute shock. My legs felt like jelly, and my mind was completely blank, as if someone had flipped a switch and shut my brain off the moment Nathaniel Carter walked into that café. Nathaniel Carter was my boss, the COO of Kensington London. The same man I'd slept with in an airplane bathroom two months ago. "Annie?" Gwen's voice pulled me back to reality. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." A ghost would've been easier to handle. Ghosts couldn't fire you. Ghosts couldn't ruin your career.

Ghosts definitely couldn't tell your brother-in-law how unprofessional you were. "I'm fine," I lied, dropping into my chair and pretending to be interested in the emails that had piled up during our coffee break. "Fine? Annie, you broke a coffee cup in the middle of a café and didn't say a single word the entire way back. That's not fine." I tried to focus on the screen, but the words blurred and danced in front of me. How was I supposed to work knowing he was in the same building? "It's just... cultural adjustment," I improvised.

"Still getting used to the British formalities in workplace introductions." Gwen gave me that look-the one that said she wasn't buying a single word of it. "Annabelle Bennett," she said, folding her arms, "I've known you for two months. I've seen you handle impossible clients, survive stressful presentations, even that wine spill that ruined your white blouse. I've never seen you react like this to a simple introduction." Crap. Gwen was way too observant for her own good. "It was just a weird reaction, okay?" I tried again, though my voice came out higher than usual.

"Sometimes it happens." "Aha." Gwen pushed back her chair, came over, and perched on the edge of my desk, clearly ready for an interrogation. "And this weird reaction wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you turned red as a tomato the second Nate walked in?" "I did not turn red!" "Annie, you were the color of the red wine we tasted last week." I exhaled, long and deep, trying to gather my thoughts. Not that it helped. My brain was still looping the fact that my impulsive, midair hookup had just turned into my professional nightmare. "It's complicated," I muttered at last.

repeated, raising a brow. "Annie, you either know him or you don't. There's no in between." I looked at Gwen, weighing my options. She was my best friend in London, and she worked directly with Nathaniel. Maybe she could give me some insight into what kind of boss he

to London." "On the flight?" Gwen's eyes went wide. "You two traveled together?" "Not exactly together. He was sitting next to me." "What an amazing coincidence!" Gwen said, genuinely excited. "So what happened? Did you talk? Was he nice?" "Yeah, we talked..." I trailed

always been that kind of guy-thoughtful, attentive." "Well..." I swallowed hard. "The conversation flowed naturally and... something happened." Gwen's eyes narrowed. "What kind of something?" "The kind that shouldn't happen between two people who just met on a plane." She stared at me for a few seconds, clearly processing what I'd just said. Then, slowly, a grin spread across her face. "Annie..." she said

her mouth, but I could still see the laughter shining in her eyes. "You actually hooked up with Nathaniel Carter on a plane! Annie, that's... that's-" "Terrible? Embarrassing? The end of my career?" "He's so hot, isn't he?" she interrupted, and I stared at her like she'd lost her mind. "You did something half the women in this office only fantasize about! Girl, you're lucky!" "Lucky? Gwen, he's my

know me at the café, but then he made that turbulence comment. He definitely remembers." "Of course he remembers. Men don't forget that kind of thing. Especially when it's... memorable."