Chapter 195

Chapter 195:

“No way!” Loretta and Miriam blurted it out together.

Gabriela wasn’t just a good catch; she was the one they’d both been quietly guarding like treasure. Letting her walk away? Unthinkable.

“You really think a little ‘no’ is going to stop her? She’s my employee, not my property. Where she goes is not up to me,” Wesley replied, his voice flat as glass.

A flicker of panic crossed Loretta’s face. “You’re her boss! Find a way to keep her here p>

“I’m just her boss, nothing else,” he said, the words clipped and sharp.

For the first time, his irritation simmered beneath the surface. The sheer decisiveness in Gabriela’s rejection was maddening.

“Then give her a raise!” Loretta blurted, eyes sparking as inspiration struck. “Not just a little bump—five times her usual pay p>

Wesley let out a derisive snort. Why would he do that? To Gabriela, he was nothing more than the man who signed her paycheck. Quintupling her salary would only cement that cold, professional distance.

“No,” he said, voice hard as stone.

Loretta’s stomach sank. Their schemes had spectacularly backfired—rather than drawing Wesley closer to Gabriela, they’d practically sent her running for the hills.

Loretta’s glare slid toward Miriam, whose eyes narrowed in thought. Then, all at once, Miriam lit up. “Loretta! Fake an illness. Gabriela’s got a soft heart, and she won’t leave you if she thinks you need care p>

𝘑𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘵

Loretta nodded in approval. Perhaps that could work.

Across from them, Wesley’s jaw tightened, his face darkening with barely contained fury. “That’s enough from both of you. No more ridiculous schemes, and don’t scare her again,” he said, massaging his temple as though their antics physically pained him.

If Loretta and Miriam could just rein themselves in, everything else would fall into place.

Now that she was his secretary, each day brought another opportunity for them to spend more time together, and he felt confident he could win her over.

Gabriela was heading upstairs, ready to retreat to her room, when she caught sight of Brenden stepping out of Wesley’s. His hair was disheveled, and there was a strange flicker in his eyes.

“What was all that racket downstairs? Who dropped by?” he asked.

“Dr. Reed,” she replied automatically, then hesitated, brow furrowing. “Why were you in Mr. Moss’s room p>

Brenden was familiar with that name. Melvin would make regular visits to check on Wesley. He was feeling uncomfortable, and his patience was running thin, even for Gabriela. “It’s my cousin’s room. I come and go when I want. Do I need your permission now p>

Gabriela stayed silent, unwilling to push. Then her gaze drifted down to the bottle of red wine dangling from his left hand and the hardcover book clasped in his right.

“Were you drinking in Mr. Moss’s room?” she asked, perplexed.

Wasn’t Wesley a notorious neat freak? Why would he allow Brenden into his room?

“What do you care what I was doing in his room?” Brenden’s voice was sharper now, his restlessness spiking under Gabriela’s steady gaze. The heat still coursed through him, prickling under his skin. He took two brisk steps back, eyes narrowing. “You’re just a secretary. Stick to your lane p>

So what if she had a crush on him? That didn’t give her the right to poke her nose into his business.

Gabriela nodded. After all, Brenden and Wesley were clearly close, and as Wesley’s secretary, it wasn’t her place to interfere.

Piece by piece, the puzzle fit together. “NotASaunders” had to be Brenden after all. So, she’d had it all wrong.

A hot flush of embarrassment crept up her neck. How could she have been so thoughtless? Someone as rigid and maddeningly arrogant as Wesley pretending to be Brenden? Impossible.

She fled to her room, shut the door tight, and collapsed onto the bed. “Sleep,” she ordered herself. “Just sleep p>

But the silence pressed in. The moment she killed the lights, she could almost hear Wesley’s deep, husky murmur grazing her ear, warm and intimate, curling under her skin like a secret. “Help me unbutton…” She had helped him unbuckle his belt, hadn’t she? Yet he’d still tossed her off the bed without the slightest mercy.