Chapter 101
Chapter 101:
Gaston sat behind his massive glass desk, staring at a tabloid photo that had been tossed onto the surface.
It was a grainy shot taken three months ago, showing him and Vance leaving a club in London. The angle was deliberate — it cropped out the two other people with them, making it look as though they were whispering intimately.
Vance was sitting in one of the guest chairs, casually eating a bagel with cream cheese. He leaned forward to look at the photo.
“I look good,” Vance commented, chewing. “The lighting is terrible, but my jawline pops p>
Rоm𝖺𝗇cе аո𝗱 𝗉ass𝘪𝘰𝘯 o𝘯 ѕ.𝘤𝗈m
“My wife thinks I’m sleeping with you,” Gaston growled. He rubbed his face with both hands — a gesture of exhaustion he only allowed himself in private.
Vance choked on his bagel. He coughed, thumping his chest. “What p>
“She believes the rumors,” Gaston said, his voice flat. “This photo confirms it for her. She thinks our marriage is a cover-up for my secret life with you p>
Vance burst out laughing. “Me? You and me? Does she know about my notoriously public and very female love life on the other side of the Atlantic? Does she know I think your taste in suits is tragically monochrome p>
“She doesn’t know anything,” Gaston snapped. “Because I haven’t told her. Because every time I get close, she puts up a wall. She’s terrified, Vance. If she knows I want her — really want her — she’ll run. She thinks she’s broken. She thinks she’s unlovable p>
“So tell her the truth,” Vance suggested, wiping crumbs from his lip. “Rip the band-aid off p>
“Not yet,” Gaston said, standing up and walking to the window. He looked down at the city, searching for the invisible thread that connected him to Jocelyn. “She needs to feel safe first. She needs to know I’m in her corner, no matter what p>
“So I’m the scapegoat?” Vance asked, amused.
“You’re the fix,” Gaston corrected, turning back to him. “Go to her office. Apologize for the photo. Make it professional. Make it sound like a business misunderstanding p>
“And then p>
“And then give her this.” Gaston slid a thick, bound document across the desk.
Vance picked it up and whistled low. “The letter of intent for the Global Tech Summit? That’s a fifty-million-dollar event. You’re giving the Wolfe Hotel first right of refusal p>
“Investing in my future,” Gaston said. “She needs a win. She needs to walk into her board meeting tomorrow with a weapon. This is a nuclear bomb p>
“Buying her love? Classic,” Vance grinned.
“Empowering my wife,” Gaston corrected sharply. “Now go. And Vance? Don’t flirt with her p>
Vance stood up, buttoning his velvet blazer. “No promises. She’s cute p>
Gaston shot him a look that could have frozen hell over.
“Kidding,” Vance said, raising his hands. “I’m going p>
Gaston watched him leave, then picked up his phone. No text from Jocelyn. She was with Bella Douglas. He hoped she wasn’t letting her ex’s cousin get into her head too much. The Douglas family was poison — even the ones who pretended to be nice.