Chapter 7

Gabriel took Nicole into his mansion so he could introduce her to his employees. He had ordered them to assemble in his living room. He couldn't believe he was doing this after so many years of being alone but that wasn't the issue at the moment. What was getting him worried was his consciousness that all of this was a fake. He wasn't the type to do pretend so he hoped that he wasn't going to blow their cover.  He just wished he was strong enough to forget about Ashley and move on with his life rather than deceive himself and the people around him.

On entering the mansion Nicole couldn't believe her eyes, the mansion was even more beautiful on the inside with all its expensive interior designs which she was sure were worth more than her entire life's expenses. She was greeted by several employees, they were like seventeen in number.  She just smiled in reply and Gabriel began the introduction,

"This is Nicole Robinson, my fiancee, " Gabriel said taking his employees by surprise.

They all had shocked expressions on their faces making Nicole wonder even more about the kind of man she was dealing with.

If his employees weren't expecting this sort of information then he must be stranger than she thought.

Gabriel allowed what he had just said to sink inside the heads of his employees before he went further.

"She will be living with us now and I want you all to treat her with utmost respect... Any complaint whatsoever as regards your services would not be tolerated by me. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" they all chorused.

Wow, this man was damn good at being a boss, Nicole thought to herself. She could feel the authority in his words, it was like she was enchanted by his voice. She was brought back to reality by the employees, who began introducing themselves one after the other.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you all. I know this is your job and you're being paid for it, but I want to thank you all for taking good care of my baby," Nicole said, giving Gabriel a loving look.

"Uh, this is new to me but I believe that I'd get to know all of your names as time goes by."

She concluded with a bright smile. Nicole noticed that they were all giving her warm smiles which made her feel welcomed.

"You may retire to your duties," Gabriel said dismissing them.

They all went back to whatever it was they were previously doing leaving Gabriel and Nicole alone in the living room.

"Wow, that was fun?" Nicole exclaimed with a light chuckle.

"Let's go into my study." Gabriel then said leading Nicole further into the mansion.

They got into his study and Nicole made herself comfortable on one of the sofas.

"Would you like a drink?" Gabriel asked, gesturing towards the bottle of whiskey on his desk.

"No, thanks. I don't drink."

"That's ironic."

"Really and why is that?... Oh, I get it. It's because I work at a bar... One has to do certain things to earn a living, you know?"

Gabriel got her point but acted like he didn't care.

"How old are you?" He asked taking a sip from his drink.

His question took Nicole by surprise.

Was he being serious right now? The first question he had to ask was her age seriously?! She thought he brought her here so they would get down to business by writing their signatures on a piece of paper.

"Why does my age matter to you?" She asked instead trying to avoid his question.

"It's necessary, so I know I'm not dealing with a minor." he bluntly replied.

Did he just call her a minor? Nicole was angry.

This guy was plain rude but she wasn't going to let him get to her so soon. She just has to be patient because she needs the money and wouldn't want to miss the opportunity that presented itself before her all because of a stupid statement. So, she tried to suppress her anger with a fake smile, besides he wasn't the first rude guy she had come across. She has had to deal with much more arrogant customers at the pub. She guessed that was a common attribute that came with wealth.

"You know quite well that you aren't dealing with a minor. If you felt I was one, you never would have knocked on my door... You're just being curious." She replied with a smile.

Gabriel wasn't expecting such a reply, she was smart after all.

"Okay. What if I am curious?"

"Then I'll answer your question, but... On one condition."

He raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

Was she giving him conditions now?

"What is your condition?"

He asked with a stern face hoping she'd drop her condition.

Nicole plastered a smile on her face, it was a sincere one this time because she was happy that they were communicating even though he was acting all tough.

"I'll tell you my age only if you tell me yours."

Was she really serious? Gabriel questioned in his head. He didn't know if he should drop the conversation or just go ahead and tell her his age. He didn't want to scare her away with his age because she looked pretty young and girls like her usually like to be with guys their age.

What was he even thinking? Why does he care about the kind of guy she would want to be with? This was only a contract of six months and nothing more.

Nicole could tell Gabriel was internally struggling with himself. She wondered if it had anything to do with her request. She doesn't want to get the tough guy angry, at least not yet.

"I'm 27 if that's what you wanted to know. Please don't bother telling me yours, there's no point for me to find that out since this is just a contract." She then said breaking the silence between them.

Gabriel couldn't believe she was that young.

Was she going to go through with the contract if she found out his age? But she was already here, that was a good sign, right?

If there was anything he didn't like it would be dishonesty so it's best they start on a clean slate

"I-"

"Look,  you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she said cutting him off.

"No. It's only fair that you know the age of the man you'll be living with for six months," He replied.

"I turned 40 two weeks ago."

Nicole was beyond surprised.

How could this drop-dead gorgeous guy tell her he was 40 years old?

This guy looks like a 21st-century Greek god. How did he manage to look this fantastic at such an age?

Gabriel knew that telling Nicole his age was a bad idea after seeing the look on her face.

"W-wow!" Was Nicole's only response. She was still speechless.

This guy was beyond fit, you could tell from how good his muscles looked in his suit but yet he was still single. She would die to be with a man who looked like this and was forty.

'God, what is wrong with me?' she mentally asked finding it hard to tear her eyes away from this sexy model in front of her.

"Here are the contract papers," Gabriel said disrupting Nicole's thoughts.

"You can read it if you like." He continued.

Nicole didn't think twice, she took a pen from his desk and signed her signature on the dotted line. She had no idea why but she felt like she could trust him.

Gabriel took the papers from Nicole and penned down his signature.

This was where the journey began and there was no turning back now.

Hey guys I'm back

Sorry for keeping you guys waiting

Promise to update as often as I can

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