Chapter 10
Gabriel
A few hours earlier...
I breathe heavily as I lie in the bed of the MG Hotel room—the Montgomery Grey Hotel in the heart of London, now run by his grandson, Cornelius Grey.
This is also where the Millionaires and Gentlemen’s Club is located, a place I’ve been a member of for quite some time.
I don’t come here often, but when I do, I usually enjoy myself. Usually.
I look at the sexy blonde who’s been working on my length for several minutes now, clearly struggling.
I just can’t get in the mood.
I stare at the ceiling, close my eyes, and try to let go.
"You’re not really into it today, Gab," Lois says. She’s sweetened more than one of my nights.
"That’s why I came to you," I mutter, staring at the ceiling again.
"Do you want to talk?" she offers, lying down next to me. But I’m even less in the mood for that.
"No." I can see she’s uncomfortable. "It’s not you," I try to reassure her. No matter what she might do, it’s just not working today.
"Want me to get you something nice to drink?" she asks, pulling the blanket over my hips.
"No. I think I’ll just go home." My head isn’t in the right place.
It feels strange, living in such a big house that only feels alive because of me.
Without Rosie, it’s too quiet. I miss her wandering around, creating chaos.
She can’t even finish her little scribbles on the walls.
Sure, it’s nice to have an evening to myself sometimes, but my thoughts keep circling back to her.
Is she eating something good right now? Is Catherine taking care of her? Or is she sneaking something that’ll spike her sugar levels? I can’t stop worrying. It’s a really crappy feeling.
I head to the kitchen and start cooking. Probably the only sensible thing I’ll do tonight.
Until…
"Okay, see you soon," I say—but Kim has already hung up. A smile flits across my lips. Maybe the evening won’t be so dull after all.
I call Steven. He told me in detail what happened after the job interview, and I think I understand why she acted the way she did. She needs the money. Urgently. I just don’t know what for yet. Surely she doesn’t have debts… does she?
"Hey. Kim will be here soon," I say after he picks up.
"She really accepted the job?" he marvels.
"It’s just a trial week, but I think she’ll stick around."
"Not bad. But will you finally tell me what happened between you two?"
I stay silent.
"You had sex, huh?" He laughs suggestively.
I breathe deeply. He laughs louder. I shake my head.
"No."
"Oh." Steven stops laughing. "Hmm. So, you hit on her, but she rejected you?"
"No." But he’s getting close.
"You hit on her and she rejected you?"
"I’m not telling. If she ends up working for me after the trial week, it’d be weird. You understand?"
"Then it’s definitely something sexual. Did she work at the Millionaires and Gentlemen’s Club before?"
"I shouldn’t have told you about that." He still hasn’t received an invitation to this day.
"If I were you, I’d be there every night letting myself be pampered." He sighs.
"It’s not a brothel. It’s just full of rich businessmen. Nothing more."
"And hot women. You said so yourself."
"Yes. They serve drinks. They’re not there to fulfill anyone’s sexual desires." I’ve told him this before, but he doesn’t believe me. Fair enough. I have to admit I’ve gone through quite a few of them myself.
"Then they could have been guys instead… but no—you said teach one’s prettier than the last."
"Anyway. She’s coming soon. Thomas is picking her up. I’ll show Kim the room where she can sleep. I’m assuming my sister will bring Rosie back soon. I’ve already texted that I’ll be at the mansion until the end of the week, but she hasn’t responded."
"Good thing you were at your apartment Monday morning. Imagine if she’d brought Rosie there and you didn’t know."
"Especially since she had that cereal. That could’ve ended badly…"
I can’t have that in the house anymore.
"But the cocoa is really delicious. I wouldn’t have thought oat milk and sweetener could taste that good."
"True. I’ll look up some more recipes and cook with Rosie—semolina pudding with pureed raspberries. Or pancakes. You can often replace sugar. I’ll still give her insulin, but not as much. You can do a lot with the right diet."
"So brave, the little one. When you’re healthy, you sometimes forget how lucky you are."
He’s right. "Such a coincidence that Kim also has diabetes."
"About five percent of people in England have Type 1. That’s around 280,000 people."
Steven goes quiet for a moment.
"Did you just calculate that?"
"No, I researched it once."
"I thought so…" Steven laughs.
"I should get back to cooking and prep for Kim. I want to make a good impression. So far, Rosie hasn’t liked any of the women who’ve come by, but she really likes Kim. If things work out, I might finally go to court. Then I could actually bring Rosie to live with me…"
"I hope so. Rosie would finally have the family she deserves. And so would you."
"I can hardly wait for her to hit puberty," Steven and I laugh. "She’ll really keep me on my toes. But that’s okay."
"Maybe everything will change, and Rosie will grow into a quiet little lady…" Steven laughs at his own idea.
"Probably not. But I'm looking forward to every single day with her."
"And Kim? Come on, she’s cute. You two would make a good couple."
"Get that out of your head. I picked her partly because we don’t click. I can’t have a personal assistant who’s also Rosie’s babysitter and might end up catching feelings for me someday. Or me for her. That’s not going to happen. Ever."
"Never say never — or it’ll happen for sure."
"I’m betting against it."
"What’s the wager?" he challenges me with a grin in his voice.
"The loser is disgraced. For eternity."
"Hmm. Okay. Deal, let’s shake on it."
"I’ll shake on it tomorrow. Right now, I need to keep cooking, so she’s got something to eat and gets a good impression. I don’t want to scare her off the first night."
"Alright. Have fun, you two."
"Thanks. Have a quiet evening. See you tomorrow."
Even though I can’t see him, I can hear from his tone that he’s grinning. I shake my head, smile, take a deep breath, and hang up. Typical Steven. Just so typically him.