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January 7 — Monday

The weekend went by in a blur. It wasn\'t good to go out because of the weather, so they stayed in, and Giovanni came over during those days too. Even this morning. Since last Friday, the three of them had been going to the gym, doing their own routines—which was mostly Angela on her own if Gael wasn\'t helping out his uncle. 

They formed a bond that was more than just gym buddies. She realized that Giovanni was quite easygoing to be with. He rarely complained about anything, and his relationship with Gael was more than just uncle and nephew. It was probably because of their age difference, but they were more like brothers or best friends. She wondered if Gael was also this close to his brother.

After the gym, they\'d stay holed up in the office, or they had papers strewn over the dining table while they spoke in low voices that were barely inaudible to her—that is if they weren\'t speaking in Italian. For four days, this was their norm. This didn\'t bother Angela, of course, but she was curious what they could be discussing. Gael looked so serious, and he was damn sexy when he\'s serious.

It was the first time she\'d seen him wear glasses last Friday. She wasn\'t even aware he had to wear them. She had her own sexy and dangerous man who could look like a nerd, now and then. And damn if that wasn\'t a turn-on. Let\'s just say she cheekily asked him to wear it one night over the weekend while he took her on the desk in his office. He was, of course, happy to comply—anything for his Angel\'s fantasies.

She didn\'t want to bother them while they\'re working, so if she wasn\'t watching Netflix, she\'d be scribbling anything on her notebook. Angela was so inspired that several book plots were waiting for her to be written. It involved powerful men with different kinks who\'d usually scare most women, and then they\'d get entangled with women who also loved their kinks. Her eyes sparkled with mischief while the characters\' profiles danced in her head. She couldn\'t wait to write them all.

Earlier today, their routine was the same. Gym in the morning, breakfast, and then Gael and Giovanni would be working for hours. In the past few days, Giovanni would stay until early in the evening, then he would always leave before dinner. She learned that he needed to be at The Manor. For someone who was quite playful, Giovanni was actually serious when it came to working. Today, he left at two in the afternoon, saying he had somewhere to be, which left her a lot of time with Gael for the rest of the day. He promised to take her out to dinner that evening.

Angela\'s phone buzzed, and she smiled when she saw her friend\'s text. There was a photo of her Christmas plant with a smiley emoji next to it.

[ Antonina: She\'s already hydrated. I talked to her a little, in case she\'s lonely. She\'s actually pretty, you know. You think Gael\'s hot uncle can give me one too? ? ]

Angela chuckled. She asked her best friend to go to her apartment a couple of times a week to water her plant. Nina learned about what happened with her neighbors, but her best friend wasn\'t bothered by it. Nina said it was a little creepy, but she didn\'t have a problem going there. Thinking about it, Angela still hadn\'t decided if she would move out.

[ Angela: Thank you, babe. Xx I\'m pretty sure Gio said he "bought" it from the cafe downstairs. LOL. ]

[ Antonina: The coffee shop? ? I must admit. He\'s quite resourceful. Now, where is that shirtless photo of him I asked you about? ? I\'m sure he\'s all delicious when sweaty. ? ]

[ Angela: I\'m not taking a photo of Gio! You want Gael to choke me? ]

[ Antonina: You\'d love that, don\'t you? ? "Choke me, daddy" ? ]

Nina sent a gif of a woman wiggling her brows.

Angela\'s cheeks heat at the image that Antonina planted in her head—Gael\'s hand wrapped around her neck, not squeezing, just holding it tight while he\'s pounding inside her and—

She shook her head to drive the dirty thoughts away. She must be insane for liking that image that she had to rub her thighs together to ease the ache. The wickedness of it was surely someone\'s pleasure. Not hers. Not hers, right?

"Huh… Didn\'t know you like that," Gael\'s low, raspy voice breathed against her ear, causing her goosebumps that peppered her skin.

"What? No!" Angela closed her phone and shoved it in her purse. She should be scared thinking about being choked, considering what Evan did to her many years ago. Ugh. That dark thought immediately reared its ugly head, and she wished she wasn\'t reminded of it just now. After Gael got worried about tying her up the other night, she was sure he\'d never do that to her.

He studied her expression for a few beats before curling his lips into a smile, extending his hand, palm up, to her. "Ready?"

She nodded as she interlaced her fingers with his.

Gael wore a black turtleneck under a dark grey double-breasted blazer and a long trench coat over it, looking sharp and dashing—as always. Angela donned a thick knitted dark grey long-sleeved turtle neck dress that fell to her mid-thighs and black over-the-knee suede boots. She liked to dress, but comfort was always her priority.

The two left the building and they rode the backseat of Gael\'s Escalade while Rick drove. Before going to the restaurant, they had to drop by his firm which was a few blocks away. He occupied three floors in that building—all of them still in the works, and he had to drop off the package he received last week. Apparently, the package he got when they arrived on New Year\'s eve was a door lock that he ordered for his office—something about a preference in door lock system. Apart from that, he also had to meet the investor. It was more of an informal meeting while giving the contract for their deal.

Gael told Angela earlier that he\'d take care of that first and then he\'d come back for her to take her to dinner, but she insisted, saying that it would be a hassle for him to go back and forth. Besides, she also wanted to see where his office was. It had been days since they last left the apartment and she wanted to see more of New York.

They rode the elevator to the 46th floor, the first floor he occupied. And he toured her around. There wasn\'t much in it yet as the renovation was still ongoing. The floors were already finished and the walls were getting painted—same with the 47th floor. The 48th floor where his office would be was the one that\'s nearly finished. Several cubicles still covered with plastics were on one corner of the floor, and on the other side, a glass divider was being installed where a meeting room would be. Workers were busy everywhere.

"Do you mind waiting here? It\'s dusty over there. I\'ll just give this to the foreman." Gael shook the package in his hand and nodded to the other side of the room where his office was supposed to be. She smiled and he kissed her temple before walking away.

Angela stood before the tall window that\'s overlooking Manhattan. There was just something about a big city that\'s beautiful. An urban jungle that\'s surely a young adult\'s dream where they\'d think a new life was waiting for them. 

Coming here and seeing the office herself, a part of her felt strangely sad. She was definitely proud and happy for Gael who was able to move forward and do what he\'d been wanting to do. Going legitimate. However… All of these meant that he\'d be staying here. In New York. Away from Mayne, Esmea. For good.

What does that mean for them? The question hovered over her head. It was like the cherry on top of all the crazy stuff going on with the Morellis. 

"Angela Su…" A man\'s deep, so friggin\' familiar voice came from behind her, pulling her out of her thoughts and causing the hair on her nape to stand. "I\'ll be damned. This is the last place I thought I would see you."

Slowly turning around, Angela swallowed. "A-Andy?"

He smiled a megawatt one—something he always did that charmed women all around him. He wore a blue suit that complemented his blue eyes and his hair was shorter but neatly styled back. 

\'What the hell is he doing here?\' she questioned in her head, seemingly unable to speak it out loud when she\'s suddenly seeing the man she used to date at one point in time. But that was a long time ago. More than three years, actually. And it had also been that long since she last saw him. On top of that, out of all the places they could bump into each other, why here? Why in New York? On this building? On this floor?

Still shocked because of his presence, she didn\'t realize until it was too late when he leaned in and kissed her cheek. His gravelly voice whispered in her ear, "It\'s so good to see you again. Miss me?"