Chapter 16

At the question, Gabriela straightened up, posture suddenly rigid and alert.

Though Brenden had just been demoted,whispers claimed he was related to Wesley.

She wouldn't risk criticizing Brenden in front of Wesley,so she forced a strained smile. "Honestly, he's actually a pretty decent guy."

Wesley's gentle façade vanished in an instant, his face clouding over. "Decent? How so?"

He had already tried to sway her opinion of Brenden by sharing details about his womanizing ways. So why didn't she seem bothered by it at all?

Gabriela's heart hammered wildly as nerves took over.

Maybe her answer had been too vague. Was he annoyed?

She scrambled for something more convincing. "Mr.Saunders is attractive, and he's always polite, very attentive, and honestly, he's quite generous." She had delicately avoided talking about his playboy ways. There was no way she'd slip up again.

Instead,Wesley's features turned even colder,his tone clipped and unreadable. "You've got the worst judgment when it comes to people."

Tension pressed down inside the car, leaving Gabriela's knees weak and her heart fluttering in her chest.

She slid closer to the window, practically melding into the cold glass, desperate for distance.

Being chastised by Wesley upset her.

She suspected this was his way of venting his frustration over her hogging his bed last night.

A sudden realization hit her like a lightning bolt.Maybe Wesley was just one of those people who woke up cranky, and his bad mood was finally catching up with him.

As Gabriela let her thoughts drift, Wesley's sharp voice cut through the silence."Why are you sitting all the way over there?"

She hesitated, then grudgingly scooted closer.

At that moment, Billy stomped on the brakes. The car jerked violently, nearly throwing her into the seat in front of her-until Wesley's arm shot out, catching her and yanking her safely back.

She tumbled straight into his arms, her cheek brushing the cool, tailored fabric of his suit jacket. Wesley's heartbeat thudded strong and steady beneath her ear,radiating a warmth that sent a wave of déjà vu through her. For a moment, she just sat there,momentarily caught off guard by how natural it felt.

She tilted her head up, meeting Wesley's gaze.His eyes locked onto hers, dark and intense, as if he was struggling to mask something deeper beneath that calm exterior.

Up close, he was impossibly handsome-every line of his face sharper, every feature more striking under the car's dim interior light.

Gabriela found herself frozen, caught by the magnetic pull of his presence.

Wesley snapped out of it first, a hint of restraint flickering across his features as he demanded, "What's going on?"

Billy, already half out of the car, glanced back."There's a pileup up ahead. I'll take a look," he swiftly answered, disappearing into the night.

Still tucked securely against Wesley's chest, Gabriela struggled to steady her breathing, her mind spinning with questions.

Why did his embrace feel so inexplicably familiar? It reminded her of how Brenden had held her during their one-night stand.

Just as she tried to collect herself, Wesley leaned closer, his voice dropping to a teasing rumble.my arms really that comfortable?"

Gabriela jolted upright, but in her panicked scramble,her hand collided with his manhood, which felt firm and unmistakably tense beneath her palm.

A shadow flickered across Wesley's face, his eyes turning dangerously dark.

Heat surged up Gabriela's neck, flushing her cheeks an impossible shade of red.

"S-sorry!" she sputtered, tripping over her own tongue.

Wesley sucked in a quiet breath through his teeth, the sound sharp and unmistakable. Gabriela, mortified,murmured softly, "Did I hurt you?"

Maybe she'd hit him harder than she realized. God,could she have actually caused some pain?

Wesley glanced down at her, his gaze inscrutable. "No,it's just that I have a few scratches on my back," he said, his voice cool but laced with an odd fondness."A kitten got to me a few days ago."

The corner of his mouth twitched, betraying the faintest hint of amusement-even as he spoke of scratches, he didn't sound upset at all.

Gabriela's surprise slipped out before she could stop herself. "You have a kitten at your place?"

The question seemed to catch him off guard, and for a second, his annoyance broke through. "I haven't brought it back yet."

So it wasn't his cat-probably some stray.

Her eyes grew wide as she went on,"Wait-you got scratched by a stray cat? Stray cats can carry all kinds of viruses. Did you get it checked out? At least get a shot?"

Wesley responded with a chilly, dismissive laugh, "I don't need a doctor."

His irritation seemed to thicken the tension in the car,making the air feel even more suffocating. Gabriela found herself edging back, hoping to put some distance between them.

Just how many times could this man's mood swing in a single car ride? Dealing with rich people really took a special kind of endurance. A moment later, Billy climbed back inside, a trace of relief on his face as he reported, "Mr. Moss, there's a minor accident up ahead. We'll have to take a different route."

Wesley nodded, his tone steady and detached. "Fine.Do it."

However, the detour delayed them so much that they were the last guests to step into the banquet hall.

Yet with Wesley's imposing reputation, nobody dared utter a word about their late entrance. Instead, the crowd's attention locked onto the striking woman at his side, whispers swirling as they tried to guess her identity.

The event took place at the Sapphire Valley Hotel, a glittering behemoth of luxury towering over the city skyline.

But Gabriela hardly noticed the opulence-she was too tense, still feeling the chill of Wesley's lingering displeasure.

Wesley surged ahead, his long legs eating up the distance. Gabriela had to almost jog to match his relentless pace, her heels clicking frantically on the polished floor.

Before she could catch her breath, he stopped short She plowed straight into his broad back, nearly flattening her nose against his tailored suit.

Wincing,she clapped a hand over her face and hurried out an apology.

Wesley's mood seemed to have mellowed; he glanced over his shoulder and asked, "Did it hurt?"

Gabriela bobbed her head,half-expecting a hint of sympathy, but all Wesley offered was a single, biting word."Clumsy."

Left utterly speechless, Gabriela realized his brief kindness had only been a setup for anotherjab at her.

The man she'd once admired for his reserved and noble demeanor now struck her as petulant, even petty, his dignity slipping to reveal a streak of childish vindictiveness.

Before she could open her mouth to say something,Gabriela noticed every pair of eyes in the room fixed on her.