Page 44 of Forking the Billionaire

Apparently, that was not the safe subject of conversation I’d been hoping it would be.

The waiter delivered our food.

Juno pulled out her phone and snapped a pic of her plate before looking back up at me. “The partnerships keep coming, and I have solid interaction numbers.”

“That sounds good.”

“It is good,” she said, then she flicked her gaze to Chester, who was sitting beside me.

“You watched the show,” Chester said to me, not as a question.

“Yes,” I said.

Chester turned his whole body toward me, brushing his knees against my chair. “What did you think of my beard?”

“Your beard?” I was pretty sure he had worn a fake beard during the show. “It was orange, right?”

“A specially carved wheel of cheddar.” His expression was totally blank, his voice flat.

Was he joking? Either he had the driest delivery ever, or….

No, he genuinely wanted to know my thoughts on his cheese beard. Unsure of how to answer, I said, “It was very orange.”

He stared at me a beat before giving me a curt nod and turning back to his plate.

I made a point to focus intently on my pineapple and ham sandwich after that. When I was only a few bites in, I heard Gabriel at the other end of the table.

“What is the nature of your relationship?” he said.

Every muscle in my body tensed. I glanced over. He was looking at Esme.

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”

“It’s a completely appropriate question to ask,” Gabriel said.

Was he asking about me? Had he made the same clearly wrong assumption Jules had?

Gabriel said, “I want to know about your life here.”

“That’s sweet,” Esme said, sounding like she didn’t think that was sweet at all. “I’ll set your mind at ease and make this as clear as possible.”

Food forgotten, I focused completely on Esme. If she was going to say something about me, it seemed wrong for me not to be a part of the conversation.

“Ziggy and I are friends,” Esme said. “Not only am I not dating him, I am not dating anyone.”

Ziggy—she wasn’t talking about me at all. She was talking about that musician. I wasn’t sure if she was telling Gabriel the truth or telling him what he wanted to hear. I also wasn’t sureif the lump in my chest formed from relief or a bite of ham. Probably the ham.

“I have no interest in dating anyone. My life is full,” Esme said. “I’m building something great here, and I refuse to allow anything to get in the way of that.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Gabriel said. “I’m glad you're focusing on building a life that fulfills you.”

“I’m glad to see you doing the same,” Esme said.

“Perhaps you’ll learn skills that will serve you well when you return home.”

Esme’s lips flattened into a line. She closed her eyes like she was praying for the strength not to snap at her brother.

Did that mean she didn’t plan on coming back to North Carolina? It seemed like it, and it seemed like she’d already told Gabriel as much and he hadn’t listened. Then again, it was none of my business.

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