Page 24 of Claimed By the Boss

This made Nora jerk. Shetook a step back. “What?”

She hadn’t even consideredthe thought of Gabriel cheating. This was … had he cheated? Did it count ascheating if they were not really together, together?

“I’m not,” Gabriel said. “I’venot been with Maya for months. She had her details crossed, and trust me, Icover all my tracks. I always wear a rubber, and there is no way that baby ismine. She wants to try and argue with me, but as I explained, our brief timetogether ended when I caught her giving a blowjob to my father.”

Nora gasped. She had takena step back but Gabriel closed that distance.

“She did that?” Noraasked.

“Yes.” He took a deepbreath. “You had good parents. I had a great-grandfather who was more of aparent than my own. My own parents keep trying to take my company from me.They’ve ran my grandfathers into the ground, and now they’re after mine. Theyuse anyone at their disposal. They had gotten to Maya, offered her the life ofa queen, all she had to do was get pregnant. Seeing her with my dad made merealize I couldn’t trust anyone.”

Nora had absolutely noidea.

****

Gabriel was pissed off.

Maya had made a bigmistake. His parents were getting desperate. George had been caught attemptingto steal client requests and documents for his parents to steal. He’d beenfired and was facing criminal charges. This is why he didn’t call people out,he waited for them to do damage, and he just handled the rest.

Now his ex of over a yearcame calling, trying to manipulate him into believing three months ago theyhooked up, and she was now pregnant with his son. He had a horrible suspicionthe baby Maya carried was in fact his father’s. He knew they were desperate. ADNA test would show him not to be the father, but he wondered if they werehoping using his dad would create a confusing reading.

That was never going towork, especially as he had the memory of Nora and himself finally hooking upthree months ago. He hadn’t been interested in any other woman since he firstcaught sight of Nora. She had called to him from a distance, not that anyone wouldunderstand that. To women like Maya, Nora was a no one.

Gabriel had seen Noraleave, and he’d looked at her as she stepped on the elevator and knew what herfacial expression meant. He couldn’t have her believing she was less. Did shenot see he was fucking devoted to her?

After he had warned Mayaabout her next steps, Trudy had come in to tell him what he already knew. Norawas breaking. He’d not been honest with her about his parents, about anything.

“Your parents do that?”Nora asked.

“I guess they’re like youraunt and uncle, only they like to send in spies,” he said. “I’ve had themattempting to steal client files and poach my business. They have reported someof my companies as well. That worked for a while, but I’ve proven to be a goodemployer. There have been countless lawsuits. They have stopped, as I realizedwhat was happening, and put in all the necessary security details to help.” Hewas not going to tell her there was a rape allegation.

His grandfather had toldhim to watch his back by any means possible, and so he had, at each step. Securitycameras were located in all parts of his building. They had saved him a lot oftrouble when the cops came calling.

“Wow,” Nora said. “I hadno idea.”

He moved toward his desk.“The private investigator I hired came back with the details. Your aunt anduncle forged your signature, relinquishing the power over your parents’estate.”

Gabriel saw Nora’s frown.

“You don’t need to talkabout my aunt and uncle. This must be a big deal for you, having a woman accuseyou of being the father of her child?” Nora went to him, and he watched as shereached out and cupped his cheek. “How are you?”

This was a first. Trudyand his grandfather were the only two people to ever care and ask him how hefelt. No one else had cared. Everyone had always been after something.

Now Nora cared, and he sawit in her eyes.

“I’m fine. It’s somethingI’m used to.”

She let out a light laugh.“Gabriel, something like this is not getting used to. It’s absurd.”

He reached in and kissedher lips. “Then next time, don’t walk away,” he said.

She nibbled her lip andpulled her hand away, but he reached for her, pulling her closer. There was noway he was going to let her pull away.

“Gabriel, come on.”

“No. You’re mine, Nora.I’m saying it now, and today is why I didn’t want this to be private. You and Iare in this together. I want you.”

There, he had said it.Trudy had warned him that if he didn’t act quickly, he was going to lose Nora.

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