Gabriel seemed to have made himself at home in my office. Someone had brought him a tray with a light lunch, and the leftovers reminded me I had skipped mine. I also wondered if it were wise to eat before surgery.

"You're still here," I said, not pleased with the fact.

"I saw no point in leaving since your guys bet you'd be back in half an hour," Gabriel said. "Also, I don't have a car."

"They did, huh? Who won?" I hung my jacket on the back of a chair and rolled up my sleeves.

"Alec did. Chase stalled it to reach the exact 43 minute mark. He's cut is 50%. I like him already." Gabriel smirked.

Typical, I thought but couldn't hold back a laugh. So Chase had known he'd come with me from the start and had me beg anyway. This asked for a little payback. Maybe later, after we were done.

I pulled my hair back in a ponytail and gave Gabriel an up and down look. His right ankle tap danced on his left knee. "Nervous?"

"Not really…"

I narrowed my eyes at him in invitation to try harder.

"Maybe a little," he said.

"Chase is a great doctor. You'll be fine."

Gabriel shook his head, making a grimace. "It's not him I'm worried about."

He was talking about the chip. What if it couldn't be fixed? The same question Chase had asked.

"We'll do our best." It was all I could promise him.

Del walked in. "We are ready." He came close to bouncing on his heels in excitement.

"You heard him. Let's get this show started." Gabriel nodded towards the door.

"Wait. Before we go, I have a question." I ran the tip of my tongue over my lower lip. "Are you bi?"

Gabriel watched me with an amused smile on his face that made his dimples visible again. "What gave you that idea?"

"Well, I don't think you're gay, but it's harder to tell with bi people so…" I rolled a shoulder, suddenly uncomfortable to discuss such private matters with him. It wasn't my business whom he'd rather date.

"Just go along with it," Del said, waving a hand. "She's been trying to play match maker for Thomas ever since he came here."

"Thomas? Your butler?" Gabriel arched an eyebrow at me. "He's not gay."

"What? Of course he is."

"Maybe he was in canon but—" He shook his head. "Nope, there's footage of him with women in the city, never with men."

"But … that's … that's …" That was outrageous. To imply that… Still, it would explain why he was never interested in anyone I suggested, and why my guys were chuckling each time I did it. I turned to Del. "Did you know?"

"I…" Blue optics blinked at me, and Del hid behind Gabriel. "He needed a job. It was the only way the family would have accepted him. I ran it by Master Demetrius, and he said it was all right as long as we didn't tell anyone. He wanted a butler really badly. Please don't take away my brain!"

Del's panicked reaction got me laughing against my will. "As you can see, it's a mad house," I told Gabriel, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Are you sure you want to do this? We're probably all just crazy around here." I threw my hands up in the air.

"Are you going to fire Thomas?" Gabriel asked.

"Of course not. Why would I?" I stared at him in wonder. "He's good at his job, Del needs the help, and we would probably get sued for firing him for such a stupid reason."

By the time I finished talking, Gabriel's smile had spread wide. "That's good enough for me." He was still grinning when we left the office.