Valeria put down her phone with a satisfied smirk.

She walked to her closet and carefully selected a sexy negligee, then sprayed on Jasper’s favorite perfume. Looking in the mirror, she smiled coldly. “I’m still the most important person in Jasper’s heart.”

Valeria was feeling pretty pleased with herself. She pressed her lips together, thinking about her previous plans. Time to pull out some bigger guns. Jasper was still on the fence, so she’d have to work on his mother instead. Mrs. Hale was at that age where she was desperate for grandkids, so that’s where Valeria would strike.

When night fell, Jasper arrived as promised. Valeria had already set up a candlelit dinner and was wearing a see-through nightgown that left little to the imagination.

“Jasper, you’re here! I’m so happy!” Valeria melted into his arms like she had no bones.

Jasper was intoxicated by her perfume and instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist. Valeria could tell he was getting turned on. She deliberately led him toward the dining table, the candlelight making her negligee even more revealing.

“Jasper, I made your favorite steak. You always said I cook better than Michelin chefs.”

Steak was literally the only thing Valeria could cook, but she’d learned specifically because Jasper liked it. She’d even taken lessons from a professional chef just to please him.

Jasper looked at the elaborate spread, his expression complicated. Realizing he’d been cold to her lately, he felt a pang of guilt.

“Yeah, I’m not really hungry right now. I want to…” His voice dropped lower as he stared at Valeria with burning intensity. His hands were still on her waist, fingers unconsciously stroking the silky fabric of her nightgown.

Valeria felt his body heat and the change in his breathing, internally celebrating. But she put on an innocent expression and stepped back slightly, biting her lip. “Jasper… maybe we should eat first?”

Jasper didn’t respond–just scooped her up and carried her toward the bedroom.

Soon the temperature in the room was rising, and breathless moans filled the air…

That morning, Cassian told Anastasia that over the weekend, an important client and his wife were coming to discuss business, and she might need to keep the wife company. Since they were coming as a couple.

Anastasia immediately agreed. Given her position, she definitely needed to play the supportive wife role.

The weekend arrived quickly. Early that morning, Anastasia and Cassian headed to the airport to pick up the clients. This was one of Rhodes Global’s most important partners. They were coming to discuss a collaboration on a luxury spa resort project– a multi-billion dollar deal. So everyone was taking this very seriously.