Chapter 186

Anastasia arrived at the equestrian center with Sharlene. They'd been waiting for a while, but Griffin Orlando still hadn't shown up. Word was that since the Rhodes–Orlando partnership was stalled, other companies were swooping in with new proposals. Sharlene was getting nervous about their chances and felt like they were in trouble.

She watched Anastasia casually sipping coffee in the café, thinking she was either really confident or just too naive to be worried.

"Well, well, if it isn't my dear sister."

Valeria approached them, proposal in hand. When she spotted the documents on their table, she immediately understood – Anastasia was here for the same deal.

"What a coincidence."

Anastasia gave Valeria an icy look. "Not really a coincidence, and I'd rather not pretend we ran into each other. From now on, don't talk to me unless it's an emergency—I might throw up and waste my lunch."

"You…"

Valeria's face turned bright red, then went dark as coal. She snorted coldly. "Just wait and see—I won't let you win this!"

Valeria stormed off. Sharlene stared after her curiously. Even though she was head-to-toe in designer gear, she wore it like she was desperate for everyone to notice—every logo visible, looking like a walking billboard.

"Who was that?" Sharlene asked.

Anastasia said flatly, "Some shameless nobody."

Sharlene's mouth twitched. That's pretty accurate.

She’d noticed that while Anastasia seemed aloof on the surface, once you got to know her, she was genuinely kind and worth befriending. She’d never seen Anastasia be cold to anyone before. For Valeria to piss Anastasia off this much, she must have done something really awful.

"Please, universe, smite that evil woman," Sharlene muttered under her breath.

Anastasia didn't catch it. "Hm?"

Sharlene gave her an awkward smile. "Nothing!"

Soon they saw Griffin Orlando and his entourage heading their way. Anastasia stood up to approach Griffin when a server suddenly appeared and nearly bumped into her.

"So sorry, miss! Are you okay?" The server's eyes flickered as he glanced in another direction.

Anastasia frowned. "I'm fine."

But the brief delay had given Valeria enough time to intercept Griffin first.

"You're from J&A?" Griffin asked.

Valeria straightened up proudly. "That's right. We may be a newer jewelry company, but we've been around for several years with impressive results. I'm sure you've heard of us."

Griffin nodded. "Yeah, I have."

"Here's our proposal—if you could take a look…"

"Mr. Orlando."

Anastasia's sudden appearance cut Valeria off. Valeria shot her a look that could kill.

Griffin was surprised to see Anastasia. Isn't this Cassian's wife? Why is she here to see me?

Griffin wondered if Anastasia knew he was Cassian's childhood friend.

Completely unaware of his thoughts, Anastasia said, "I'm here representing Rhodes Global to discuss a partnership."

Rhodes Global? Griffin raised an eyebrow. So Anastasia was the replacement Narissa had mentioned. Sure, Anastasia was attractive, but she wasn't from old money Manhattan society. He couldn't figure out what Cassian saw in her.

He was curious to see what she could do.

"So Rhodes Global switched representatives to you?" Griffin asked.

Anastasia nodded. "That's right."

Just then, another company representative approached to pitch their services. Apparently everyone had figured out Griffin would be here and came swarming.

Griffin's competitive spirit kicked in. "Since we've got such a crowd today, how about a little warm-up competition? Whoever wins gets my serious consideration for the contract."

"Competition? What kind?"

"Horse racing."

Knowing how to ride was the entry fee—some people were immediately disqualified.

"Horse racing?" Valeria's lips curved into a confident smile, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. She looked at Anastasia. "Sister, are you up for it?"

Back in the day, Anastasia had lived the privileged life—piano, art, literature, and yes, riding lessons with top instructors that her mother had arranged. When Valeria found out, she'd been consumed with jealousy. Why does Anastasia get all these opportunities while I get nothing?

Whitney had comforted her, promising she'd take it all away.

And she had. Whitney had taken everything that belonged to Anastasia! Since Whitney and Sheila had been friends, Sheila had felt sorry for Valeria and let her join the riding lessons. Initially, Anastasia had been the faster learner, but later she'd lost access to lessons while Valeria continued training. Eventually, without anyone to compete against, Valeria had gotten bored and stopped practicing.

But she was confident that having trained longer, her skills had to be better than Anastasia’s.