Anastasia wasn’t entirely satisfied with Griffin’s response. She didn’t want him to approve her designs just because of his friendship with Cassian. She wanted genuine feedback from her client so she could create something he’d truly love. Not something he’d tolerate or, worse, never actually wear because it didn’t speak to him. If that happened, it would be a waste of both her effort and his money.

“Mr. Orlando, if you have any other thoughts or concerns, please share them. I can make adjustments,” Anastasia said earnestly. “Since everyone’s here, it’s better to get everything out in the open now.”

Sharlene had been thinking that Griffin seemed like a dream client– unlike that nightmare customer who’d made a designer cry after demanding fifteen revisions, debating the placement of every tiny diamond for hours, only to decide he liked the first version best. The poor designer had locked herself in the bathroom afterward and sobbed. Sharlene thought meeting someone like Griffin who didn’t need endless revisions was a blessing from above. But apparently Anastasia wasn’t satisfied?

Griffin found Anastasia’s persistence puzzling. He genuinely thought the designs were great. Why change them? “They’re really good,” he insisted.

“Mr. Orlando, once we finalize the design, there’s limited room for modifications. I want us to communicate effectively from the start so we can achieve the best possible result,” Anastasia explained.

Vincent watched this exchange, convinced that Anastasia and Griffin were having an affair. If anyone else talked to Griffin this way, given his notorious temper, he would’ve blown up by now.

Griffin leaned over to Cassian and whispered, “Your wife’s really professional.” He’d almost said “interesting” but worried that might set off Cassian’s protective husband mode.

Cassian raised an eyebrow. “Thanks for the compliment.”

Griffin rolled his eyes. Shameless bastard. The praise was for his wife, not him, yet there he was grinning like an idiot.

Still, their communication went smoothly after that. When Anastasia’s team delivered the final designs, Griffin approved them immediately and set off on a global hunt for the perfect gemstones to match the vision. Thanks to their excellent collaboration, the final product turned out beautifully.

This time, Griffin was genuinely impressed by Anastasia’s talent. He told Cassian, “Dude, I gotta hand it to your wife– her skills are absolutely flawless. I honestly thought she was too green and would need multiple revisions to meet my standards. I was only giving her a shot because she’s your wife, but damn, she really delivered.”

“Wait, Griffin, you had Cassian’s wife design for you and didn’t tell me? I want in on this!”

“Me too…”

What had started as a casual guys‘ night was interrupted by this bombshell news. Everyone had already been curious about why Cassian kept texting and grinning like an idiot all evening. The group erupted in excited chatter.

Cassian suddenly stopped what he was doing, put down his phone, and said coldly, “Absolutely not. None of you are hiring her.”

Everyone stared at him in shock. “Why not?”

Cassian looked at them with obvious disdain. “Because you’ll monopolize all her time and I won’t get to spend time with my wife.”

The group panicked. “Dude, that sounds wrong! Don’t say stuff like that!”

“Yeah, people might think I’m trying to steal your wife,” Griffin protested.

Bros before…well, nobody wanted to get accused of that kind of drama.

“I don’t care. You’re all banned from hiring her,” Cassian declared.

“Fine, whatever, you wife–obsessed maniac. If you don’t want her overworked, just say so. Don’t drag us into your paranoia!” Griffin complained.

Yinsen suddenly chimed in, “Cassian, you and Anastasia never went on a honeymoon. Why don’t we have Griffin organize a trip? You could treat it as your belated honeymoon.”

Cassian shot Yinsen a withering look. “What am I, crazy? Why would I want a bunch of third wheels tagging along on my honeymoon?”

Yinsen: “…”

Okay, fair point, but did he just call us all cockblocks?

Griffin burst out laughing. “Yinsen, what a terrible suggestion.”

Yinsen glared at Griffin like, Oh, you think you can do better?

Griffin never backed down from a challenge. “Cassian, my new resort in the South Pacific is opening soon. I was thinking of having the design team come celebrate the launch. You cool with that?”

“Fine by me,” Cassian agreed.

Yinsen: “…”

“Then it’s settled.”

When word got out that the project team was getting an all–expenses–paid vacation, the rest of the office went crazy with jealousy. Narissa was so pissed she looked like she might have a stroke.

“It’s so unfair! Why can’t I go?” she whined to Vincent.

Vincent was grinding his teeth too. He’d tried to steal the project partly because he knew Griffin was ridiculously generous with money. He never imagined it would include luxury vacations. But since he wasn’t part of the team, he got nothing.

Sharlene saw someone struggling with a heavy water jug and rushed over to assist.

The woman shot both Anastasia and Sharlene a nasty look. “I’m fine!” She slammed the jug onto the water cooler with so much force that both women jumped.

Sharlene made a face at Anastasia, who understood exactly what was happening but couldn’t be bothered to care. Griffin was treating their team because they’d successfully completed the project. These people hadn’t contributed anything– why should they get rewarded?

As another coworker, Lily, walked past Sharlene, she stopped and said snidely, “If you’ve got time to play helper, maybe fix the coffee machine first. Thing keeps acting like it wants to take off like a helicopter.”

“Huh?” Sharlene was confused. The coffee machine had been working fine when she used it earlier.

But Anastasia got the subtext immediately. She pulled Sharlene away. “Come on, ignore her.”

Once they were out of earshot, Sharlene said, “What was that about?”

“She’s just jealous and can’t say it directly, so she’s being passive–aggressive.”