Chapter 210

“I’m so sorry, but all our private rooms are booked tonight except for one…” the hostess said, looking uncomfortable as she addressed Anastasia and the group.

“Then give us that last room,” Vincent said firmly.

They’d already come this far, and the clients had finally agreed to stay. If they had to switch restaurants now, it would be a complete disaster. Plus, this was the only place nearby with consistently good food and service that wealthy clients expected.

“Well…” the hostess looked even more uncomfortable. “The remaining room is actually Mr. Rhodes’s private dining suite. He’s the CEO of Rhodes Global, and we generally can’t use it without his permission.”

Vincent paused. Using their own CEO’s private room to entertain company clients should be fine, right?

“Let me check with the boss,” Vincent said confidently.

Though he said that, he definitely wasn’t going to call Cassian directly–he’d go through his assistant instead.

Anastasia also wanted to get this sorted quickly so they could close the deal without any more complications. She stepped away with her phone and called Cassian.

Cassian saw Anastasia’s name on his screen and immediately answered. “Hey babe, done with work?”

The moment he spoke, hooting and hollering erupted in the background. He turned to see Griffin and the guys making obnoxious kissing sounds and giving him shit. Cassian shot them a deadly glare, and they instantly shut up. The silence was deafening.

Anastasia heard the whole thing and felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She felt like she’d become part of their entertainment. She took a deep breath to compose herself before continuing. “Not yet. We had a…situation. Now we need to find a new private room. Is your suite at Tang Garden available? I’d like to borrow it.”

Cassian had been hoping she was done for the night and ready for him to ditch these idiots and come find her. Hearing she was still working, he said, “Of course. I’ll let them know. From now on, just go directly – you don’t need to ask.”

Anastasia knew what he meant, but she quickly said, “No need to complicate things. Just tell them a friend needs to use it.” She didn’t want to reveal their relationship right now.

“Sure thing,” Cassian agreed. Whatever Anastasia wanted, he’d make happen.

Problem solved, Anastasia headed back to the group. Vincent had just finished talking to Cassian’s assistant and was waiting for confirmation.

“Hi, I’ve also made contact. Could you check on that?” Anastasia told the hostess.

“One moment please,” the hostess replied.

Vincent walked over, curious. “Anastasia, who did you call? You have Mr. Rhodes’s number?”

Anastasia’s eyes flickered slightly. She obviously couldn’t tell Vincent she had Cassian’s direct line.

“No, I don’t have Mr. Rhodes’s number. But I have Mr. Orlando’s from our recent collaboration. He said he’d speak to Mr. Rhodes for us.”

Vincent’s face darkened. “Who told you to be so presumptuous? Now you’ve made this unnecessarily complicated by having his friend ask for favors. Do you have any idea what kind of debt you just created? Can you even repay that kind of favor?"

Vincent was pissed because he felt like Anastasia had stolen his thunder. He was also jealous, convinced that Anastasia really was having an affair with Griffin. Otherwise, why would someone help her out after just one business deal?

Anastasia frowned. “Vincent, that’s really not your concern. We’re both just trying to maintain good client relationships here, right?”

Vincent snorted dismissively.