Chapter 218

“So you’re trying to ask out our Tamia?” Anastasia suddenly asked.

Yinsen choked and spit out his drink. Pfft.

Tamia quickly jumped in. “Ana, don’t… don’t say stuff like that! We’re just boss and employee, that’s it!”

“Well… if I was actually asking Tamia out, I’d definitely give you a heads-up,” Yinsen said awkwardly.

“You really don’t need to do that,” Anastasia replied flatly.

Both Tamia and Yinsen looked like they wanted to disappear.

“Ana, let’s go surfing!” Tamia said, desperate to change the subject.

Before Anastasia could respond, Tamia was already dragging her away.

“Since when do you surf?” Anastasia asked as they walked.

Tamia laughed nervously. “That’s what learning’s for, right? Nobody said you can’t try new things.”

Truth was, Tamia just felt super awkward hanging around her boss and needed an escape route.

What she didn’t notice was Cassian staring after them like a kicked puppy.

“Dude, quit looking like someone ran over your dog. People are gonna think your wife actually got abducted,” Yinsen teased.

Griffin shot him a look. “Do you ever engage your brain before speaking? She literally did get abducted.”

Cassian finally snapped. “Would you both just fuck off?”

Yinsen and Griffin shut up and collapsed into beach chairs, sipping coconut water and soaking up the ocean breeze. Paradise.

“Griff, this resort’s pretty sick. Super chill. Though it looks kinda empty—new business growing pains?” Yinsen observed.

“Location’s not perfect. All the prime beachfront real estate was already taken, so we got stuck with this spot. But there’s an upside—we’ve got this sick natural cove. I’m getting permits for a small marina so we can shuttle guests to that island.”

“Resort guests get free boat rides. Everyone else pays…”

Griffin kept explaining his business model, but his eyes kept drifting to Cassian.

Cassian could feel Griffin’s stare, but he was completely focused on Anastasia down the beach.

Both Anastasia and Tamia were total surfing virgins—today was their maiden voyage.

Tamia was feeling pretty ballsy and wanted to jump straight into wakesurfing, dragging Anastasia down with her.

After watching the instructor’s demo, Tamia was pumped and ready to rock.

“Ana, make sure you get some epic shots of me looking like a total badass,” she said.

Anastasia cracked up. “You got it. But fair warning—when pros do this, it looks tool as hell. When rookies like us try it, we’re basically signing our own death warrants.”

Ana can be such a smartass sometimes, Tamia thought.

“Whatever! Those moves look super easy. I’ll crush this on the first try,” Tamia declared confidently.

When their turn came up, Tamia volunteered to go first.

“Let me do a slow demo so you can see the technique,” the instructor offered.

“Nah, I’m good. I totally got this,” Tamia waved him off.

“You absolutely sure?” Anastasia asked skeptically. “Even with all the safety gear, you’re gonna be drinking a lot of ocean if you’ve never done this...”

Tamia patted her stomach and grinned. “Bring it! I can out-eat anyone on the planet!” the instructor warned.

Anastasia laughed. They were here to have fun, and if Tamia was this confident, why not let her give it a try, fail, and try again?

Tamia hit the water and got into position, replaying the instructor’s moves in her head. Float on your back, feet on the board then pyrekto with the rope…

“Ana, check it out! I’m totally nailing this!”

The second those words left her mouth, Tamia went face-first into the water.

“Tamia!”

Anastasia freaked out, dropped her phone, and started rushing over to dive in for a rescue.

Tamia’s head popped up just then. “I’m fine!”

Her face was ghost-white with terror, but she was trying to play it cool.

“Wanna call it quits?” Anastasia asked, worried.

“Hell no! Why would I stop now?”

Tamia kept wiping out spectacularly, chugging seawater with every failed attempt. She couldn’t even stay upright. Instead of “nailing it instantly,” she was getting “instantly demolished.”

She was hanging off the boat, dry-heaving.

“Get your fill?” the instructor asked with a smirk.

“I’m like… halfway there,” Tamia said sheepishly. “Maybe you could… walk me through it one more time?” she asked weakly.

Should’ve kept my big mouth shut earlier.

This round, Tamia actually listened to the instructor’s breakdown, and Anastasia paid attention too.

“Makes sense?” the instructor asked.

“Tiny board, no sweat,” Tamia said with fake confidence.

Anastasia nodded. She thought she had the gist of it too.

Whether it was actually as easy as it looked… well, that was about to be tested.

Initially, Tamia still couldn’t get vertical, but after multiple attempts, she finally managed to slowly haul herself up using the rope.

The moment she got cocky, she lost her grip and went down hard, swallowing even more seawater before getting hauled back to the boat.

“Ugh…”

“Chumming the water?” Anastasia teased.

“Totally! You should grab a net—I’m sure there’s tons of fish coming this way,” Tamia shot back.

The instructor was cracking up at their back-and-forth. “You two are hilarious!”

Anastasia and Tamia looked at each other and burst out laughing. “Years of practice.”

Who would’ve thought these former academic rivals who used to fight for valedictorian and couldn’t stand each other would become ride-or-die best friends?

“Your turn, Ana,” Tamia announced.

“I’m kinda freaking out,” Anastasia admitted.

“No way! You’ve been roasting me this whole time. Now it’s my turn to watch you fail.”

Tamia basically shoved her into the water.

She knew Anastasia wanted to try but was just scared, so she gave her the push she needed.

Despite her nerves, Anastasia replayed the instructor’s tips and started attempting it.

Snort. Yinsen couldn’t hold back his laughter. “Those two idiots over there look like drowned rats with their asses in the air, drinking half the damn ocean.”

He’d been scrolling on his phone and only just looked up, completely oblivious that he was talking about Anastasia and Tamia.

It didn’t take long for him to realize he’d majorly fucked up.

“So, how much are you looking to invest?” Cassian asked out of nowhere.

Griffin’s mouth curved into a satisfied smile. He’d been scheming to get Cassian here, and the perfect opportunity had just landed in his lap.