Chapter 297
“What do you mean I have more experience?” Yinsen’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
Tamia’s heart jumped. She let out a nervous laugh and tried to act casual. “Um… forget I said anything.”
Tamia attempted to make her escape again, but Yinsen was too quick–he grabbed her by the back of her jacket.
She froze mid–step and turned around awkwardly. “Mr… Mr. Hunter.”
“To make up for traumatizing me, you’re buying me dinner,” Yinsen announced.
Tamia internally groaned. What a cheapskate, making her pay over something so stupid. Did he have any idea how broke she
was?
Every app on her phone seemed designed to drain her bank account, constantly sending her “limited time offers” and sale notifications. Every holiday had morphed into some kind of shopping event, and her savings had been slowly bled dry by all these “amazing deals.”
Now she had to treat her boss to dinner on top of everything else. She was technically alive, but financially dead.
Seeing Tamia’s devastated expression, Yinsen thought she looked like she was walking to her own execution.
“I’m craving some pasta,” Yinsen said.
Tamia was still mourning her wallet when she heard him say pasta. It almost sounded too good to be true.
“Changed your mind? We could do that high–end omakase place instead,” Yinsen suggested.
“No way! Raw fish is terrible for your stomach. Someone who drinks at business dinners as much as you do already has digestive issues. You need something warm and comforting,” Tamia said quickly.
Yinsen looked pleased. “Such a thoughtful employee, always worried about my health.”
Tamia’s
eye
twitched. Of course she had to be nice–she was protecting her last few dollars!
“I know this incredible Italian place. Let’s go there,” Tamia said with forced enthusiasm.
Yinsen smirked. Tamia was so eager, like she was terrified he’d change his mind and bankrupt her. It was almost entertaining.
What was supposed to be dinner for two ended up being a double date.
The Italian restaurant Tamia mentioned was one Anastasia had recommended, conveniently located near Rhodes Global.
“I was so bummed we couldn’t try this place before. What do you think?” Anastasia asked Cassian.
“It’s great, just pretty spicy,” Cassian said.
Anastasia handed him her glass of milk. “Here, this’ll help with the heat.”
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Chapter 297
Walt, does milk actually work for spice?” Yinsen asked skeptically.
*Totally? Whenever I ate something too hot as a kid, my mom would give me milk. Works like a charm,” Anastasia said.
Can I get some?” Yinsen asked hopefully.
“Sorry, that was my only one,” Anastasia said apologetically.
Cassian sipped his milk with obvious satisfaction, looking pretty smug about it.
He couldn’t resist rubbing it in. “Mmm… this is amazing. Definitely the best milk I’ve ever had.”
Yinsen leaned over and whispered, “Bro, you’re lactose intolerant. You’re gonna be shitting your brains out later.”
“Someone’s jealous,” Cassian replied coolly. “Anastasia knows about my lactose issues, so she got me the lactose–free kind.”
“Jesus, that’s ridiculously sweet!”
Yinsen stared at Cassian enviously. “Seriously, how do I find a wife like Anastasia?”
“You can’t,” Cassian said flatly.
“Why not?”
“Because there’s only one Anastasia in the world.”
Yinsen’s mouth twitched. “I’m pretty sure you’re just bragging at this point.”
While the guys were talking, Tamia leaned over to whisper to Anastasia. “So today when I was meeting with a client, I saw Whitney and Valeria going into this really… interesting store. I decided to follow them.”
An interesting store?
Anastasia raised an eyebrow. What kind of place would make Tamia too embarrassed to say the name?
“What kind of store?” Anastasia asked.
Tamia glanced nervously at Cassian and Yinsen, then leaned close to Anastasia’s ear.
Anastasia was so shocked she dropped her chopsticks with a loud clatter.
The noise was enough to get both guys‘ attention.
“Everything okay?” Cassian asked with concern.
Anastasia shook her head and laughed. “Yeah, Tamia just dropped some pretty wild gossip on me. Need a second to process.”
Tamia caught Cassian’s questioning look and gave him an awkward smile.
“Whitney is absolutely shameless,” Tamia continued in a low voice. “She was giving Valeria detailed coaching right in front of the sales girl about how to use those… things to keep Jasper interested. It was like watching a madam train her girls. Completely gross.”
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Chapter 20?
“No wonder your dad and Jasper got caught up with those two.”
Tamia bit her lip and studied Anastasia’s face. “You’re not upset, are you?”
Anastasia shook her head. “I’m fine.”
But honestly, it did sting a bit. Both she and her mother had lost to women like that.
Was that really what men wanted?
Tamia tried to reassure her. “At least you’ve got Cassian. He’s obviously the loyal, no–nonsense type. He’d never pull that shit.”
Anastasia nodded. “True.”
Just then, Anastasia spotted Sharlene and Peter walking past in the distance.
They were seated behind a decorative screen, so Sharlene couldn’t see them.
Tamia followed Anastasia’s gaze and noticed Sharlene too.
“Oh hey, there’s Sharlene! Let me go grab her and have her join us. I had no idea she was seeing someone… though that guy gives me major sleaze vibes.”
Anastasia caught Tamia’s arm and shook her head. “Don’t. She probably doesn’t want to see me right now.”
Tamia looked confused. “What? Did you guys have a fight or something?”
Anastasia forced a smile. “It’s nothing major. Just some miscommunication.”
“Well then let’s clear it up! Perfect opportunity,” Tamia suggested.
“The timing’s not right. I’ll handle it later,” Anastasia said.
“Okay, whatever you think is best,” Tamia said reluctantly.
Even though she’d only hung out with Sharlene a few times, they’d clicked pretty well over mahjong. Tamia thought Sharlene was pretty straightforward–whatever happened between her and Anastasia must have been serious.
But if Anastasia didn’t want to talk about it, she wouldn’t push.
Tamia discreetly texted Sharlene asking what was going on.
No response. When she tried to send a follow–up, she realized she’d been blocked.
“Are you kidding me? Don’t drag innocent people into your drama! Sharlene’s being ridiculous blocking me too,” Tamia said indignantly.
“Sorry you got caught in the crossfire,” Anastasia said.
Tamia waved her off. “Please, don’t even worry about it. We’re friends–there’s no ‘crossfire‘ between us. If anything, I’ve caused you way more headaches than this.”
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