Chapter 132
Aurelia had always kept her word.
The second Cassian sent the money, she cashed it in a heartbeat and blocked him right away.
Instead of rattling her, Cassian’s call to scope out the situation just got her totally hyped up, so she threw herself into the project with even more energy.
For the next week, Aurelia was swamped with work.
She was constantly shuttling between Regal Investment, InquireMind, and the government office.
She would sometimes run into Tessa, but neither of them acknowledged the other.
They both treated each other like they were invisible.
She bumped into Cassian a couple of times, and pretty much every time, he was there to pick up Tessa.
Aurelia didn’t notice, but Scott did.
Scott said, “I heard Tessa’s been super into this project lately. She’s been pulling crazy overtime to keep up and schmoozing all over town.
“Mr. Locke’s just as invested. He’s never left her side. To make it easier for Tessa to catch some sleep during her late–night grinds, he even let her crash in his office lounge at Honoria Capital.”
Aurelia snorted to herself.
‘Is Tessa really just sleeping in the lounge? Sleeping with Cassian is more like it,‘ Aurelia thought.
Aurelia had been Honoria Capital’s overtime champ for seven years, but even she had never slept in that lounge.
‘What was it that Cassian said back then? He said it was because it would look bad,’ Aurelia recalled. ‘More like he was worried about ruining his perfect Mr. Devoted act.
‘Now he gets to tell Tessa openly that she’s the only woman who’s ever slept in that lounge. Talk about a classic domineering CEO move! Bet Tessa’s totally swooning right now.‘
Aurelia’s mind drifted off, and she cracked herself up imagining that over–the–top CEO scene.
Scott asked, “What’s so funny?”
Aurelia replied, “Just some ridiculous stuff popped into my head and made me laugh.”
Scott just stared, totally confused.
‘Ridiculous stuff? How could that possibly be funny?‘ he thought to himself. ‘Has Ms. Corin finally gone off the deep end from all this overtime?‘
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“Oh, by the way, I ran into Tessa in the elevator this morning. She was probably at Alpite Group for due diligence, Scott said.
Alpite Group and Regal Investment were in the same building, so it was pretty likely they’d bump into each other.
Scott said, “I remember you were working on this project before, but Tessa shot it down. No idea why she’s suddenly picked it back up.”
Aurelia gave a faint smile. “Isn’t she just into salvaging other people’s trash?”
Scott was completely speechless.
On bid day, the sun was shining and the skies were clear. It was a rare treat for Ashmont.
Early that morning, Wade sent Aurelia a video message. He’d spotted a magpie right outside his office and filmed it.
Thinking it was a good omen, he sent it to her, hoping it would bring her some luck.
Aurelia never thought a serious guy like Wade would actually believe omens and superstitions.
It was actually kind of sweet, though.
As soon as Aurelia arrived at Regal Investment, Miranda showed up with today’s breakfast.
“Today’s special is good luck muffins. Eat one and you’re guaranteed to win,” Miranda said.
“You’re superstitious too?” Aurelia teased.
Miranda explained, “It’s not superstition, it’s a blessing.”
Since it was a blessing, Aurelia had to accept it. But when she saw the wonky, uneven muffins in the box, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Your soups and main dishes are always on point, but your muffins could use a little work.”
Miranda looked a bit embarrassed. “I did my best.”
“Thanks,” Aurelia said, taking a bite. Honestly, it tasted pretty good.
At ten sharp, Aurelia, Scott, and Tyson showed up right on time at the city’s project bidding center.
Just as they were signing in, the Honoria Capital crew showed up.
They made quite an entrance. It was a whole parade of people.
Jasper was there too. Aurelia couldn’t help but wonder if he’d already put in an order for champagne this time.
They made such a racket coming in that Aurelia couldn’t help but glance over.
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Everyone looked so relaxed, like they had total faith in Tessa.
Honestly, with Cassian backing her up, they had every reason to be confident.
Aurelia turned away, and she, Scott, and Tyson were the first to step into the event hall, staking out their to await the results.
Alina was here too this time.
After the last victory party, she’d been lying low for ages.
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But when Tessa told her Cassian had hooked her up with a multi–billion–dollar project, Alina started popping up again.
And once Tessa swore she had it in the bag, Alina was back to her usual lively self.
Tessa had Karlie stick with Alina, and Karlie couldn’t help spilling the tea to Alina.
“That woman is Aurelia,” Karlie said.
Alina only knew Aurelia as the investor behind InquireMind, the one who totally upstaged Tessa at the AeroMind celebration.
But she had no idea about the relationship between Aurelia and Cassian.
Tessa never brought it up. After all, Cassian had been treating her like a queen ever since she came back.
Karlie had been at Honoria Capital long enough to pick up plenty of gossip about Aurelia and Cassian.
So she spilled all the tea she had to Alina.
“You mean Cassian kept her around for seven years?” Alina’s face darkened.
Karlie nodded. “Yeah, but he never really cared about her. She was just a convenient tool to him. As soon as Tessa came back, he didn’t hesitate to kick her out of Honoria Capital.”
Alina, with her experience, saw the bigger picture. “Seven years isn’t a short time.”
For a man to keep a woman by his side for seven years, there was definitely more to it than met the eye.
Meanwhile, after Tessa and Cassian finished signing in, they brought Alina along into the hall.
Seats were assigned according to sign–in order, so there was one more company ahead of Honoria Capital and Regal Investment.
What really caught Aurelia off guard was that the man from that company was actually the father of that brat who’d burned her hand.
He shot Aurelia an apologetic nod, but as soon as he saw Cassian, he rushed over. “Mr. Locke, I’m really sorry about last time. I went home and seriously disciplined that brat.”
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Tessa asked with a smile, “What’s this about?”
Cassian hadn’t even had a chance to say anything.
The man jumped in first. “My kid was messing around and ended up burning this lady’s hand. Mr. Locke told me to discipline him.”
Tessa was stunned for a moment.
She glanced at Cassian, clearly expecting him to say something.
But Cassian didn’t say a word.
With so many people around, she couldn’t press him for answers. She just had to force down her frustration.
Still, she couldn’t quite hide the sour look on her face.
Before the bidding started, Karlie accompanied Tessa to the restroom, reminding her to freshen up and look her best.
After all, once the meeting wrapped up, they were definitely going to be swarmed by reporters.
The port renovation project was a major government initiative, and there were a ton of media outlets waiting outside for the results.
“Tessa, you don’t look too happy. What’s up?” Karlie asked.
Karlie couldn’t figure it out. Today was supposed to be such a good day.
Tessa told Karlie about the news she’d just heard.
“Come on, you really believe that whole ‘accidentally burned by some kid‘ story? She was obviously just pulling a stunt to get Cassian to notice her,” Karlie huffed.
“Anyone with half a brain can see what she’s up to, but Cassian’s totally blind to it.”
“That manipulative witch! Just wait, I’ll deal with her for you later.” Karlie still hadn’t forgotten how Aurelia tripped her up at the party.
Tessa said, “Just don’t go overboard.”
“She’s bound to embarrass herself today.” Karlie was already scheming.
She thought, ‘Aurelia won’t get the project, and she won’t get Cassian either. She’ll always end up losing to Tessa‘
