Chapter 66
Even Tessa, his constant shadow, was nowhere to be seen.
Aurelia didn’t even bother this time.
She hesitated for just a second, then decided to ignore him.
But Cassian spoke up first. “Aurelia, take me home.”
Those words felt both familiar and strange.
It was familiar because he used to boss her around like this all the time.
And it was strange because it had been a long time since he’d last asked her to do something for him.
His
gaze wasn’t as cold as usual, and the corners of his eyes were slightly red.
Judging by the looks of it, he had been drinking and had forgotten that she was no longer his secretary.
Aurelia didn’t budge. She looked at him, icy and detached, as if he was just some random guy she’d never met.
“Aurelia, I’ve been drinking–take me home!” Cassian barked, the words slurring a bit but his old bossy tone cutting through.
He was trying to sound firm, but honestly, it just felt like he was ordering her around out of habit.
Just then, Aurelia’s car pulled up. She got in right in front of Cassian, not even sparing him a second glance.
With a calm face, she shut the door, cutting him off completely.
That night, Aurelia finally slept soundly–free from all worries, as if nothing from her past could disturb her peace.
The next morning, she went to the studio first, planning to draft the contract.
Miranda came over, all sneaky–like. “Aurelia, are you still missing an invitation to the AI summit?”
“Yeah,” Aurelia replied with a nod.
She was still looking for a way, but had already prepared for the worst.
If she couldn’t get it in the end, she’d have Tyson attend instead.
He was the real tech expert, after all–he’d know exactly how to show off what they’d built.
“What if I told you I’ve got one right here?” Miranda asked, tone playful and mysterious.
Aurelia didn’t even glance at her and kept typing on the keyboard, clearly not believing her.
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Seeing her little act wasn’t working, Miranda got impatient.
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She directly pulled out the invitation and casually tossed it onto Aurelia’s desk. “I’m not joking–I’m telling the truth!”
Aurelia picked up the invitation and examined it from every angle.
It was actually real.
“Where did you get this?” Aurelia asked curiously.
Miranda lit up instantly and started rattling off nonstop.
“Remember that story I told you about the day I quit?” Miranda asked.
“Yes, I remember,” Aurelia replied.
Cassian not only asked her to handle the business trip arrangements but also to take care of the travel plans for Tessa and her friends and family.
He basically treated work like his own personal chauffeur service.
“There was so much going on that day—I had to arrange travel for more than ten people and prepare for my resignation, so I completely forgot to return this invitation! I only noticed it last night when I was packing up my personal belongings from Honoria Capital!” Miranda said.
“You forgot?”
Aurelia didn’t really believe this explanation.
Miranda could be a bit reckless sometimes, but not this careless.
If she was, there’s no way she would’ve passed the internship at Honoria Capital.
Moreover, these invitations were very valuable. Honoria Capital wouldn’t just let one get lost like that.
“I really forgot. The previous plan was for me to go on a business trip to Vireston with Mr. Locke, so I had the invitation,” Miranda said frankly.
“Besides, there are stacks of these invitations at Honoria Capital–having one more or one less doesn’t make any difference!”
She wasn’t wrong about that.
Miranda shot her a grin. “See? This shows even heaven couldn’t stand by and had to help us! You deserve this!”
Aurelia accepted it without any hesitation.
After all, she had devoted so many years to Honoria Capital–this invitation could just be considered her
reward.
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Chapter 66
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With the invitation drama finally off her plate, Aurelia could finally focus all her energy on the contract with Gold Gauntlet.
Two days later, the contract was finally ready, and Aurelia personally delivered it to Gold Gauntlet.
Gideon himself came out to greet her.
The potted plant on the desk was thriving, clearly well cared for.
After reviewing the contract, Gideon signed it right away and assured her the funds would be transferred to the company’s account within a couple of days.
The whole deal went so smoothly that it actually surprised Aurelia.
The payment came unusually fast–half of it was already in the account the next day.
It was a total lifesaver for Aurelia, who’d been running on fumes ever since her cash reserves dried up.
Once the funds received, Aurelia wasted no time and pulled the tech crew together for a meeting.
She had them work to get the model fully trained and launched before the summit.
Training the model needed a ton of internet data, so Aurelia hopped on a flight up Northvale just to meet with Nolan from Eastview Capital.
Eastview Capital had the best, most advanced database in the business.
If they could team up, it would boost their training speed greatly.
But what she didn’t expect was to run into Cassian and Tessa right here in Northvale.
‘Seriously, the world is way too small,‘ Aurelia thought, a little exasperated.
When Aurelia arrived at Eastview Capital, it was right around lunchtime.
Cassian was having a business lunch with Nolan
Aurelia thought she would come back empty–handed today.
But instead, Tessa took the initiative and invited Aurelia to join them.
She acted like the past was water under the bridge, perfectly gracious and unfazed.
“Cassian, since we just happened to bump into Aurelia here in Northvale, why not invite her along? We all know each other anyway,” Tessa suggested.
Nolan agreed right away—he was genuinely interested in Aurelia’s project, after all.
But in this moment, it was clear that Cassian was the one with the final say.
Cassian gave
Tessa the go–ahead without so much as blinking. “You can decide things like this–no need to
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Chapter 66
check with me.”
That kind of trust only existed between people who were truly inseparable.
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Aurelia had poured seven years of effort into this man–and still, she’d never been granted that kind of trust.
For a split second, Aurelia’s mind just blanked out.
Tessa flashed her a friendly smile. “Aurelia, come join us?”
Aurelia didn’t turn her down.
After all, she’d come all the way to Northvale just to meet Nolan.
Since Cassian and Tessa were both freely giving her this chance, she’d be crazy not to take advantage of it.
Everyone got into Eastview Capital’s corporate car and headed to the restaurant.
While Aurelia was chatting with Nolan, Cassian and Tessa settled into the front seats side by side.
Not that Aurelia minded riding in the back, but staring at the backs of their heads the whole way was honestly more annoying than she cared to admit.
Fortunately, the ride was short, and they arrived quickly.
Cassian held the door open for Tessa and offered her his hand to help her out of the car.
He was incredibly considerate.
Aurelia was wearing heels today, but it didn’t slow her down at all.
Still, helping someone out of a car was just basic courtesy between adults.
Of course, Cassian couldn’t be bothered–common decency was never his strong suit.
Fortunately, Aurelia didn’t need it either.
During dinner, Tessa was aggressively explaining her AI project to Nolan, pulling out all the stops to sell it.
Aurelia realized right away that Tessa was targeting Eastview Capital’s database too.
Meanwhile, Cassian was there as Tessa’s behind–the–scenes supporter, working every angle to boost her and connect her with the right people.
Aurelia tried to speak up several times, but Tessa would always jump in first, shutting her down before she could even finish a sentence.
No wonder Tessa was so generous in inviting her to the dinner–it turned out she was waiting for this.
After listening, Nolan furrowed his brow a bit. “Not bad, but nothing really stands out. Plus, it seems pretty niche–mostly aimed at corporate clients for stuff like presentations and docs.”
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“Comparing the two, I see way more potential in Ms. Corin’s project, and it’s open to a much broader market.”
Tessa’s expression changed for a moment.
Cassian cut in at just the right moment, “It’s just the preliminary plan–nothing’s finalized yet.”
With Cassian and Honoria Capital backing her, Tessa straightened up, emboldened. “Mr. Flynn, your opinion really matters to me. We’ll make sure to adjust things based on your feedback.”
Probably just wanting to keep things smooth for Honoria Capital and Cassian, Nolan nodded to Tessa and said, “Whenever you’re set, just connect with us directly.”
And just like that, Tessa managed to get the backing of a major company so effortlessly.
Aurelia couldn’t help but recall the difficult situation she had faced when she was trying to attract investment for this project.
Seriously, nothing hurt quite like seeing how easy some people had it.
