Chapter 45 Let's Compete

The tension in the private room was taut as a bowstring. Natasha was caught off guard by the challenge. Her face went from flushed to pale in seconds. "Cressie, please. That's not what I meant—" "It's exactly what you meant," Cressida cut her off. "You went to all the trouble of coming with Luther here just to snatch this project, didn't you? Now that the opportunity is right in front of you, you're scared?" "I'm not!" Natasha protested, her voice rising. Luther pulled her behind him and rebuked Cressida in a low voice, "Stop acting out. This is a place to discuss business, not for you to throw a tantrum." "Mr. Strudwick, do you think I'm throwing a tantrum?" Cressida asked. She finally looked at him in the eyes and explained, "I'm merely solving a problem in the most direct way possible. Or is it that you also think your sweetheart would lose to a clueless country bumpkin like me?" The words put him in an impossible position. If he intervened, it would mean he didn't trust Nat