The Scorned Heiress's Hidden Empire (by Jade Quinn) novel Chapter 41

Chapter 41

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“Mr. Pierce, I’m sorry. You made skiing look so cool that I just had to give it a shot… but this thing totally won’t listen to me.” Lewis whined. He tried to stand up, but his legs went weak, and he nearly faceplanted again.

Natalie and Blondie skied over.

Blondie tried not to crack up, crouched down, and tapped Lewis on the shoulder. “Bro, you alright?”

Lewis waved his hand, looking like he was about to cry. “I’m fine… Just a little dazed, and my face feels kinda numb…”

Natalie caught sight of the grid stamped across his face and had to fight to keep a straight face. She bent down, picked up a ski glove that had fallen nearby, and handed it to Lewis. “Next time, get a coach.”

Lewis took the glove, almost moved to tears. “Thanks, Miss Moore. You’re gorgeous and so nice.”

Henry closed his eyes, honestly wishing he could deny that Lewis was his assistant. ‘This is so embarrassing.‘ He waved

over the medics nearby. “Take him to the infirmary.”

Lewis was carried off on a stretcher.

“Sorry for the embarrassment,” Henry said. The stern look on Henry’s face disappeared, and as he turned to Natalie, a

gentle smile appeared.

Natalie waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it.”

Henry glanced at Blondie standing next to Natalie, his gaze flickering. ‘Seriously, him again?‘ he thought.

“And who’s this?” Henry sounded like he was just making small talk.

“My friend,” Natalie replied coolly.

“Hey, Mr. Pierce. Heard a lot about you. Just call me Blondie,” Blondie said, stepping up and offering his hand.

Henry shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Blondie gave Henry a playful look, and his guy radar went off. ‘He’s got his eyes on Talia.‘

“Mr. Pierce, you look pretty skilled. How about a race? Let’s see what you’ve got?” Blondie challenged, his tone daring. And his gaze was downright competitive.

“A spoiled CEO, and he thinks he can win Talia over with money and a pretty face? I’ll knock him down a peg. If he can’t even get past me, he doesn’t deserve a second look from her,‘ Blondie thought.

Henry arched a brow. His gaze passed over Blondie, who was practically asking for it, and then moved to Natalie, who looked completely unmoved. “Sure.” He unclipped his bindings and rolled his wrists. “So, what’s the game?”

“Obviously-“Blondie drawled, stretching out the word as he pointed at the steepest, twistiest black diamond run over on the advanced slope “That Let’s see who gets down first. You game, or you chicken?”

That was the toughest and wildest run in the whole resort. Most people wouldn’t even touch it, let alone race down at full

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Chapter 31

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Henry glanced at the slope and then at Blondie, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. “Why not?” He turned to Natalie, his tone casual. “Wanna come along?”

Natalie glanced up at the slope. “Sure.”

Her offhand “Sure” threw both of them for a loop.

Blondie was floored. He never expected Natalie to actually say yes. He’d just wanted to challenge Henry solo.

Henry was taken aback, too. He thought she’d turn him down like always, since he’d gotten used to her saying no.

“Talia… you seriously wanna do this?” Blondie asked, suddenly not so sure. He barely managed that run on his own. Racing down it was a whole different kind of stress.

Natalie was already checking her skis and bindings: She looked up at him, calm as ever. “Isn’t this your idea?”

Blondie was speechless. ‘This is supposed to be between him and me. A man–to–man thing. The second she jumps in, the

whole thing gets awkward.‘

But there was no backing out now. The three of them hopped onto the dedicated lift and rode it all the way up to the top

of the advanced run.

“Alright, let’s make some bets. Who’s gonna take first place?”

Natalie was at the starting line, bending her knees a bit and centering herself, ready to launch.

Henry followed close behind, taking a slightly off–center path with smoother turns. He was just as fast, his black figure calm and strong, sticking right on Natalie’s heels.

Blondie stuck to the far outside, taking the route with the most curves, hoping his skills could make up for the disadvantage in speed and line. But it wasn’t long before the other two pulled way ahead, leaving him trailing behind.

“What the hell. He’s insanely fast,” Blondie blurted out.

When they hit the first stretch of back–to–back sharp turns, Natalie barely slowed down. She carved a series of tight turns right along the snow, her flexibility and control on full display, and instantly left the others in the dust.

Henry’s turns were just as impressive, but while Natalie pushed the limits with razor–sharp, high–octane control, his moves were all about calm confidence and composure. As they exited the curve, he was trailing Natalie by less than 15 feet.

The steepest part of the slope was practically straight down.

Natalie was the first to launch herself, practically hugging the snow as she tore down. Her speed went through the roof.

Henry shot after her, staying right on her tail without losing a single inch.

The final set of turns and the jump ramp would decide everything.

Right before the turns, Natalie caught a tiny bump along the edge of the slope and launched herself in a quick hop, slipping right into the next turn before anyone else could blink, shaving off those crucial split seconds.

She blasted off the jump, landed, and charged down the final stretch.

Natalie was the first to cross the finish line, executing a clean parallel stop and coming to a steady halt.

The next second, Henry followed right behind, stopping right beside her.

Two seconds later, Blondie finally came barreling down, pulling off a clumsy stop and panting hard.

The crowd near the finish line erupted into thunderous cheers and applause.

“Oh, my god. That was so awesome. The lady took first place.”

“She’s such a badass. Man, I wish I could wipe out and have a hot badass save me, too.”

“Mr. Pierce was second. The guy in blue came in third. There was a pretty big gap.”

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