Chapter 10

They didn't talk for the rest of the flight, both catching what sleep they could.

Anna only opened her eyes when they started their descent. "Boss, we'll be there in a few minutes. What's the plan?"

Anna was honestly confused. Emerson had given her one night to prepare and only told her their destination that morning.

It was barely enough time to react to anything.

All she'd managed to do was call in her people who were already in the area for backup. Everything else was flying blind.

"Don't worry, it's handled," Emerson said, opening his eyes.

He actually had no clue what came next, but he couldn't admit that to Anna.

Anna took him at his word, figuring Emerson had everything planned out.

She stopped worrying and started checking their gear instead.

They landed quickly and were soon walking through the terminal.

Anna followed Emerson, curious to see who he'd arranged to meet them.

Emerson, meanwhile, was hoping like hell that Wilson hadn't screwed this up, or he'd look like an idiot in front of Anna.

But Wilson came through. Shortly after entering the terminal, Emerson spotted his name on a pickup sign.

He immediately grabbed Anna's hand and headed toward it.

Anna had been looking elsewhere and missed the sign. When someone suddenly grabbed her hand, she instinctively reached for her knife.

Then she realized it was Emerson and froze, her cheeks flushing as she stopped resisting.

It wasn't until he pulled her up to the pickup sign that Anna snapped out of her daze.

What brought her back to reality was the girl holding the sign.

And holy shit, she was gorgeous.

The girl had unusually long silver hair and wore athletic clothes that couldn't hide her incredible figure.

Perfect proportions, stunning face—the way people kept glancing back proved just how captivating she was.

If not for her obviously young features, even Anna would feel outclassed.

The girl looked at them, focusing especially on Emerson, and hesitated before speaking.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Emerson?"

Her voice wasn't the sweet tone Emerson had expected, but rather slightly husky in a way that was somehow even more attractive.

"That's me. You must be Wilson's student," Emerson replied, immediately recognizing her.

This was the young apprentice Wilson had dumped on him.

The girl obviously had no idea what was really going on—she just looked happy to have found the right people.

"Hello! I'm Felicia Hardy, Mr. Wilson's student," she said politely, giving a slight bow.

Emerson really hadn't expected Wilson's apprentice to be such a well-mannered girl. No wonder Wilson couldn't bring himself to put her through hell.

Meeting her for the first time, he couldn't imagine subjecting her to brutal training either.

But looking at Anna, Emerson felt pleased with his decision.

He might not be able to be tough on his young apprentice, but Anna definitely could.

His only worry now was whether Anna might be too harsh on the girl.

When you put two beautiful women in the same space—unless they were related—there was always potential for drama.

With that face and figure, his little apprentice could definitely be seen as a threat.

But he immediately abandoned that line of thinking.

While he'd been lost in thought, Anna and Felicia had started chatting like old friends.

He had no idea how they'd connected so quickly, but they were acting like they'd known each other forever.

Female bonding was a complete mystery to him.

Felicia must have noticed him staring, because she stopped talking and turned to him.

"Sir?" She looked confused about why he was just standing there.

"Just call me Emerson. I'm not your teacher—she is," he said, correcting her while pointing to Anna.

"What?" Both women exclaimed simultaneously—different tones, but equally surprised.

Felicia was confused because this wasn't what her teacher had told her. She'd always been a good kid and didn't know who to believe.

Anna was genuinely shocked. She'd thought she was here to help with logistics—transportation, accommodations, general support.

Even after thinking about it last night, she'd figured she'd just be handling administrative stuff.

She'd never expected to be brought here to train someone.

Looking at Felicia, Anna was suddenly very curious about the relationship between this girl and Emerson.

She knew Emerson's lazy tendencies all too well.

Felicia's expression showed she had no idea Anna was supposed to teach her, plus the way she'd addressed Emerson...

The situation was obvious. Emerson had originally agreed to train Felicia himself but had changed his mind and decided to pass the job to Anna.

And this was the real reason he'd brought her along.

This guy was lazy in every possible way!

Emerson, busy explaining things to Felicia, had no idea Anna had completely figured out his scheme.

The apprentice was exactly as he'd imagined—sweet and accommodating. After listening to his explanation, she immediately accepted that Anna would be training her.

"Thanks for taking me on, Anna," Felicia said with a bright smile.

She didn't use any formal titles, just called her Anna directly. Emerson noticed Anna didn't object, so he didn't say anything.

Maybe it was just how girls bonded with each other.

He was a guy—he didn't understand these things.

This was exactly what he'd wanted. He was completely off the hook.

Now Emerson could focus all his energy on the Blood Orchid.

He couldn't wait to see this legendary treasure for himself.

Suppressing his excitement, Emerson knew his immediate task was to infiltrate the expedition team naturally.

As for how to do that, he already had a plan.