"With your bold personality, Ms. Lewis, I think you'll love that black stallion, Gale." Joseph stood up with a smile and shook Chloe's hand briefly. "Sorry about what happened last time." "Not a big deal." Chloe smiled lightly. "Since you recommend it, I should go see it right now." Landon laughed and motioned for everyone to head toward the riding arena. The arena was massive—clearly the club's next big money-maker. As soon as they arrived, staff brought out five excellent horses. The most striking was the pure black stallion at the front. "This black one has been our best performer this quarter. Its auction price alone passed 50 million. True to its name—Gale—it runs like the wind, unbeatable so far." Landon stepped forward and gave a quick introduction. Joseph walked closer, admiring the horse with a sigh. "Gale is fantastic. If I were 20 years younger, I'd take him for a hell of a ride on the track at least once." "Chloe, wanna feel the speed and excitement? Wanna feel how fast Gale runs?" Landon nodded toward the staff nearby. "They're all professionals. They can teach you." As he spoke, he glanced over at Eugene, who had been standing quietly in the background. "If you're worried about safety, both Eugene and I can teach you." Chloe didn't answer. She walked forward, looked over the horses, and gently stroked Gale's sleek neck. "I know a little bit about horse riding. If we really wanna feel speed, why not have a race?" Chloe looked at Landon, a playful smile on her lips. "A race it is." Landon shot Eugene a meaningful look. After getting a subtle nod in return, he agreed cheerfully, "The club's new horses just settled in over the past few days. Let's warm up with a run." "Eugene, you in?" Landon raised an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Sure," Eugene said. He looked at Chloe. "Gale is the fastest. You can choose him." "Come on, Eugene, don't make it so obvious you're going easy on her. Darin, go get Bruce and Sam in here too. A race's no fun without enough people!" Landon said. Darin, who'd been waiting nearby, left with a smile. Soon after, Bruce and a burly man walked in. "Chloe, let me introduce you. Sam answers to me." Landon smiled briefly. The man stepped forward, nodded respectfully at Chloe, and greeted, "Ms. Lewis." Chloe smiled faintly, then turned to Landon. "How are we racing?" "Simple rules. Three laps around the track. The first one across the finish line wins. As for the prize—" Landon looked toward Joseph, raising his eyebrows. "What do you think we should wager?"Everyone turned to Joseph, waiting for his answer. Joseph made a show of thinking it over. After a long moment, he spoke. "If we're playing for fun, the stakes shouldn't be boring. How about this: the winner gets to make one small request of the loser." "A request?" Landon smacked his lips. "Of course, nothing unreasonable—no conflicts of interest, and it has to be something easy to fulfill." Joseph's smile widened. "For example, if I beat Mr. Voss, I might ask him to buy me a nice dinner." Chloe's eyebrow went up. Now that sounded interesting. "Anyone have a problem with that?" Landon asked, raising his voice slightly. "No issues here," Eugene said. The others nodded in agreement. It was Chloe's turn to speak. She kept it brief. "Sounds good to me." "Great. Then everyone pick your horses. Mr. Slade will be our referee," Landon said, signaling the staff to bring the riding gear. Chloe, Eugene, Landon, Bruce, and Sam—plus one professional trainer from the arena—changed into their riding clothes. Five horses were brought forward for them to choose from. Gale was led straight to Chloe. Eugene moved closer and lowered his voice. "Gale's speed is reliable. You can take the lead right from the start. You'll be safe on him." "Ahem. My dear Mr. Rosewood, you're making it way too obvious you're throwing the race, you know?" Landon walked over with an exaggerated cough and selected a jujube red horse. "I guess I'll just have to stick with Mers then." Chloe looked at Eugene and raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Rosewood, this is a competition. Do you actually want to win?" Eugene clicked his tongue at her teasing. Chloe gave Gale one more glance, then looked past him toward the stable—at the lone pure white horse still inside."I'm choosing that one," she said, pointing firmly at the white horse.