Chapter 695 Squandering
In the past, Barrett might have felt choked by the insinuation, but now, he'd found a new target for the pressure!
"Mr. Kensington, you just can't cut it!" A few society boys couldn't resist jeering as the game escalated.
"Ugh! A man can't say he can't handle it!" Mr. Kensington, a titan in the lavish circles both at home and abroad, retorted with disbelief, "Natalie, how about we switch it up and play something else?"
Natalie glanced at Oliver, who was idly counting his chips and signaling a server to exchange them for a check.
"Why are you looking at me? Play whatever you want, I'll cover it if you lose," Oliver said with a teasing smile, tilting his chin toward the tall stack of chips, "Go on, put some effort into it and earn these back."
Natalie couldn't help but chuckle.
The group of second-generation individuals who were playing with Natalie and Oliver, led by Mr. Kensington, were amazed, ‘Is she that confident?’
"What do you want to play, Natalie?" Mr. Kensington asked.
After thinking for a bit, Natalie spotted a horse track not far away, "Equestrian, how does that sound?"
Mr. Kensington let out a sly laugh, "Bro, you know me, I've been riding horses since I was a little kid. Aren't you going to stop your sister-in-law?"
Oliver glanced at the eager Natalie and said to Mr. Kensington, "Whoever wins, I'll throw in a Friesian horse."
A Friesian horse, with an average price of $30,000 per, is known for high speed, endurance, and intelligence were world-renowned horses.
The most important thing was that the good Friesians currently on the market were priceless, and when Mr. Windsor talked about giving one away, it had to be a high-quality steed.
"Mr. Windsor, can I join in too? Hehe, not that I want to bully your sister-in-law, I just want the horse."
"Mr. Windsor, count me in too! I want in!"
"Mr. Windsor, ladies can participate, right?"
The other guests requested permission if they could join in.
In the eyes of most, Natalie was just a Watson family love child, half-cast aside, and it seemed highly unlikely that she could compete in elegant sports like equestrian against a pedigree gentleman like Mr. Kensington.
Several elite young men and women eagerly asked to join, and Oliver welcomed all comers.
The equestrian enthusiasts, men and women alike, split up to change into their riding gear through the servers' assistance.
When Natalie arrived, they hadn't prepared her riding attire, so she took a trip to the estate's tack shop to buy a new set, thus missing the others.
"Being good at a mere card game like bridge or dominoes is nothing to brag about. Now she's recklessly challenging Mr. Kensington to a horse race, not afraid of being embarrassed! Right, Nora?" a voice commented.
"Absolutely! I don't know what Natalie sees in that guy, or how she ended up with Simon, that vixen!" another voice exclaimed.
Natalie was in the middle of changing in the locker room when she heard her name mentioned outside. Listening closely, it wasn't hard to tell that the conversation wasn't exactly flattering.
She paused for a moment, then continued at her own pace to change into her riding gear, stepping out soon after. The two women gossiping hadn't left; they were leisurely touching up their makeup and chatting carelessly.
"Ah! You, how come you're here? Why are you as silent as the grave?" One woman gasped upon seeing Natalie emerge, while her companion, a woman with chestnut brown hair, merely glanced at Natalie coolly, showing no sign of embarrassment for being caught speaking ill of her.
Natalie knew these women; they were guests invited by Barrett for the day’s events. They were a couple of the few faces she hadn't seen before.
"If I spoke up, wouldn't that just embarrass you?" Natalie said, casually pulling her hair back into a high ponytail. "I'd have thought you two would be gone by now."
"It's not my fault that I gave you time to leave, but you didn't take it, and now you're embarrassed," Natalie remarked.
"Hmph, of little consequence, you seductress!" dismissed the woman with the chestnut hair with a light scoff, flipping her hair as she walked away without a hint of discomfort at being caught speaking out of turn.
Natalie noticed the way she had referred to Oliver not as Mr. Oliver or Mr. Windsor, but simply as Simon!
Thus far, only the European division executives at RK Group and someone named Lilian had referred to Oliver so casually. The woman's features hinted at Western ancestry, and if Natalie hadn't overheard the exchange in the locker room, she would have had no indication of the woman's hostility toward her.
The event where Natalie and Mr. Kensington were competing primarily featured people Natalie wasn't very familiar with. Those who had attended the same summer camp with her all stood to the side, watching the scene unfold, with some even whispering to Natalie:
"Go for it, Natalie! Make them cry!"
"You got this, goddess!"
Natalie smiled helplessly, "Don't be too confident, I haven't played this in a while, what if I lose?"
"If you lose, so be it, Mr. Windsor is loaded! Mr. Windsor is so poor, all he's got is money," Ethan joked, looking over at Oliver with a smirk, "Isn't that right, Mr. Windsor?"
The other summer camp attendees who weresons and daughters of high society joined in on the laughter.
A perplexed new member quietly pulled someone aside and whispered, "Ethan is so bull-headed, daring to joke with Mr. Windsor? Is the Owen family on the rise?"
The person murmured back, "You don't understand. With Natalie around, there's no fear of Mr. Windsor blowing his top."
Natalie, a professional peacemaker, brought everyone a sense of safety when facing Mr. Windsor!
Sure enough, the next moment, Oliver smirked, far from getting angry. Instead, he said, "You're welcome to take as much as you can carry."
The new member was baffled. What's going on here? Why don't I understand? Since when did Mr. Windsor become so mild-mannered and easy to talk to?
Nine competitors, six men, and three women, and among them were Natalie and Nora.
While others were choosing horses, Oliver had already selected one for Natalie a beautiful white mare, passing the reins over to her and saying, "Her name is Cynthia."
Cynthia was stunningly beautiful but compared with the other long-maned and towering horses that everyone else had picked, she didn't quite seem up for the fight.
"I'm starting to think you picked the horse on purpose just to give it away..." Natalie couldn't help but say to Oliver.
The Rosewood Estate had a stable that housed about a dozen of Oliver's beloved horses. Natalie remembered that just last month, someone had delivered a long-maned black horse that appeared quite athletic, fitting the description of a Friesian.
"How could that be?" said Oliver, unconcerned. "Without the missus's permission, how dare I splurge?"
Natalie thought to herself, "Why do I feel there's a deeper meaning to your words?" If I lose the race, am I also partly to blame for giving away a horse worth a six-figure sum?
The estate's horse arena was vast, readily accommodating dozens of competitors at once, and this group of nine had plenty of room.
Nora rode her horse on the track right next to Natalie.
As the start gun sounded, Natalie caught a disdainful glance from Nora who then spurred her horse into a blistering speed, taking a commanding lead as they dashed forward.
Natalie wasn't focused on the race; she just wanted to have some fun.
However, she always had a knack for excelling at whatever she did. And of course, that was assuming she didn't compare herself to Oliver, who was in a different league of his own.
Soon, the racetrack became a scene of excitement.
"Go, Natalie!"
"Natalie is amazing!"
"Ah! Natalie is in third place now!"
"Mr. Kensington, can you keep up? Hurry it up!" someone called out impatiently.
Natalie started off slower than the others, but she took the turns especially gracefully and gradually overtook the competition.
Mr. Kensington was so stunned that he fell from first to third place.
Natalie crossed the finish line in second place, holding the reins in one hand while catching her breath and sizing up Nora.
Nora looked at Natalie with a defiant tilt of her chin, as if to say, See, you're a loser, you're not as good as me!
Natalie couldn't fathom why this woman was so odd!
"Way to go, Natalie!"
"Nice work, Natalie! Second place, woohoo!"
"Mr. Kensington, you just don't have it! Hahaha!"
The socialites and heirs from the couples' summer camp came over to congratulate Natalie, seemingly more thrilled with her second place than with Nora's first.
"Need a hand down?" Oliver extended his hand towards Natalie, helping her dismount gracefully.
Nora snorted disdainfully and muttered "Spoiled" to herself, before swinging off her horse with ease and walking towards Oliver.
"Mr. Windsor, the winner comes to claim her reward," she announced, but before she could speak further, Mia jumped in.
Nora's train of thought was disrupted by Mia's remark, and she cast an annoyed glance at this meddlesome and seemingly not-too-bright woman before changing her approach to Oliver, "Simon, long time no see!"
Natalie thought to herself, ‘It looks like they know each other.’
Her expression unchanged, she watched Oliver, waiting for his reaction.
Oliver took a quick glance at her. "Who are you?" he asked.
Natalie was speechless.
Nora was stunned.
Oliver wasn't someone to feign ignorance with; if he asked who you were, he truly didn't recognize you.
Many in the crowd wanted to dedicate a song about the chill of defeat to Miss Nora, who had just returned from abroad.
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