Chapter 122: Julian’s Biggest Move – Stealing Ava’s Best Matches
The glass-paneled conference floor of the Shiroyama Tower buzzed with the usual low thrum of elegance and calculation—heels tapping over marble, polite laughter laced with ambition, the gentle tinkling of cups from a nearby espresso bar staffed by baristas in minimalist black uniforms.
Ava stood near the updated leaderboard screen, her eyes scanning the new entries with a mounting dread that wrapped around her chest like a vice. Her name, once perched confidently near the top, had slipped two places. Not impossible. Not irreversible. But strange. Very strange.
It wasn’t the fall itself—it was who had suddenly risen above her.
Julian Ashcroft. Again.
And this time, not just by a slim margin. No, his leaderboard surge was... dramatic.
Too dramatic.
She narrowed her eyes, fingers curling around the tablet she held. A few of her former matches—clients she had painstakingly interviewed, guided, introduced—now had Ashcroft Group tags next to their names. Some were marked as "AI-Reassessment Pending." Others? "Exclusive Ashcroft Curation."
The phrase made her stomach turn.
Before she could process, a gentle tap on her shoulder made her spin around.
"Miss Lee?" It was Akiko Tan, one of her matched clients from the Sakura Love Festival. A sweet, shy illustrator who had been perfectly matched with a photographer who adored her quirky charm.
Ava softened her posture. "Hey, Akiko. Everything alright?"