The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Steven didn't have an answer to his own question, but he had a feeling he might be more willing to spend money on Annalise if he were given the chance.

As Jessica's ex-husband, Casper thought it was not his place to reveal her plans to Zane. However, the more he considered the wickedness of her schemes, the more convinced he was of her boundless cruelty.

...

After some thought, he decided to give Zane a heads-up. He didn't want to regret not speaking up if anything bad happened to Annalise, so he dialed Zane's number.

Zane had just finished discussing work with Suzy and was on his way upstairs to see Annalise. He was stunned when he got a call from Casper, but he put it through and asked, "What's up?" There was only silence on the other end.

Zane thought Casper might have called him by mistake.

He was about to hang up when Casper said, "Jessica wanted me to kidnap Willow today." He continued slowly, "She wanted me to use Willow to lure Annalise out and force her to sleep with me."

Zane stopped in his tracks when he heard this. He glanced at Annalise's room, then at Suzy downstairs. He headed toward the end of the corridor before he mused, "Is that so?"

Not wanting Zane to misunderstand his intentions, Casper quickly explained, "But I told her no."

He added for good measure, "She asked me for the recording of Annalise and me in bed at first. Because nothing happened between me and Annalise, I gave it to her. She was furious after watching the video and told me to make a new one." Zane never knew Jessica was capable of such ruthlessness. He snorted. "Really?"

"Yes," Casper confirmed gravely. "After some thought, I reckon she would have someone else do the job now that I've turned her down. I figured I'd give you a heads-up so that you could take precautions."

"Thanks for telling me," Zane said solemnly. Everything that had to do with Annalise concerned him. If Annalise got hurt, there was no telling how extreme his wrath would be, especially in light of the information Casper had given him.

A cold look flashed in Zane's eyes.

He hadn't planned on giving Jessica this much attention, but she just had

to cause a stir and disrupt his peace. It was time he found her a new`'

hobby to distract her from

Salise.

It was a waste of his time to look out for Jessica's next move. He had to ensure she was so overwhelmed with work that she wouldn't have time to strike.

Zane stared ahead as an idea slowly took form in his head. "Oh, how goes the new company you set up?"

Casper admitted sheepishly, "I ran into some trouble, but I think I can handle it for now."

"Your progress is terribly slow," Zane remarked as he casually propped his elbow up on the window ledge. "I've been waiting to hear about your upcoming plans or progress, but you never reached out." Casper muttered, "I just thought I could handle most of the things myself."

"You need to learn to delegate," Zane pointed out. "Trust me when I say I'm not short on money. Come by the office tomorrow, and we'll talk about this, okay?"

He would have plenty of time on his hands with Annalise scheduled to sign her new releases at the printing house tomorrow. He figured it would be wise for him to brainstorm with his business partner and come up with a way to distract Jessica.

Zane's enthusiasm caught Casper off-guard, but he replied, "Sure."

After hanging up, Zane padded over to Annalise's room and knocked on the door.

I had finished my drawings when I heard knocks coming from my door. I walked over to the door and opened it to see Zane standing in the corridor. Surprised, I asked, "Have you and Suzy finished your discussion?"

He nodded. An odd expression registered on his face as he said, "I can't believe you'd leave me alone with another woman."

I couldn't understand where he

came from, but I said anyway,

"What's wrong with that? You're both workaholics, and surely you wouldn't discuss anything but work with her. I doubt anything inappropriate would take place between the two of you." noveldrama