The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Plenty of beautiful women had tried to win him over before. Zane dropped those words and drove off, leaving Yelena behind. Anger boiled inside her as she watched the car disappear, and she stomped her foot hard.

Turning to Otis, she demanded, "Dad! What now? I did exactly what you told me, but Zane refused to help!"

Otis had a headache of his own. He hadn't expected there to be surveillance cameras inside, let alone that they'd recorded everything.

Shaking his head, he said, "I don't know either. We'll need to find someone to help us."

"Who?" Yelena asked.

"Jessica." Otis didn't bother explaining. He called Jessica right away and brought her up to speed.

Then, he said, "The plan was a bust. Zane saw right through it."

"Well, obviously. Did you really think he was dumb enough to fall for something that childish?" Jessica said, sounding incredulous.

a while before saying, "This isn't the time for sarcasm. You know

us figure out what to do next. Otherwise, all that money

reason Jessica bothered dealing with these idiots was

Corporation, don't you?"

two and two together. "Oh, right! How could I forget? Alright, I'll bring Yelena along next time we make a

has no patience for fools," Jessica warned. Otis shot Yelena a sideways glance.

let out a deep breath and asked, "Any chance you can get smarter in the next

to mean? I'm smart enough, aren't

long look. "I'm afraid even if I handed you the perfect opportunity, you wouldn't know how

snorted. "So what if I offend someone

realized Yelena had no clue how formidable Annalise

saved up her bonuses, tutored people on the side, and used every cent she earned

unimpressed. "Starting a business? Please. Every trust-fund kid I know wants to, but their families do whatever it takes to stop

"Annalise isn't anything like you or your spoiled friends. Every