Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 112

Stephanie was in a deep sleep when she was jolted awake by her phone ringing.

The sun was already bright. She fumbled for her phone with her eyes still closed and saw that she had over twenty missed calls.

She had gone to bed too late, and the first half of the night had been filled with dreams.

That bastard Jonathan had actually been hitting her in her dream.

Thankfully, in the dream, she didn't have to hold back. When he hit her, she wailed, crying until her throat was raw.

But the more she cried, the harder he hit.

He really was an abuser, not even sparing her in her dreams.

She glanced at the missed calls. Almost all were from Zachary, with a couple from her colleague, Nydia.

Stephanie knew what was happening.

She opened her chat with Nydia and, sure enough, there were new messages.

Nydia: "First thing this morning, Verdant Grove Capital's executive assistant showed up with their lawyer. They said our contract with Sapphire Group involved unfair competition and they want to void it."

"Zachary is freaking out, terrified the deal will fall through. Turns out, Victoria pulled some strings and had someone tamper with Verdant Grove Capital's contract. The person they actually wanted to sign with was you."

"It's a huge mess. The whole company is in an uproar. Verdant Grove Capital says they're going to sue Victoria."

Stephanie's fingers curled slightly.

Ternence was a man of his word. He was really going to see this contract issue through to the end.

He wasn't planning on giving Victoria any way out.

But it was Victoria's own fault for being bold enough to have Quennel use his connections to alter the contract.

It was only because Quennel was Ternence's son that Verdant Grove Capital wasn't suing him too.

When he needed her, it was 'Stephanie.' When he didn't, she was just someone who got the job through connections.

The ugliness of human nature was on full display with Zachary.

Stephanie held her phone, not burning any bridges. "I'm not really free."

Zachary immediately said, "What about tonight?"

"Or you can just tell me when you're free, and I can work around your schedule."

Stephanie smiled. "I'm just someone who pulled strings. Am I really worth all this trouble?"

The remark was clearly a jab at him.

But Zachary had built his career to this point; he had seen it all.