Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 235

A smile touched his lips when he saw the message was from Stephanie.

Jonathan opened it, but his brow furrowed when he saw nothing but a random jumble of characters.

What did this mean?

Jonathan had condensed a week-long business trip into five days just so he could see her sooner.

He hadn't even told her he was landing today, wanting to surprise her.

Seeing the message, Jonathan showed his phone to Steven. “What do you make of this?”

It was just a string of gibberish. Steven was just as confused.

He ventured a guess, “Maybe Mrs. Vasquez sent it by mistake? Or perhaps… she misses you. You know how girls can be shy. Maybe she sent this on purpose so you’d be the one to call her first?”

Could that be it?

Jonathan got into the black car waiting outside the airport. As soon as he sat down, he called Stephanie.

The phone rang four or five times, but no one answered.

Jonathan frowned.

He tried calling again, with the same result.

Perhaps she was in the shower and didn’t hear it.

If he headed back to see her now, the timing would be perfect. He told the driver, “Step on it.”

Steven handed him an iPad. “The news that you and Quennel will be attending the same business summit tomorrow has been causing a huge stir online these past few days.”

Jonathan took it and scrolled through the articles.

It wasn’t surprising that the public’s morbid curiosity had fueled the hype.

But Quennel’s behavior…

Heh. The man actually had the audacity to post passive-aggressive tweets.

Jonathan made no comment, tossing the iPad back onto the seat.

The internet had already pieced together the entire history of their three-way relationship.

Curiously, though, there was no mention of Victoria anywhere.

It was strange. They had managed to dig up a photo of Stephanie and Quennel from high school, yet no one seemed to know about Victoria.

That meant one of two things: either this whole thing was orchestrated by Quennel as a declaration of war against him, or they had quietly deleted any posts that exposed Victoria to protect Quennel’s reputation and paint him as the devoted, heartbroken ex.

Either way, Quennel’s hands weren’t clean.

Just then, Jonathan’s phone rang. The coldness on his face vanished instantly as he put the phone to his ear.

His voice was laced with warmth. “Stephanie, what’s wrong?”

Steven hesitated, as if unsure whether to continue. “Ten minutes ago, security cameras outside the hotel captured Quennel entering the building.”

At those words, Jonathan’s face turned black.

What was Quennel up to?

Why hadn’t Stephanie come home? Why was she meeting him at a hotel?

And what was the meaning of that phone call?

Normally, she would have left immediately after a work meeting. But she had stayed at the hotel… waiting for him.

And if he wasn't mistaken, he thought he'd heard faint panting sounds over the phone just now.

Jonathan’s hands clenched into tight fists.

Maybe it wasn’t Stephanie who had called him at all. Maybe it was Quennel!

He was provoking him!

Had they… slept together?

Jonathan’s eyes turned a bloodshot red, and a chilling aura emanated from him.

He looked like he was about to lose his mind.