The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Sasha added, "He'll go from being the prince of the upper-crust society to a pathetic pauper! Let's see where that ego gets him after that."

I warned her from getting ahead of herself, "I doubt he'd fall so quickly in such a short time. He'd likely parade around as a prince for a while longer." "Why?" Sasha gave me a baffled look.

I explained patiently, "Think about it. Shane's father dotes on him, and even if he publicly announced he wouldn't pay a penny for Shane, no one would take his word for it. They'd believe he still cares about Shane enough to pay his debts. "Everyone would likely bribe Shane into putting in a good word for them to Mr. Winslow in hopes of making an impression. That way, they could angle for a collaboration with Mr. Winslow once the father-son duo bury the hatchet." Sasha processed everything I said and scowled. "No way. Would they really pull something as ridiculous as that to get into Mr. Winslow's good graces?"

"We might think it's ridiculous," I said with a laugh. "But to them, it's a strategic move."

She grew disgruntled. "So, what, I'm getting excited over nothing?"

"Not exactly." I elaborated, "Mr. Winslow must want to punish Shane and teach him a lesson by publicly cutting him off. He wants Shane to change for the better.

"In that case, Mr. Winslow would either seek out these potential collaborators or find a way to tell them he would not be paying off Shane's debts. Once everyone sees how serious Mr. Winslow is, they'd hesitate to lend Shane money." Sasha's jaw dropped. "Wow! So what you're saying is that I have to be patient before I get to see the terrible fate that will befall Shane?"

"Something like that," I confirmed with a nod.

Her eyes glittered. "Oh, I'd love to rub salt in his wound! That prick! He brought this on himself, you know. He shouldn't have picked on me and gotten in the way of my work!"

Sasha wished she could call him a

loser to his face. However, Shane didn't have all his cards in the deck to begin with. If she went up to him and called him a loser, he might just find a way to haunt her.

After some consideration, she decided she was better off letting nature take its course. She had work to focus on, anyway, and Shane should be the least of her concerns. Just thinking about Shane suffering a worse fate than she imagined in the coming days filled her with joy.

"Are you ladies talking about Shane?"

A familiar voice suddenly rang out from behind. Sasha jumped, letting out a gasp. It wasn't until she got a better look at the person that she heaved a sigh.

I glanced over my shoulder at Eric. "What are you doing here?"

Eric's voice dropped. "I've got the latest gossip on Shane. Are you ladies interested?"noveldrama

Sasha and I leaned forward. "What is it?"

"It's just as you guessed: a lot of people have been offering loans to Shane," Eric whispered. He had proven himself to be such a work-oriented person that everyone believed him to be a highly capable and efficient employee.

However, they had conveniently forgotten his alter ego: the king of gossip. He would dig up any information on any topic he wished to know.

Having broken the news, he lifted his chin and waited for the ladies' response. Sasha was the first to ask, "And?"

Grinning, Eric said, "And he has no intention of paying them back! He told his debtors to ask his father for the money. Everyone thinks he and Mr. Winslow made up, and they're now harassing the old man to cough up the money!"