The Unveiled Rose

"I can't, mom," Steven said, his voice laced with pain.

Seeing that Chloe couldn't offer any viable solutions, he added, "You should go. I need some time to think."

Chloe frowned and scolded him, "You're a grown man! How can you be so heartbroken over a woman?"

Steven grew more frustrated. "I love her. I don't even know when it started. But the day I realized it, I knew I couldn't live without her."

Chloe sighed. "If you put in enough effort, you'll forget her eventually."

Steven wasn't in the mood to hear more criticism. "I have to work, Mom."

It was an obvious attempt to dismiss her. Chloe, understanding her son's unwillingness to listen, grumbled, "Everything I'm saying is for your own good."

"That's fine. I just need to clear my head now," Steven replied firmly.

After dishing out a few more sharp remarks about his inability to move on, Chloe finally left, albeit reluctantly.

Alone in his office, Steven leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

For the first time, he realized something odd about his circle of friends. When he liked Annalise, no one ever encouraged him to pursue her. But when it came to Jessica, everyone seemed to subtly imply she was the one for him. Still, this wasn't the time to dwell on such things.

While working, an idea suddenly struck him-a way to see Annalise more often.

Her comic was just starting to gain traction, and his company had a department focused on intellectual property development.

He could have his team purchase the rights to her comic and then arrange for her to work directly with him. That would give him a legitimate reason to meet with her regularly.

Her comic wasn't hugely popular yet, so it likely wasn't worth much. For a relatively small investment-less than what Jessica's jewelry cost-he could secure consistent opportunities to see Annalise under the guise of a collaboration. The thought of it brought a smile to his face as he called his secretary, Darren Cole.

When Darren arrived, Steven wasted no time and instructed, "I want you to have our intellectual property team buy the rights to Annalise's comic."

Darren was well aware that Steven was trying to create an opportunity to interact with Annalise, but he didn't intervene. "I'll pass it on to the intellectual property team."

Steven felt a wave of relief. "If only I'd thought of this earlier."

Then perhaps, he wouldn't have endured so much pain for so long.

...

While resting in my office, my phone rang with an unfamiliar number. Frowning, I answered, "Hello?"

"Hello, I'm from the Intellectual Property Department at Pelham Group," the caller explained. "We're interested in purchasing the rights to your comic. Would you be open to discussing this?" Pelham Group was Steven's company.

I had no desire to engage with Steven any further. Hence, I answered, "My comic rights are already with Huxham Group. If there's anything to discuss, you can contact them directly." The caller seemed taken aback. I didn't give them a chance to respond and hung up.novelbin

Walking over to Zane, I shared the details of the call with him.

Comic intellectual property rights covered a lot-TV and film adaptations, gaming rights and more. But they didn't specify whether they were interested in just one or all of them. Honestly, it didn't feel like they were serious about buying the rights.

Zane didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked. "What do you think?"

"If it were an ordinary company wanting to purchase my comic rights, I might consider it," I replied truthfully. "But since the CEO is Steven, I can't help but question his real motive behind this offer."