The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Zane never knew such weird people existed.

Dumbfounded, Zane said, "She is the one at fault. How can she have the audacity to slander Anna and me in the comics? And now, she wants me to release merchandise for her? Do I look like an easy target?"

Eric asked, "Should I reject Yvonne and tell her we can't do that right now?"

"When Jessica gets exposed later, her supporters who bought the merchandise will feel betrayed. If we release the merchandise, and if people ask for a refund... Wouldn't that mean we'll have to bear all the losses?" Zane said calmly. Eric said, "You're right. I'll let Yvonne know, then."

"Alright."

...

After Eric left Zane's office, he went to Yvonne, who had been waiting in the hallway.

Eric said, "Your comic has published too few chapters; there aren't many readers either. If we release merchandise now, the company might suffer losses."

Of course, Eric couldn't tell Yvonne what Zane actually said. Otherwise, Yvonne and Jessica would cause a scene at the company. As such, Eric tried to be less direct about it.

Without much thought, Yvonne asked, "But didn't Annalise's comic start selling merchandise not too long after publishing?"

Eric answered formally, "That is because even if she suffered losses, Mr. Huxham could support her. But what about you?"

That left Yvonne speechless.

Eric continued, saying, "Also, even though her comics were not statistically the best-performing, it was the most stable. Right now, Jessica's comic cannot measure up to hers. But of course, if you're willing to invest some money to support Jessica's comic... "The company can consider releasing some merchandise for her, too. What do you think?"

Yvonne considered it carefully. After analyzing Annalise's comic and merchandise, she noticed that the company invested a lot of money in them, but there wasn't much profit.

If Yvonne did as Eric suggested, Yvonne may end up losing all her savings.

As she didn't want to take that much

risk for Jessica, Yvonne said, "Forget

it, then It's not too late to release merchandise when the company thinks Jessica's work is performing well."

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Then, Yvonne hurriedly returned to her office in case Eric changed his mind. Eric chuckled and looked away.

While seated next to me, Zane held my hand and lightly caressed it. He said, "Your merchandise is selling pretty well. Because of that, many creators-in the comic community and other communities-are starting to sell merchandise, too." novelbin

Compared to kisses, Zane seemed to prefer holding hands lately. I thought it was an interesting change to see in him.

I said, "That's nice. We can encourage the readers to support official goods. That way, our merchandise would sell better, too." Zane asked, "But aren't you angry that Jessica is imitating you?"

Without much thought, I said, "As long as she doesn't come picking a fight with me for no reason, I don't care what she does."

Then, Zane put his other arm on my shoulder and said, "But I think she will definitely pick a fight with you later on.

"It may start with Jessica alone, but

when Yvonne sees the large profit,

she will be envious, too. I'm sure

Yvonne will pull some petty tricket

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just to get her hands on the resources for advertisement and merchandise.

"I can resolve the major issues for you, but I won't even know of the minor issues. It may cause you a lot of problems."

I could tell that Zane wanted me to be happier.

I patted Zane's hand in response and said, "Don't worry. I won't take it personally. After all, no matter what they do, it wouldn't affect my income."

After hearing that, Zane became more at ease. He said, "It's great you can think that way."

"Since you know Yvonne and Jessica's characters, why don't you fire them?" Sasha suddenly asked curiously.