"I was going to bring you the evidence when Carlisle called me. He said if I told you Shane had already apologized to Sasha and that she had explicitly forgiven him, he''d continue investing in my business," Dous exined.


    Zane snorted and spared no details when he told Dous how Shane had shown up at the restaurant with his girlfriend, osted Sasha, and had given her trouble.


    Dous was furious. "If I hadn''t called you, I would have blindly agreed to Carlisle''s request! I would have unwittingly epted Carlisle''s investment at my daughter''s expense! How preposterous!"


    Zane knew Dous was upset about Sasha''s predicament. However, he couldn''t risk Dous being swayed by Carlisle''s offer, so he said, "Even if you''d agreed to do as he asked, he would still pester you in theing weeks. You''re better off turning him down and nipping things in the bud.""


    "Oh, don''t you worry, Mr. Huxham!" Dous promised solemnly without hesitation, "I will not stand for my daughter getting bullied like this! I''ll call you after I sort out this mess."


    Zane suggested, "Come to the office once you''ve handled the matter."


    "Yes, of course," Dous replied.


    After hanging up, Dous grew belligerent and called Carlisle. He even recorded the phone conversation just to gather evidence. "What''s the matter with you and your family? Your son went and found himself a girlfriend after Sasha rejected him, and look what she did! "She told him Sasha was picking on her, and Shane believed her without question!"


    Just recounting what Shane did made him wonder if the young man was out of his mind.


    "He even marched up to my


    daughter and demanded that she apologize to his little girlfriend!


    Sasha has been working so hard et


    that she barely hangs out with her friends anymore, and now, she has to put up with your kid''s nonsense!


    "All Mr. Huxham did wase to Sasha''s defense. How dare you use business investments as leverage against me to force Sasha into forgiving Shane?"


    Dous was so incredulous he could have spat through the phone. "Don''t you see how ridiculous your behavior is?"


    "No, I don''t," Carlisle replied


    pointedly. With the Westons relying on the Winslows for their livelihood, he did not see why he should treat Dous with respect or see him as an equal. "I won''t make youpromise if you''re so against it, but do prepare yourself for when we pull our investments."


    love


    He was outright ckmailing Dous, not that thetter was scared. "Go ahead and pull your investments, then! I''d sooner go broke than let my daughter suffer."


    Carlisle chuckled. "How honorable of


    you! In that case, I''ll give you what you want. Keep whatever returns you owe us from our initial investments. Without my family''s money, I reckon your cash flow would take a hit... Let''s see who''ll


    help you then!"


    He believed Dous was only throwing a fit now and that he would find a way to manipte him into giving in.


    Dous snapped, "My cash flow is none of your concern!" He hung up after that and let out an angry grunt.


    Carlisle acted as if Shane were the victim and ought to be shielded from the consequences of his behavior, but what about Sasha? She was the one who had been osted and insulted. Did she not deserve justice?