The psychiatrist didn''t respond to Steven right away. Instead, he asked, "Are you willing to spend money on Annalise right now?"


    That question caught Steven off guard. He paused, really thinking about what the psychiatrist had just asked. Spend money on Annalise? How much?


    The psychiatrist went on. "You said you''d be pretty upset if she were with someone else. So, would that bother you more than Jessica getting married?" That hit Steven hard. He suddenly realized he''d never even considered these questions before.


    "Once you figure out the answers to the questions I asked, you''ll have to decide if you really want Annalise back because you love her or if it''s just that you can''t stand the thought of her moving on without you.


    "Or maybe you just miss how easy she made things for you. But to you, her work is worth no more than a nanny''s pay, so that''s all you''re willing to offer.


    "You''re not ready to give her anything more than that. Once you have your answer, you won''t need me to tell you what your feelings for Annalise really are." "Thank you," Steven replied.


    He left the hospital and headed back to his office, closing the door behind him. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing into the distance.


    After talking to the psychiatrist, he was certain he didn''t have feelings for Jessica. But what about Annalise? How did he really feel about her? Steven was lost, and his thoughts were all over the ce.


    ...


    After lunch, I headed back to my office and checked over the recent progress.


    Theic''s domestic print run hadn''t been released yet, but sales were already through the roof. How many more copies could we sell once they were fully printed, bound,


    and shipped?


    en


    I flopped onto the couch, thinking it over. Zane had said we hit this level of sess with almost no promotion. What if we ramped up our marketing next month?


    Besides, theic was set to


    .n


    adaptation would officially anime


    airing With Zane''s drive, there was no doubt he''d boost the publicity.


    Thinking about it, I grabbed my phone to check my bank bnce. It was over a million.


    We made that much with just a little promotionst month. Now that we''d built even more buzz this month, could the profits go even higher?


    When Eric brought it up at the


    restaurant earlier, I was too stunned


    to take it in. But now that I''d calmed down and crunched the numbers, could see my earnings were


    definitely growing month by month, with plenty of room to keep rising.


    I pursed my lip and looked over at Zane, who was busy at his desk. I had to admit that he was a great boss.


    He was smart and forward-thinking but never greedy. Whenever thepany did well, he was more than happy to share the rewards with his team.


    I couldn''t help but smile, then I looked down and got back to drawing.


    Zane walked over. "Got a minute to talk about how the newic''sing along?"


    I nced up at him. "I''ve been working on it every day. The storyline has been adapted, so things are moving along quicker."


    I slid myptop over to him and opened the romanceic folder.