NovelGoldChapter 196: Chapter 196
ASHER
Keith is having a field day while | enquire about Skylar’s whereabout. | can’t believe she’s already managed to
evadeshortly after claiming to be visiting Keith.
"What do you mean you have nothing to say to me?"
He throws a casual glance around his property, lets his eyes settle on a bleating sheep. "Exactly what you heard,
Ash Rollins. | think you should be on your way. Your presence is irritating my sheep." He enjoys a glib look. "Why
on earth would you not know where your only sister is, by the way? It's only been what, a couple of weeks and
she’s already sick of all four of you? He clucks his tongue at me. "I knew it wouldn't be long before she saw you
guys for who you truly are, get back her senses and return where she belongs."
| grit my teeth to rein in the punch at the tip of my clenched fists. How did Ashton put up with this clown for so
long?
"You claim to be the best big brother yet she keeps shutting you out. From what | see, you're no more than a
stand-in big brother." That part claws at his pride if the veins jutting out of his temples are any indication.
"You're right. | shouldn't have chere." | throw on my sunglasses and give the farm a onceover. "Skylar
probably needs stto adjust to her new reality. That's all this is. She’ll reach out towhen she’s ready."
On my way back to the office, Ashal’s call comes in.
"Did you find her?"
"| told you to sit this one out. I'll handle it. You've got shit to deal with yourself. Focus on that." Silence hums
between us. It's been weeks and the topic still feels uncomfortable to broach. "How is she?"
"She still hasn't said a word to me, but at least she manages to take her drugs and her meals."
"That's a relief." Ashley’s call beeps in. "I've got to go. See you at home." | answer Ashley's call right after
dropping Ashal’s. "You guys can’t go a day without talking to me, can you?"
"We've got a problem." He replies in a clipped, cold tone that dries up my humor. Chills run down my spine when
he explains everything to me. "Get here as fast as you can. I'll call Ashton too..."
"No!" | counter him. "Leave that to me."
While driving down to the meeting venue, | stifle the urge to curse. At this point, | certainly won't be bragging
when | say | do the best job at cleaning my brothers’ messes than all of them combined. What the fuck was
Ashton thinking by not running his little ‘fix up’ by me? | could have seen this coming given how poorly he
handled it.
"shit!" | finally curse, slamming both hands on my steering wheel. This is the last thing my family needs right
now, after the whole debacle with our birthday party.
Sure, we won hearts again but a scandal like this will topple everything we've struggled to restore. Our company
might not survive a second hit in such a short timeframe. | can’t let this happen. | can’t let that vengeful cop
blast my world all over again.
ork
Ashton is characteristically late to the meeting and even after he arrives, he appears distracted, constantly
checking his phone.
"I'm going to need everyone to turn off their damn cellphones." | blurt out, eyes tailored at Ashton. "This is too
serious to be sidetracked by anything else." As a show of leadership, | turn my phone off and toss it on the table
between us. Then | arch my brow towards my brothers, expecting no different from them.
Sighing, Ashton drops his right after Ashley. Then, | turn to Iman. For the duration of this meeting, I'll try not to
lash out at him for showing his face in front of my family again after my clear warning.
"Tell us everything you know."
Clearing his throat, he goes ahead to explain how he heard the rumor from the grapevine while out drinking
himself to stupor in a local bar.
"That's it?" | lean back in my seat with impatient eyes. "You heard a rumor at a bar? You don’t even recall the
nor face of the person who said it?" | glance at Ashley. "That's the story you bought?"
"| thought it was worth investigating." Ashley replies.
"I left no crumbs." Ashton adds defensively, staring daggers at Iman. "There’s no amount of digging that would
point to any of us as a suspect in the cop’s brother's death. The evidence is either inexistent or it was
fabricated." Then at me, "I told you this was a waste of my bloody time. Everything this guy says is a goddamn
lie."
My eyes zero in on Iman. "I'm going to ask you one last time. Was this half-baked gossip a ruse to get an
audience with us or do you have sactual proof to back up your claim?"
Iman shifts uncomfortably in his chair. "Look, | did hear it, okay?"
"Where?"
"It was at the Oak bar..."
"You stupid liar!" | snap, leaning forward in my seat. "You just said this convo happened at Bottle Haven Bar." He
begins to stutter as Ashton rises and grabs him by the collar of his shirt.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Do you have any idea what | was pulled from to csit here and listen to your pathetic lies?" When he reels a
hand backward, | catch it and bring it down. We don’t want attention. "He lied!"
"I know. I'll deal with his bullshit, but not here." | assure Ashton.
"I know what I heard."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ashton snaps at Iman, a little angrier than usual. Quietly, | pull Iman aside and lock eyes
with him.
"This isn’t the last tyou'll hear from me. Till then, watch yourself." | shove him towards the exit of the lounge
and return to my brothers. Iman might be lying about the cop or he might not. Either way, | fully intend to
investigate it before it comes back to bite us in the ass. | return to my brothers.
"Is everything okay?" Though the question is meant for Ashton, Ashley swoops in to answer just as Ashton
prepares to reply.
"Not exactly. Father is firingfrom my own company and handing it over to God knows who to manage."
| am a little too late to drop my hands from Ashton’s shoulders. Realizing | hadn't directed the question at him
but Ashton, Ashley chuckles dryly, swirling his tonic in the glass.
"Oh, I'll be fine, thanks for not asking."
"What was that? Father's doing what?"
But the enthusiasm runs flat as he drains his glass, surges to his feet and jams both hands in his pockets. "You
know, it’s quite ironic that father’s reason for not being able to trustwith managing MY company is because
according to him, | lack the ability to rein in my emotions." Giving Ashton a quick, sweeping look, he chuckles
again. "Yet he still has a job."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Ashton brays angrily.
"You lose your shit over nothing and everything, especially Demi. You've taken wild decisions just because of her,
decisions that threatened to impact negatively on your family and the business yet | am the one who's being
tossed out of my company for having one meltdown?"
"One meltdown?" Ashton scoffs derisively. "Letsimplify things for you. It’s not about letting your emotions fly.
It's about making sure the company continues to thrive in spite of your feelings. Last | checked, MY company is
still closing deals and hitting our goals even while | was dealing with personal stuff. Can you say the same,
Ashley?" At his silence, Ashton adds, "That's what | thought."
"ENOUGH, you two." | range myself between their heated stares. "I understand everyone is a little on edge but
fighting is the last thing we need right now. Ashley, I'll speak with father. I'm certain he’s bluffing. He knows what
an outrage it'll cause if you're removed from the company. You're not just the face of the brand; you ARE the
brand. My guess is he made an empty threat to snap you out of your depression. Rather than sulking and taking
petty shots at Ashton, you might want to sit up and prove to him that you still got it. Ashton’s right, your
numbers aren't looking good and it’s a cause for concern."
| turn to Ashton. "As for you, you can’t take all the credit for how stable your company has been. We both know
Gris is your best hire. If you didn’t have him making you look good, | bet you won't be so smug about your
numbers either. My advice? The business should never be allowed to suffer no matter what you're dealing with.
Plus, you really need to get your emotions in check, Ashton. Every tthere's trouble in paradise, everyone
around you can tell. That's not a good look."
He dips his eyes to the floor.
"Get back to work, both of you. I'll personally be overseeing your progress from now on and trust me, if you
prove incompetent for the role you're handling, I'll gladly support whatever decision father makes. In the
meantime, crush this beef like brothers and be on your way."
They apologize to each other.
"I'll keep an eye out for Sky. Letknow if you guys hear anything." Ashley says while leaving. Ashton nods at
"Did you find her?"
"Not yet, sir."
| stifle the urge to curse. Skylar has always been good at hiding. | can’t blmy best guys for being outwitted
by a girl who has spent the better part of her life living in the shadows. | end the call and let out a deep sigh.
She was really pissed atfor enquiring about our grandfather and father. Don’t | have a right to know after
she had stalled for days? | have a ton of questions and her answers will largely influence my next plan of action.
"I knew it. That's all you really care about." She had blurted out accusatorily. "You shouldn't have bothered with
the caring brother act. Strappingto a chair and beatingto a pulp like you're accustomed to would have
gotten you all the answers you need much faster."
She was very volatile and | had to take a step back and let her cool off. Little did | know she was going to
disappear on me.
"Where the hell are you, Skylar?" | mumble under my breath.
ork
| spend the rest of the day at work. Even when | indulge in meetings with father and Josh, he makes no mention
of hiring a manager for Ashley’s company. | decide to give it a rest. I'm sure if he truly plans to make that move,
he’d involve me.
At the close of work, | rap on his door, hoping to catch him alone but unfortunately, he has guests in his office.
"Oh, Asher, cright in." He gestures atwith a big smile on his face. "Denzel, this is my son, Asher. You
must have heard about it." The model posed Denzel with shiny caramel skin stretches out a hand to me.
Hesitantly, | shake the man’s hand, uncomfortable with the fact that Josh is rather aware of Denzel but | am not.
"Denzel is the new manager for our clothing brand. He has an intimidating resand already shared some
great ideas on how to revamp the company...."
My hands instantly drop. "What? Did Ashley ask for one?" | pretend not to be privy of his earlier threat to my
brother.
"| already informed Ashley. He'll be taking a back seat for now. Thanks to him, Denzel has a lot of work to do to
get the company running again."
"I thought we agreed not to make decisions about my brothers’ companies without me? You already hired
someone without asking me?"
Josh gets on his feet. "Look, Asher..."
"Down boy, | won't tell you again. Stay in your lane." | reply through gritted teeth. Josh takes father’s subtle cue
and plunks back down on his seat. "Denzel, please excuse my father and |. We have sclarifications to
make."
Uncomfortable, Denzel leaves us. As soon as the door clicks shut, | turn to father. "So, is that it? The second my
numbers waver, you'll brandincompetent, hold secret meetings and replacein the blink of an eye?"
"Of course not, Asher..."
"Then what the hell is this? How could you do such a thing to Ashley after everything
)
he's done for that company? Before
Ashley, it was just a regular clothing
store. Ashley becTHE brand. His
designs and his charm are the, m
reason RECRle @pboutside our
storks for a chance to be first in line
’
to purchase our new releases. It's not
just about you, father. Each and every
one of us have given our sweat and
blood to the companies we were
entrusted with and it is callous of you
to rip that from us simply because
: [1
we are having a rough season." The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
"But Ashley’s not having a rough season, is he? He's completely lost focus..."
"You still have no right to take him out of the picture! That's my point. He's going through stuff. Give him a
break. This phase will pass but pushing him to the sidelines is the worst thing you could do. You're not just his
boss; you are his father first. Start acting like it."
| glance at Josh. "You don’t seem to have a problem playing that role damn well when it comes to Josh, do you?"
Ignoring his calls, I walk away, hoping he'd be so riddled with guilt he'll forget Denzel.
At the parking lot, | unlock my car but before | can go, | feel a shadow lurking.
"You better cout or I'll have the security make a show of capturing you."
Slowly, Iman appears with his hands above his head. "It’s just me."
I roll my eyes. "You? What the fuck are you doing here?" While | survey the area for onlookers, he backs away
into a blind spot of the closest camera. | walk up to him. "Wow. You must have a knack for getting on my last
nerve."
"No, | promise, there's a good reason forrisking my neck to cbefore you. I'm only here because | knew
you'd be mad if | went to any of your brothers with the information | have. Trust me, it'll make your night." His
roguish grin is back on his face.
"If this is a complete waste of my time..."
"It’s not, trust me."
"I will never trust you." But | am intrigued at how excited he is to share it with me. "Why me?"
"Because apparently you call the shots in the group. This info is best heard by the captain of the ship. That way,
you can steer things however you want."
"Enough blabbing. What the hell do you have for me?"
His smile disappears. "You have to promisesfinancial stability first. | want a monthly payout of five
thousand bucks and in return, I'll do whatever you want. When you hear what | have to say, you might even pay
His smile fades when he sees that my frown only deepens.
"Ok, we can discuss those details later. I'll get to the point. | got an interesting call an hour ago. It cfrom a
local clinic. | rushed over because | couldn't believe what | had heard on the phone."
"Stop beating around the bush and get to the point, Iman!" | warn him.
I" 9
It was Demi’s call. She askedto
cget her from the clinic but
f g
that's the least shocking part. |
thought she was pla 9 Pranks
When | gpihere; Ww da bandage
oVet her head and the nurse informed
accidentally hit her head on a slab of
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stone. | think she’s lost a good chunk
of her memories, as much as five to
six years back because she acted like
we were still dating. She even let
q " q
me...kiss her cheek." The content is
on novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
"What?"
"I don’t think she’s pretending. | took full advantage and kissed her on the lips briefly just to check but she didn’t
pushaway. | couldn't wait to tell you so | left her with Anna.
"Anna knows?"
I" :
Yeah. Demi called her shortly after.
When she arrived, she refused to
believe everything at first. Then after
it dawned on her, she tried to mn
vs Troi O
jumpstart Denis m ies by
h . ,
GANG er of everything that's
happened in the last few years but
q q 0
nothing rang a bell in Demi's head.
The poor girl still thinks Anna works
[1 1
at the Blue Cove." He laughs. "Do you
know what this means? If Demi
: )
somehow suffered amnesia, we've
got a second chance to rewrite our
q " ]
stories..." The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
The rest of his words get lost on me. | zone out. Demi lost her memories? Could this be true?
Anna’s call comes in just then.
"Asher?" She sounds like she’s been crying. "I need you."
"Iman told me. I'm on my way."
"Hurry, please."
"Don’t call anyone else, ok? Trust me."
She pauses. "Not even Ashton? Maybe he can..."
"No one else, Anna. I'll be with you shortly." | hang up. "Get in and taketo that damn clinic." | order Iman. "I
need to see this for myself." On our way there, | can’t stop thinking of a million ways this could go if Demi’s
condition is real. | am particularly curious about one thing: What exactly does she not remember?
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