ASHER
Keith is having a field day while I enquire about Skylar’s whereabout. I can’t believe she’s already managed to evade shortly after claiming to be visiting Keith.
"What do you an you have nothing to say to ?"
He throws a casual glance around his property, lets his eyes settle on a bleating sheep. "Exactly what you heard, Ash Rollins. I 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 . "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."
I 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 I 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. I shouldn’t have co here." I throw on my sunglasses and give the farm a onceover. "Skylar probably needs so ti to adjust to her new reality. That’s all this is. She’ll reach out to when she’s ready."
On my way back to the office, Ashal’s call cos in.
"Did you find her?"
"I 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 , but at least she manages to take her drugs and her als."
"That’s a relief." Ashley’s call beeps in. "I’ve got to go. See you at ho." I answer Ashley’s call right after dropping Ashal’s. "You guys can’t go a day without talking to , 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 . "Get here as fast as you can. I’ll call Ashton too..."
"No!" I counter him. "Leave that to ."
While driving down to the eting venue, I stifle the urge to curse. At this point, I certainly won’t be bragging when I say I do the best job at cleaning my brothers’ sses than all of them combined. What the fuck was Ashton thinking by not running his little ’fix up’ by ? I could have seen this coming given how poorly he handled it.
"Shit!" I 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 tifra. I can’t let this happen. I can’t let that vengeful cop blast my world all over again.
***
Ashton is characteristically late to the eting and even after he arrives, he appears distracted, constantly checking his phone.
"I’m going to need everyone to turn off their damn cellphones." I blurt out, eyes tailored at Ashton. "This is too serious to be sidetracked by anything else." As a show of leadership, I turn my phone off and toss it on the table between us. Then I arch my brow towards my brothers, expecting no different from them.
Sighing, Ashton drops his right after Ashley. Then, I turn to Iman. For the duration of this eting, 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?" I lean back in my seat with impatient eyes. "You heard a rumor at a bar? You don’t even recall the na or face of the person who said it?" I glance at Ashley. "That’s the story you bought?"
"I 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 , "I told you this was a waste of my bloody ti. Everything this guy says is a goddamn lie."
My eyes zero in on Iman. "I’m going to ask you one last ti. Was this half-baked gossip a ruse to get an audience with us or do you have so actual proof to back up your claim?"
Iman shifts uncomfortably in his chair. "Look, I did hear it, okay?"
"Where?"
"It was at the Oak bar..."
"You stupid liar!" I 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.
"Do you have any idea what I was pulled from to co sit here and listen to your pathetic lies?" When he reels a hand backward, I catch it and bring it down. We don’t want attention. "He lied!"
"I know. I’ll deal with his bullshit, but not here." I assure Ashton.
"I know what I heard."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ashton snaps at Iman, a little angrier than usual. Quietly, I pull Iman aside and lock eyes with him.
"This isn’t the last ti you’ll hear from . Till then, watch yourself." I 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, I fully intend to investigate it before it cos back to bite us in the ass. I return to my brothers.
"Is everything okay?" Though the question is ant for Ashton, Ashley swoops in to answer just as Ashton prepares to reply.
"Not exactly. Father is firing from my own company and handing it over to God knows who to manage."
I am a little too late to drop my hands from Ashton’s shoulders. Realizing I 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 trust with managing MY company is because according to him, I 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 an?" 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 I am the one who’s being tossed out of my company for having one ltdown?"
"One ltdown?" Ashton scoffs derisively. "Let simplify 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 I checked, MY company is still closing deals and hitting our goals even while I was dealing with personal stuff. Can you say the sa, Ashley?" At his silence, Ashton adds, "That’s what I thought."
"ENOUGH, you two." I 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."
I 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, I 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 ti there’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 , if you prove incompetent for the role you’re handling, I’ll gladly support whatever decision father makes. In the anti, crush this beef like brothers and be on your way."
They apologize to each other.
"I’ll keep an eye out for Sky. Let know if you guys hear anything." Ashley says while leaving. Ashton nods at and follows suit. I watch them leave before taking a call.
"Did you find her?"
"Not yet, sir."
I stifle the urge to curse. Skylar has always been good at hiding. I can’t bla my best guys for being outwitted by a girl who has spent the better part of her life living in the shadows. I end the call and let out a deep sigh.
She was really pissed at for enquiring about our grandfather and father. Don’t I have a right to know after she had stalled for days? I 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. Strapping to a chair and beating to a pulp like you’re accustod to would have gotten you all the answers you need much faster."
She was very volatile and I had to take a step back and let her cool off. Little did I know she was going to disappear on .
"Where the hell are you, Skylar?" I mumble under my breath.
***
I spend the rest of the day at work. Even when I indulge in etings with father and Josh, he makes no ntion of hiring a manager for Ashley’s company. I decide to give it a rest. I’m sure if he truly plans to make that move, he’d involve .
At the close of work, I rap on his door, hoping to catch him alone but unfortunately, he has guests in his office.
"Oh, Asher, co right in." He gestures at with a big smile on his face. "Denzel, this is my son, Asher. You must have heard about it." The model posed Denzel with shiny caral skin stretches out a hand to . Hesitantly, I shake the man’s hand, uncomfortable with the fact that Josh is rather aware of Denzel but I am not.
"Denzel is the new manager for our clothing brand. He has an intimidating resu and already shared so great ideas on how to revamp the company...."
My hands instantly drop. "What? Did Ashley ask for one?" I pretend not to be privy of his earlier threat to my brother.
"I already inford 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 ? You already hired soone without asking ?"
Josh gets on his feet. "Look, Asher..."
"Down boy, I won’t tell you again. Stay in your lane." I reply through gritted teeth. Josh takes father’s subtle cue and plunks back down on his seat. "Denzel, please excuse my father and I. We have so clarifications to make."
Uncomfortable, Denzel leaves us. As soon as the door clicks shut, I turn to father. "So, is that it? The second my numbers waver, you’ll brand incompetent, hold secret etings and replace in 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 beca THE brand. His designs and his charm are the reason people camp outside our stores 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 we are having a rough season."
"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."
I glance at Josh. "You don’t seem to have a problem playing that role damn well when it cos 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, I unlock my car but before I can go, I feel a shadow lurking.
"You better co out or I’ll have the security make a show of capturing you."
Slowly, Iman appears with his hands above his head. "It’s just ."
I roll my eyes. "You? What the fuck are you doing here?" While I survey the area for onlookers, he backs away into a blind spot of the closest cara. I walk up to him. "Wow. You must have a knack for getting on my last nerve."
"No, I promise, there’s a good reason for risking my neck to co before you. I’m only here because I knew you’d be mad if I went to any of your brothers with the information I have. Trust , it’ll make your night." His roguish grin is back on his face.
"If this is a complete waste of my ti..."
"It’s not, trust ."
"I will never trust you." But I am intrigued at how excited he is to share it with . "Why ?"
"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 ?"
His smile disappears. "You have to promise so financial stability first. I want a monthly payout of five thousand bucks and in return, I’ll do whatever you want. When you hear what I have to say, you might even pay more."
His smile fades when he sees that my frown only deepens.
"Ok, we can discuss those details later. I’ll get to the point. I got an interesting call an hour ago. It ca from a local clinic. I rushed over because I couldn’t believe what I had heard on the phone."
"Stop beating around the bush and get to the point, Iman!" I warn him.
"It was Demi’s call. She asked to co get her from the clinic but that’s the least shocking part. I thought she was playing pranks. When I got there, she had a bandage over her head and the nurse inford that Demi passed out and accidentally hit her head on a slab of stone. I think she’s lost a good chunk of her mories, as much as five to six years back because she acted like we were still dating. She even let ...kiss her cheek."
"What?"
"I don’t think she’s pretending. I took full advantage and kissed her on the lips briefly just to check but she didn’t push away. I couldn’t wait to tell you so I left her with Anna.
"Anna knows?"
"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 jumpstart Demi’s mories by reminding her of everything that’s happened in the last few years but nothing rang a bell in Demi’s head. The poor girl still thinks Anna works at the Blue Cove." He laughs. "Do you know what this ans? If Demi sohow suffered amnesia, we’ve got a second chance to rewrite our stories..."
The rest of his words get lost on . I zone out. Demi lost her mories? Could this be true?
Anna’s call cos in just then.
"Asher?" She sounds like she’s been crying. "I need you."
"Iman told . I’m on my way."
"Hurry, please."
"Don’t call anyone else, ok? Trust ."
She pauses. "Not even Ashton? Maybe he can..."
"No one else, Anna. I’ll be with you shortly." I hang up. "Get in and take to that damn clinic." I order Iman. "I need to see this for myself." On our way there, I can’t stop thinking of a million ways this could go if Demi’s condition is real. I am particularly curious about one thing: What exactly does she not rember?
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