The Piersons always kept their eyes on the head of the family; so did so to look up to Zoren, while others, to know in advance if they needed to make a run for it. One thing Dean and Jonathan knew about Zoren was that he could sotis be very unpredictable.
However, Jonathan’s aning of that was entirely different from Dean’s, because what Jonathan ant by Zoren being unpredictable was when the latter interfered with Penelope Bennet’s case in their previous life. Zoren’s interest in it was unexpected; his ddling was sothing no one had ever predicted.
* * *
[Short Flashback]
"What did you say?" Seated in one of the corner offices of Pierson Corporations, Jonathan turned his swivel chair to face the person across from his desk.
The latter had his head low. "I’m sorry, sir. It took us so ti to notice that soone was already looking into this case."
SLAM!
The veins in Jonathan’s forehead protruded as his eyes sharpened. "You took ti? — They had uncovered things that were supposed to be buried!" He slamd his fist on the desk again, grinding his teeth angrily.
Despite that, the other man could only keep his head low. What was he supposed to say now? Jonathan was clearly upset, and no one could bla him.
Jonathan breathed out, looking away as he tried to think of sothing else. "Who?" he asked, slowly looking back at the man. "Who is giving Atlas Bennet tips about his sister’s case?"
"..." The man didn’t answer imdiately, knowing the answer wouldn’t fix the situation. However, he had no choice, as Jonathan was drilling a hole in his head with his gaze. "It’s your uncle, sir. It’s Zoren Pierson."
"..." The look on Jonathan’s face stiffened as, for a mont, his entire world stopped. "Who?"
"It’s Zoren Pierson, sir," the man repeated. "He started an investigation so ti ago and has been sending tips to Atlas Bennet."
Jonathan balled his hand into a tight fist on the surface of the desk, his shoulder trembling. His eyes burned angrily, like a demon ready to bring forth the inferno on Earth.
"Why is he... why did he start looking into it?" he asked through gritted teeth. "What did you do to get his attention?"
The man didn’t respond because that question didn’t make sense. All of their operations were executed perfectly and professionally. This shouldn’t have alerted anyone. After all, even if Atlas Bennet started looking into it — in case he changed his mind and revisited his sister’s case — he wouldn’t have found anything.
It wasn’t as if Atlas hadn’t done that. Atlas had already conducted his investigation when his sister was arrested, but all it gave him was more evidence that his sister wasn’t innocent. It should have been like that, even if it was anyone else... except the most powerful man in Anteca.
"Hah..." Jonathan’s face twisted sadistically, his eyes burning. "Get out of here and make sure he doesn’t dig any deeper. Penelope Bennet is already behind bars, waiting for her execution. Don’t let them... or him stop it."
"Yes, sir."
The man nodded and left. Jonathan, on the other hand, huffed, his hand resting on the edge of the desk.
"Zoren Pierson..." he breathed out. "... Just what is wrong with you?"
A part of him wanted to believe this would be dealt with. But alas, another part of him told him it wouldn’t be easy. What matter had Zoren touched that was ever easy for anyone?
And Jonathan was right, because things only started to spiral from then until the end.
* * *
[PRESENT TI]
"They know, huh?" Jonathan let out a shallow laugh, snapping his eyes at everyone. ’I kept thinking why or how Atlas knew about , but it seems it wasn’t Penny who had run her mouth.’
It was Zoren.
"Whatever family drama you boys have, I’m out of it," Charles quickly drew the line, showing his disinterest in this twist to the Pierson family. "My family already has a lot of that, so deal with this later."
"Of course," Zoren smiled and nodded, while Jonathan didn’t say a word.
"Is that okay to say, though?" Hugo wondered aloud, though he said it quietly. "It might affect this guy’s gaplay."
Hugo then pointed in Dean’s direction, making everyone turn their attention to him. The first thing they noticed was the slight shock on Dean’s face, leading everyone to assu he didn’t know about Jonathan. What they didn’t realize was that Dean was more surprised that Zoren would share this information with the Bennets.
Until now, Dean had been leaning toward the explanation that Penny and Zoren’s relationship was contractual. And all of this? It was just for show. It could also be that Penny’s family didn’t know about Zoren and Penny’s real relationship and that this couple had to act in front of her family.
"He’s going to be fine," Zoren reassured as if he could read Dean’s thoughts. "He’s not the type to get distracted by such a small thing."
Charles narrowed his eyes at Dean. "Hey, are you still with us?"
"Huh?" Dean snapped his eyes open, only to see everyone looking back at him. "Uh... of course. I’m just surprised with a lot of questions... that’s all."
He then forced a smile and cast Jonathan a look. "No wonder I didn’t like you from the get-go."
"See? He’s fine." Zoren bead, making the Bennet brothers’ faces twitch. "We’ll do better in the next round."
"You’re quite the optimist, huh?" Atlas blurted out. "I didn’t expect that."
Hugo, on the other hand, laughed out loud, slapping Zoren’s back with a loud thud. "First Brother, how co you don’t know he’s very optimistic? Don’t tell you don’t also know he’s quite fickle at tis and changes his mind every two seconds?"
"..." Atlas deadpanned, looking at his brother with a plain expression. He just watched his brother laugh so energetically while slapping Zoren’s back. "Don’t slap his back so much. He might—"
Atlas halted because Zoren suddenly coughed. "... Cough."
"Oh, sorry!" Hugo laughed while Zoren coughed a little more before clearing his throat.
"Don’t get too distracted," Charles clapped, looking at all of them. "There are two more quarters. Although I’m sure they don’t have anything up their sleeves anymore, don’t lower your guard. Fight them and show respect to your enemy. You got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good!"
Charles nodded in satisfaction, and soon enough, the ga for the third quarter started.
BUZZ!
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