<h4>Chapter 196: Chapter 196</h4>


    ASHER


    Keith is having a field day while I enquire about Skr’s whereabout. I can’t believe she’s already managed to evade me shortly after iming to be visiting Keith.


    "What do you mean you have nothing to say to me?"


    He throws a casual nce 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 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."


    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 im 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 ws at his pride if the veins jutting out of his temples are any indication.


    "You’re right. I shouldn’t havee here." I throw on my sunsses and give the farm a onceover. "Skr probably needs some time to adjust to her new reality. That’s all this is. She’ll reach out to me when she’s ready."


    On my way back to the office, Ashal’s calles 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 ufortable 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." I 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 exins everything to me. "Get here as fast as you can. I’ll call Ashton too..."


    "No!" I counter him. "Leave that to me."


    While driving down to the meeting 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’ messes than all of thembined. What the fuck was Ashton thinking by not running his little ’fix up’ by me? I could have seen thising given how poorly he handled it.


    "Shit!" I finally curse, mming both hands on my steering wheel. This is thest 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. Ourpany might not survive a second hit in such a short timeframe. I can’t let this happen. I can’t let that vengeful cop st my world all over again.


    ***


    Ashton is characteristicallyte 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." 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 meeting, I’ll try not tosh 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 exin 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 name or face of the person who said it?" I nce 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 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 onest time. Was this half-baked gossip a ruse to get an audience with us or do you have some actual proof to back up your im?"


    Iman shifts ufortably 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 cor of his shirt.


    "Do you have any idea what I was pulled from toe 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 thest time you’ll hear from me. 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 ites back to bite us in the ass. I 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 firing me from my ownpany and handing it over to God knows who to manage."


    <fnd614> Content originallyes from find(?)ovel</fnd614>


    I am a little toote 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 ss.


    "Oh, I’ll be fine, thanks for not asking."


    "What was that? Father’s doing what?"


    But the enthusiasm runs t as he drains his ss, 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 me with managing MYpany is because ording to him, Ick the ability to rein in my emotions." Giving Ashton a quick, sweeping look, he chuckles again. "Yet <i>he</i> 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 <i>I</i> am the one who’s being tossed out of mypany for having one meltdown?"


    "One meltdown?" Ashton scoffs derisively. "Let me simplify things for you. It’s not about letting your emotions fly. It’s about making sure thepany continues to thrive in spite of your feelings. Last I checked, MYpany is still closing deals and hitting our goals even while I was dealing with personal stuff. Can you say the same, 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 thest 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 thepany. 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 yourpany 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 time 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 me, if you prove ipetent for the role you’re handling, I’ll dly 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. Let me know if you guys hear anything." Ashley says while leaving. Ashton nods at me and follows suit. I watch them leave before taking a call.


    "Did you find her?"


    "Not yet, sir."


    I stifle the urge to curse. Skr has always been good at hiding. I can’t me 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 me 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 willrgely influence my next n of action.


    "I knew it. That’s all you really care about." She had blurted out usatorily. "You shouldn’t have bothered with the <i>caring brother</i> act. Strapping me to a chair and beating me to a pulp like you’re ustomed to would have gotten you all the answers you need much faster."


    She was very vtile and I had to take a step back and let her cool off. Little did I know she was going to disappear on me.


    "Where the hell are you, Skr?" I mumble under my breath.


    ***


    I spend the rest of the day at work. Even when I indulge in meetings with father and Josh, he makes no mention of hiring a manager for Ashley’spany. I decide to give it a rest. I’m sure if he truly ns to make that move, he’d involve me.


    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,e right in." He gestures at me 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 caramel skin stretches out a hand to me. Hesitantly, I shake the man’s hand, ufortable 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 resume and already shared some great ideas on how to revamp thepany...."


    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 informed Ashley. He’ll be taking a back seat for now. Thanks to him, Denzel has a lot of work to do to get thepany running again."


    "I thought we agreed not to make decisions about my brothers’panies without me? You already hired someone without asking me?"


    Josh gets on his feet. "Look, Asher..."


    "Down boy, I won’t tell you again. Stay in yourne." 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 some rifications to make."


    Ufortable, 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 me ipetent, hold secret meetings and rece ME 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 <i>everything</i> he’s done for thatpany? Before Ashley, it was just a regr clothing store. Ashley became 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 thepanies 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’spletely 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 nce at Josh. "You don’t seem to have a problem ying that role damn well when ites 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 bettere 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 me."


    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 camera. I walk up to him. "Wow. You must have a knack for getting on myst nerve."


    "No, I promise, there’s a good reason for me risking my neck toe 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 me, it’ll make your night." His roguish grin is back on his face.


    "If this is aplete waste of my time..."


    "It’s not, trust me."


    "I will never trust you." But I 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 bbing. What the hell do you have for me?"


    His smile disappears. "You have to promise me some 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 me more."


    His smile fades when he sees that my frown only deepens.


    "Ok, we can discuss those detailster. I’ll get to the point. I got an interesting call an hour ago. It came 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 me toe get her from the clinic but that’s the least shocking part. I thought she was ying pranks. When I got there, she had a bandage over her head and the nurse informed me that Demi passed out and identally hit her head on a b of stone. I 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 me...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 me 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 memories by reminding her of everything that’s happened in thest few years but nothing rang a bell in Demi’s head. The poor girl still thinks Anna works at the Blue Cove." Heughs. "Do you know what this means? If Demi somehow suffered amnesia, we’ve got a second chance to rewrite our stories..."


    The rest of his words get lost on me. I zone out. Demi lost her memories? Could this be true?


    Anna’s calles 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." I hang up. "Get in and take me 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 particrly curious about one thing: What exactly does she <i>not</i> remember?


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