Chapter 1097: who is left to look after the company?

A sixteen-hour flight was no joke. It was exhausting, even though the private plane offered the best comfort it could. Hence, when they landed at their destination, Penny was more than happy to travel just a little further and start the vacation.

But alas... the moment they reached the arrival area at the airport, a familiar person was waiting for them, holding up a huge banner from the reunion party.

"Thi—third brother?!" Penny gasped in horror, pointing at Slater, who was standing behind them. "What are you doing here?!"

Slater smirked charmingly, brushing his temple with the back of his hand as he said, "Of course I’m here—it’s the last week of my vacation. I might as well spend it on a lavish vacation like this. Though I’m surprised to see that you’re here too!"

Slater was gleaming, carrying the aura of a superstar. Penny, on the other hand, had her eyes wide open. While her brother shimmered, the air around her seemed dark.

Penny turned to Zoren, only to see him shrug. Seeing that her husband didn’t seem to know about it either, she shifted her attention to Atlas. It must be Atlas! But Atlas had his brows furrowed, looking at Slater.

’It’s not First Brother either?’she wondered, her eyes then moving to Hugo. ’I’m sure it’s Second Brother!’

"Slater, what are you doing here?" Hugo, who was unaware that his sister was already accusing him of something, asked Slater curiously. "And how come you know we’re headed here?"

Slater scoffed. "What are you talking about, Second Brother? I’m here because I’m on vacation! I didn’t even know you guys were here!"

"You’re saying that while holding Miss Penny’s banner from the reunion?" Allen blurted out, his face twitching when Slater’s breath suddenly hitched.

Slater quickly crumpled the huge banner with his arm and held it behind him. "What banner?"

Everyone was rendered speechless, wondering if Slater saw them as blind. Did he think just because he hid the banner, they would unsee it? Besides, he wasn’t even hiding it properly since they could still see it sticking out behind him!

"Miss Penny~!" Suddenly, they heard another familiar voice. When they shifted their eyes, there they saw Benjamin running to them behind Slater. His face was bright, and his eyes shone with excitement.

"Benjamin?" Penny mumbled, her brows knitting. Most of them were confused, except Zoren, who wasn’t pleased seeing his assistant—not one bit.

Benjamin grinned from ear to ear, standing beside Slater. However, just as he did, his brows rose, and he turned to Slater.

"What?!" Benjamin gasped in shock. "Third Brother?! What are you doing here as well?!"

"I should be the one asking, Ben," Zoren said under his breath. "What are you doing here?"

Benjamin flinched, feeling dread creep up his spine. He slowly turned his head toward his boss, whimpering the second he saw the shadow cast on Zoren’s face.

Scary!

Benjamin quickly hid behind Slater, as the latter was the closest shield he could find. Slater gasped, trying to shrug him off but to no avail. Benjamin clung to his back, knowing Zoren wouldn’t be able to attack him if Slater was in front of him.

Peeking his head out over Slater, Benjamin explained, "Sir, don’t be angry with me. I only came here because the Old Madam called for me at the Old Residence."

"Grandma?" Penny mumbled, her brows knitting even more.

"She said that the master and the young madam were going on a vacation with Sir Atlas and Sir Hugo. So, she gave me the earliest ticket and told me to tag along. It’s a free vacation trip, so I thought I should go."

The lines on everyone’s forehead deepened as they thought of Old Mrs. Pierson and her antics. Still, why would she ask Benjamin to come here with them? That didn’t make sense. Knowing Old Mrs. Pierson, Penny and Zoren knew that the Old Madam would rather have the two of them spend time alone, focusing on the promised quadruplets.

"Grandma also told you to come here?" Slater blurted out, earning everyone’s attention. He then looked back at Penny and his brothers. "Grandma also told me that you guys are going on vacation. She said you guys are heartless for leaving me behind. So, she told me to come as well."

"..." Penny was rendered speechless, on the verge of crying her heart out. ’It’s not like I invited First Brother and Second Brother on this vacation!’

Penny covered her mouth as she quietly wept, only to feel her husband’s hand on her back. Just like how he calmed her down, Zoren simply flashed her a subtle smile.

"They’re already here," he said quietly. "I still think it’ll be more fun to have more people."

’But honeymoons are only for two people!’was what Penny wanted to argue, but she was just too tired from the travel and the stress of spending the last sixteen hours stuck with her brothers. If not for Zoren, she would’ve used their parachute and gone on an entirely different adventure.

"Well, since it’s Grandma, there’s nothing we could do about it," Atlas said, while Hugo nodded in understanding.

Slater smirked. "Hehe. Grandma just knows that you guys will be bored without me. Good thing she adores you! Don’t forget to thank her later."

"Still, I didn’t expect you to be here before anyone else, Third Brother," Benjamin mumbled to Slater. "We could’ve had some coffee. I’m actually familiar with the town here, as I used to spend my summers here."

"Oh... really?"

As everyone was slightly accepting this setup since it was Old Mrs. Pierson’s arrangement, Allen darted his eyes at everyone.

"Wait a minute," he spoke, watching everyone look in his direction. He rubbed his chin mildly, his eyes specifically on Zoren, Atlas, and then Benjamin. "Sir, if Sir Atlas and Sir Zoren are here... and now, even Benjamin... who is left to look after the company?"

And then, all he heard was a stifling silence as both Atlas and Zoren bore blank expressions while looking back at him.

Allen panicked a little. ’Don’t tell me they didn’t think of that?! How is it possible that it didn’t cross their minds?!’