Chapter 1286: Bitter, brokenhearted man

To be honest, Penny had noticed that Atlas seemed to enjoy being at Pierson Corporation. Back when he was in Global Prime Logistics, he had no one to play with except Allen. As a result, Allen had not only been stressed out but also traumatized.

But at Pierson Corporation, there were plenty of people Atlas could vent to.

Shaking her head, she watched as Atlas retrieved something from the backseat of his car. She crossed her arms under her chest, unable to stop herself from glancing at Dean in the other car parked next to them.

Dean was just sitting there, looking at her, his eyes full of judgment.

At first, Penny tried to ignore it. But the longer she did, the more the vein in her forehead protruded. Her face began to twitch irritably, and when she couldn’t take it anymore, she marched up to his car and knocked on the front passenger window.

"Come on," she said in a confrontational tone. "If you want to fight, let’s do it. Don’t just sit there staring at me and making me read your mind with that face you’re making."

Dean barely glanced at her before looking away indifferently.

His dismissive action made her gasp.

"Did he just... roll his eyes at me?" she scoffed in disbelief. "What a jerk!"

"You were the jerk," Atlas remarked nonchalantly, his upper body still inside the backseat. "You gave him false hope, and now he’s just a bitter, brokenhearted man."

"When did I give him false hope?"

"Since that internship."

"But I didn’t even know he was going to be on the same team."

"Same thing."

"How is that the same thing?"

Atlas paused for a second before resuming his task. "Maybe he’s just delusional. All of Zoren’s cousins are, after all. I feel sorry for them, so you should try to understand them."

As Penny and Atlas casually exchanged their thoughts, Dean’s face twitched repeatedly. ’Did they think I can’t hear them?’ He looked at the siblings, who were casually discussing the Pierson Family as if they were some charity case that needed special treatment.

"Hey," he called, rolling down the passenger window. "I can hear you, and I’m not abnormal."

Penny and Atlas turned to him with the same deadpan expression.

"Who said we didn’t know you could hear us?" she spat back, rolling her eyes. "Go ahead and lock yourself in there. Maybe try suffocating and dying while you’re at it."

"Do you want me to run over you?"

"First Brother, see? He’s a violent man!" Penny quickly yelled, calling Atlas for backup. "Is he your subordinate? Give him a hundred tasks so he doesn’t see sunlight for a week!"

"He’s not my boss," Dean clicked his tongue, stepping out of the driver’s seat to look at them over the car’s hood. "Also, this isn’t Prime Group. Pierson Corporation doesn’t give people unnecessary tasks just to exercise power."

Atlas paused, arching a brow at Dean. "Uh-huh..."

Yet Dean remained shamelessly unfazed.

"Goodness, look at you," Dean hissed, eyeing Penny with clear judgment before shifting his gaze to Atlas. "If you’re done, just leave."

"You think I want to stay here with you?" she snapped before turning back to Atlas. His upper body was still inside the backseat, his feet sticking out. Deep lines formed between her brows as curiosity took over.

"First Brother, what are you...?" Penny trailed off as she approached, only to catch a glimpse of boxes of gifts and a bouquet inside the backseat. Before she could get a better look, Atlas straightened up and turned to her, blocking her view.

"It’s nothing," he said flatly. "Go away."

"But I definitely saw a bunch of gifts and flowers," she muttered innocently. "Did you buy them for Nina? I thought you said you hadn’t bought them anything yet."

"Because I haven’t," he replied before shutting the car door. "Stop being nosy."

"I’m not being nosy..." she pouted, though her curiosity was piqued.

"Are you two done?" Dean interrupted, reminding them of his presence. "If so, just leave already. I can’t concentrate."

"What do you need to concentrate on while sitting alone in your car?" she retorted, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Don’t tell me you’re..."

"Hallucinating?" Atlas guessed, making Penny’s face twitch.

’Seriously, First Brother?

Dean darted his eyes between the siblings, wondering how they even ended up here in the first place. More importantly, why the hell were they lingering in the parking lot?

"Never mind," he said, checking his wristwatch before snapping his eyes back at them. "If you see someone, don’t tell them I’m here. Even if you meet God along the way, don’t let Him know."

"Why would God care where you are when you belong in hell?" Penny muttered as Dean climbed back into the driver’s seat. "Weirdo."

Not dwelling on Dean—since, honestly, this was better than him poking his nose into her business—she turned back to Atlas.

"Let’s go?" she proposed.

Atlas nodded. "Okay."

With that, the two of them started walking toward the elevator to meet Zoren in his office. However, just as they took a step, Penny suddenly stopped.

Atlas halted when she clasped his arm. Furrowing his brows, he looked at her. "What?"

Before she could answer, Jonathan’s voice echoed through the parking lot.

Atlas arched a brow, about to search for Jonathan, but before he could, Penny suddenly pulled him back and shoved him inside Dean’s car.

Clack, clack—slam.

Dean, who had been sitting peacefully in the driver’s seat, jolted when the back door suddenly flew open. When he looked back, all he saw were Penny and Atlas tumbling inside awkwardly. Judging by Atlas’s face, he was just as shocked by the sudden turn of events.

"What in the—"

"Shh!" Penny hushed him, pressing a finger to her lips. After a second, she pointed toward the window, whispering, "We might not meet god along the way, but we’ll definitely run into the devil."

Dean followed her gaze and spotted Jonathan walking through the parking lot, talking on the phone with an unusually big smile on his face.