Chapter 1287: Probably stuck in traffic

Penny, Atlas, and Dean instinctively lowered their heads, squeezing themselves into their seats. Dean even reclined the driver’s seat to hide, stretching his neck to peek over the window.

"..." Atlas opened his mouth, but at the same time, Penny’s palm covered it. Sliding his eyes to her, he saw Penny hiding behind the front passenger seat while peeking over it. When he shifted his eyes to Dean, the latter was doing the same thing as his sister.

Dean had left his window half an inch open, so they could hear Jonathan talking to someone on the phone.

The three of them quietly hid and eavesdropped for a moment, their ears growing twice their size.

"Ah, okay," Jonathan chuckled. "Alright then."

Jonathan kept his smile as he ended the call, but it faded a little when he looked at his phone. Shrugging, he climbed into his car, which was parked several slots across from Dean’s. He reached his car first and didn’t see anyone in Dean’s vehicle.

As Jonathan started driving, Dean glanced back at them.

"Get out," he breathed, adjusting his seat, only to recline it again when Atlas pulled the lever. "What the—"

Before Dean could say anything more, Atlas pulled his head down until Dean’s face was pressed into the reclined driver’s seat. At that moment, Jonathan’s car drove past the vehicle where they were hiding.

"Just saving you," Atlas said nonchalantly, releasing Dean.

Dean hissed and pulled the lever, inclining his seat back to its original position. "Get out, you two," he hissed, but Penny and Atlas didn’t move an inch. "Tch!"

Clicking his tongue, Dean glanced at the windshield, weighing his options. Should he follow Jonathan? If so, he had to do it now; otherwise, he’d lose him. But Penny and Atlas were somehow in his car, and knowing them, they would stall him.

At that moment, Dean made his decision.

Without saying another word, he revved up the engine and stepped on the pedal. "I told you to get out," was all he said as he maneuvered out of the parking space to follow Jonathan.

There was a reason Dean had been spending so much time in the parking lot these past few days. He had noticed that Jonathan left around this time every other day. Initially, he thought Jonathan was just grabbing lunch, but something didn’t sit right.

Dean’s intuition told him Jonathan was up to something. And for Dean, who was deeply passionate about the people he disliked, it was only natural to poke around in Jonathan’s business. Besides, Cassandra had stopped responding to Dean’s emails, and he had heard a rumor circulating in his social circle.

"Uh..." Atlas, who had moved away from Penny so they weren’t squeezing into the side, looked at the driver’s seat. "Is this what kidnapping is?"

Dean ignored him, while Penny shot her brother a look.

"First Brother, it’s not kidnapping if we’re not kids, right?" she lectured in a knowing tone. "I think it should be ’adultnapping.’"

"It’s abduction if you want to put a word on it—and that’s not what this is," Dean replied without looking at them. "I told you both to get out, but all you’ve given me is this idiotic look. Press charges later; I have something important to do right now."

"He’s rich," Penny commented, giving Atlas a knowing look. "If we’re going to settle, let’s think of a number now."

"But doesn’t that mean we’d also be paying ourselves?" Atlas returned flatly. "You’re Zoren’s wife, and I work at Pierson Corporation. He’s a product of nepotism."

"Right." Penny clicked her tongue as if she had just missed an opportunity to make quick cash.

Meanwhile, Dean’s brows twitched as he listened to the siblings in the backseat. ’WHY did they even get in his car?!’

"Damn it!" he breathed, quickly pulling over to the side while keeping his eyes on Jonathan’s car ahead of him. "Get out now!"

"Why?" Penny blinked innocently. "Weren’t you going to follow Jonathan?"

"We’re interested," Atlas nodded, his tone and expression unchanged. So much for asking if he was being abducted. "Keep driving."

Dean gasped in disbelief, looking back at the duo in the backseat. Penny and Atlas stared at him innocently, blinking without any resistance or reluctance. They genuinely wanted to tag along.

"Hah!" Dean scoffed, snapping his eyes back to where Jonathan’s car was. The second he did, he saw Jonathan make a left turn. ’Damn it!’

Despite his reluctance, Dean resumed driving, with Penny and Atlas still in the car. If he told anyone who he was with at that moment, he was sure they wouldn’t believe him. Penny was allergic to him, and Atlas was allergic to the world.

But this came first.

Jonathan couldn’t do anything significant in Pierson Corporation. It wasn’t easy, but with William backing Jonathan, any significant move could give him considerable power within the company. Dean would never let that happen. He couldn’t let Jonathan, who came out of nowhere, rise to significance in this family.

Never.

Dean would rather drink rat poison than let that happen.

---

[PIERSON CORPORATION]

Zoren worked quietly in his office, glancing at the time. Penny had told him she would pick him up, but it had been over an hour. Narrowing his eyes at the clock, his grip on his pen tightened for a moment.

"Traffic," he whispered, giving himself a reason for his wife’s delay. "It must be the traffic."

With that thought, Zoren refocused on his work, convincing himself that Penny would eventually arrive. If only traffic didn’t exist, she would have been here by now.

"If only I could buy a personal road for her," he muttered, sighing heavily before shaking his head.

Just then, Benjamin stepped into his office with a huge smile on his face. "Sir, is Miss Penny here yet?" he asked, his eyes already scanning the office excitedly. But then, Penny was nowhere in sight.

Zoren just sighed. "She’s probably stuck in traffic. Benjamin, if you could find a way to buy a road from here to her office, let me know. I’ll buy her one."

Little did he know, his wife, brother-in-law, and nephew were quite busy stalking someone—his "half-brother."

A situation no one would have expected.