Chapter 596: His. New. Mother’s. Brother

It would have made more sense if the name Penny mentioned was someone Zoren knew. After all, no matter how big the Pierson family was, he knew them all. However, she not only mentioned an unknown person but one who wasn’t completely random.

After all, this name, Jonathan Pierson, was something Zoren had heard not long ago from someone else. He had heard it from Patricia. His only reply to Patricia at that time was, "There is no Jonathan Pierson in the Pierson family registry."

’Jonathan Pierson...’Zoren hummed, squinting his eyes. ’Jonathan Pierson. Jo—’

Zoren snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed a hand waving in front of his face. Turning to see the person, he quickly recognized Benjamin.

"Sir, are you okay?" Benjamin asked, worried. "Your pen broke."

Zoren glanced at his hand, realizing he had been gripping his pen too tightly until it broke. He furrowed his brows, and Benjamin did the same.

"Sir, is the training with Second Master Hugo help? I think you’re regaining your strength. Can you see me?" Benjamin asked, noting that Zoren, breaking a pen with one hand, showed improvement in his health. "How do I look?"

Zoren focused his gaze on Benjamin’s face. He leaned closer to check, able to see Benjamin’s facial structure much better than before. It was still blurry, but he could tell the man was smiling.

"You look..." Zoren trailed off as Benjamin held his breath. "... the same."

"Huh?" Benjamin frowned. "Sir, what does that mean?"

"I think my eyesight is getting better, but it’s still not enough." Zoren leaned back, noticing that the couch was empty. "Where’s Second Brother?"

"Ah? He stepped out when I came in here."

The lines on Zoren’s forehead deepened a little. ’I didn’t notice.’

"Sir, you’ve been a little distracted since this morning," said Benjamin. "Is there a problem?"

"No, there’s none. What are you bringing me?"

"These are the files Mr. Atlas Bennett sent. They arrived just now, and he said he needed to hear from you by the end of the day." After saying this, Benjamin frowned. "Sir, is Sir Atlas bossing you around? I don’t like the sound of it."

Zoren chuckled. "I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that. Atlas Bennett is an honest and direct man. Don’t misunderstand him."

"Okay." Benjamin lowered his head, handing the files over to Zoren on the desk. As soon as he finished, he watched his boss get to work but didn’t leave.

Noticing that Benjamin was idling in the office, Zoren arched a brow at him. "Is there another matter you want to discuss?"

"Sir, this might not be important, but why?" Benjamin quickly asked. "The night of the charity event, you denied your Thursday Girl!"

"Ahh..." Zoren rocked his head, realizing now that Benjamin hadn’t had the time to ask. How could Benjamin ask that question when Hugo was always around Zoren? Benjamin might be a busybody, but he was team Penny all the way.

Zoren smiled. "Her family is troublesome."

"Won’t that affect your relationship?"

"Doesn’t matter."

"Sir!" Benjamin exclaimed, making Zoren tilt his head a little. He moved closer to Zoren, almost in tears, after hearing what his boss had just said. "Sir, are you... forgetting your friendship with Patricia Miller?"

Benjamin’s question was framed to show his concern about his boss’s "friendship." His tone, however, revealed his relief and approval.

"I’m with Penelope now, am I not?" Zoren asked, but Benjamin looked confused.

"Huh?" Benjamin blinked. "Since when?"

"..." Zoren blinked at him, speechless. ’Just how behind was he?’

Looking back, Zoren realized he had been sending Benjamin away and keeping him busy. This guy, after all, would just linger around him if he had nothing else to do. Zoren didn’t want Benjamin to interrupt his time with his wife because he might forget why Benjamin was his assistant if he did. On top of that, Penny didn’t want to tell Benjamin about their relationship.

Zoren hadn’t realized he had kept Benjamin so busy that the man was clueless.

’Now, I pity him,’he thought, feeling that Benjamin was missing out on a lot of things. ’Did Penny really forget to tell him about it?’

"Sir, what’s going on?" Benjamin asked cluelessly. "Are you and Miss Penelope together now?!"

"..." Zoren didn’t answer, unsure if his wife had simply forgotten to tell Benjamin or if she just wanted to prolong Benjamin’s suffering.

"Sir—"

"I’m back..." Hugo trailed off as soon as he stepped into the office, darting his eyes between Zoren and Benjamin behind the desk. As usual, Benjamin was standing beside Zoren while the latter sat in his seat like a statue.

Both Zoren and Benjamin looked back at Hugo. When Hugo blinked, he jumped in surprise when Benjamin suddenly stepped in front of him.

"Second Master Hugo, please tell me the truth!" Benjamin yelled eagerly. "Are my boss and Miss Penelope together now?"

"Huh?" Hugo tilted his head to the side, confused. It took him a while to remember that Zoren and Penny hadn’t revealed their relationship to Benjamin.

"Haha..." Hugo let out an awkward laugh, and instead of answering Benjamin, he cast Zoren a look. "Say, is this guy your kid? It feels like I’m a man about to break the news to your kid that I’m his new uncle."

Hugo slowly set his eyes on Benjamin, emphasizing his next words just because he felt sorry for the little guy. "His. New. Mother’s. Brother."

*****

[Skyline Plaza]

Penny groaned, opening her eyes and finding herself asleep at her desk. The first thing that came to her mind was, ’This is the first time in a long time I’ve fallen asleep at my desk.’

Habits.

Slowly, Penny pulled herself away from the desk and sat up. She glanced at where she woke up, recognizing it was Zoren’s desk in his study. Pleased that she didn’t wake up anywhere else, she glanced at the monitor and the papers on the desk.

"Did I just do a background check on myself?" she chuckled, wincing as she felt a slight headache. Holding her head, Penny glanced at the monitor, only to notice a sticky note on the side. "Huh?"

Putting her hand down, Penny checked the sticky note. Her expression slowly changed from confusion to a darker one.

"Jonathan," she whispered as realization dawned on her. "Right. That’s Nina’s husband’s name in my previous life."

But at the same time, Penny was also aware of the list of names from the Pierson family. "I think... I’m starting to remember him."