Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 232

ASHER

I can’t believe it. I left the message in the group chat at 8:12 a.m.

"Dinner with Dean. Tonight @8 p.m. The Oceania Restaurant. No excuses.

It’s almost 11am and still no acknowledgment from any of my brothers. I stare at the three gray check marks beneath their names like they’ve personally insulted me.

I lock my phone and drop it with a thud on the conference table just as Gregory Vale clears his throat from the head of the boardroom.

"...as I was saying, the youth expansion in South Danvarr is hemorrhaging investor confidence."

The boardroom smells faintly of polished wood and imported coffee. Sunlight filters through the glass walls, cutting across the long table where fifteen men and two women sit in tailored discipline. My father occupies the head seat, posture relaxed, hands folded as if he owns not just the company but the air inside the room.

Well, maybe he does. I lean back in my chair and tighten my jaw. It takes a lot of willpower trying not to glance at my phone again. I flip it and check. Still no replies even after the angry text I just sent them?

The faintest tremor of irritation runs through me. We agreed this was going to be a joint effort. If we’re going to confront Dean and untangle this mess of past and present, we promised we’d do it together. Now they’re acting like scatter-brained boys waiting to be summoned. To think none of them is busier than me yet I am replying messages. That’s crazy.

"Asher?"

I blink, then grit my teeth at the sight of Vale looking at me. Not just him, the entire table is looking in my direction. Did they hear the curse I muttered under my breath? Was I being loud?

Before I can answer, Josh’s voice drifts lazily across the table.

"I guess it’s true what they say; it takes a certain type of man not to be bored at a room like these where decisions that shape the world are made. Asher, sorry if we’re keeping you from lunch. I’ll sure you can’t wait to be out of here to be in time for Taco Tuesdays."

A few soft chuckles ripple around the table. Father shifts uncomfortably but doesn’t caution his son.

There it is. The slight arch of his left brow, the steeple of his hands. Was that a challenge? Was he seriously enjoying his son baiting me in front of the entire board?

I turn my head slowly toward Josh who is sitting three seats down from Father. His posture is terribly casual and his cufflinks are gleaming. He looks relaxed, in fact too relaxed for a man who —allegedly—has been siphoning money from this company.

His lips are curled up in a lopsided grin. If he wants me rattled, he wins. I know these games. He wants the board to see me as unhinged and too distracted to care about crucial matters. He’s trying to make them question my reputation as Asher Rollins, who is deserving of a seat at the table, and to see me as nothing but daddy’s spilt brat.

"Is that true, Asher? Are we boring you to death?"

I hold Josh’s gaze for a second longer, then turn back to Vale. "Absolutely not," I say evenly. "I was just...calculating."

I straighten in my seat and fold my hands over the table. "You’re right about the youth expansion. It’s bleeding investor confidence but pulling out now would look like...panic. My suggestion? We should restructure the narrative."

Vale arches a brow. "Go on."

"We shift branding from profit-driven to community-driven. Let’s highlight job creation metrics and push the apprenticeship program harder. We’ll redirect marketing funds from national to local digital campaigns. If the youth feel invested, their families will follow. We stabilize reputation before stabilizing revenue."

For an already silent, room, a different hush falls over it as everyone weighs the idea. The first nod comes from one of the senior board members.

"That... would mitigate public backlash."

Father’s fingers tap lightly on the table. "Interesting."

Josh’s smile fades to my satisfaction.

"And," I add calmly, "we tighten internal oversight while we’re at it. Increased transparency reassures investors. I’m talking quarterly internal audits. Clean books, clean image."

That lands harder than I intend. Josh’s jaw ticks. Father’s eyes flick to me briefly. I don’t care enough to know if it’s a warning or simply curiosity.

Vale nods. "Draft a proposal and we’ll look it over."

"I’ll have it by lunch, right after I get those tacos."

Everyone cackles, their heads thrown back. The energy shifts back in my favor.

Josh clears his throat. "Great suggestion, bro."

I look at him again. Of course, he knows just how to push my buttons.

"Thank you, Randall."

His bites down on his lip and glances over at father who is too distracted speaking in a hushed tone to Vale.

Across the table, Nessa moves quietly between chairs, passing out printed financial summaries and bottled water. She doesn’t look at me at first till she glides by my seat. Then she does. Just for a second, I find her expression unreadable. It’s almost feels controlled. She walks away as Josh’s eyes dart towards me.

The meeting drones on. My phone vibrates under my hand but now I’m too keen on the meeting to check it. When the session finally adjourns, chairs scrape softly against polished flooring. While some leave, others remain, whispering conspiratorially. Father remains seated, speaking with Vale and another member.

Josh stands and adjusts his jacket. While he heads for the refreshments, I follow Nessa as she slips out.

"Hey, can we talk?"

She pauses, clutching the remaining folders to her chest.

"Mr. Rollins, I—"

"Asher’s fine. Stop with the formality."

"That’s a bold thing for an ex-boyfriend to say to another man’s girl." Josh glides into view and lays a hand possessively on her waist. Bile tickles my throat when he turns Nessa toward him and presses his mouth to hers. What follows is not just a loud, rude kiss but a silent statement of claim.

Nessa stiffens before responding weakly. Her fingers push lightly at his chest.

"Josh," she whispers when he pulls back. "We broke up."

If a snake could grin, that’s what he looks like right now as his grin widens. "We had a fight."

"You cheated," she says quietly as some members of the board walked by us.

"Miscommunication," Josh corrects glibly, brushing her hair back from her face as though she belongs to him.

My jaw tightens. I know I am no saint but this fool just took the bar to hell. He glances at me deliberately to poke more fun at me.

"She just needs some TLC and we’ll be good. You can go now. There’s no space left for you anymore"

The implication hangs in the air. I don’t move. If I react, he wins. I meet Nessa’s eyes instead. She looks super uncomfortable around him, which doesn’t surprise me, but there’s more if I can believe her eyes. The fire in them from last time was gone. As father’s voice echoes from the door, I know it’s time to leave.

I turn without another word and walk back to my office.

***

My secretary knocks twenty minutes after I’ve settled back into work.

"You have a lunch engagement, Mr. Rollins. One o’clock. Miss Arabella Fontaine."

Of course. The date set up by Father. I rub my eyes briefly, trying to convince myself that I must have been drunk to have agreed to this. It’s the last thing I want to do right now.

"Have you sent the proposal to Vale’s office?"

"Yes sir—"

"That’ll be all. Send a bouquet of Miss Arabella’s favorite flowers with an apology note. Tell her my neurologist’s appointment ran long and we’ll reschedule." After the door shuts, I sigh deeply.

Arabella Fontaine is, objectively, breathtaking. Her Instagram feed is vivid in my mind. Beautiful silk dresses. Diamond studs. A laugh that floats lightly above the hum of chatter all around her. She’s intelligent too. She was educated in London, speaks about art investments and philanthropy with ease.

Under different circumstances, I’d enjoy a lunch with her, even a proper dinner. I probably would be too distracted by her gorgeous face to fall asleep during her explanation of sustainable architecture. My phone lights up with a message from Ashley.

Ashley: Can’t make it tonight. Crisis at the firm. Rain check.

My molars grind. That’s it? No apology beyond that. I guess he’s more decent than Ashton who still hasn’t replied. Only Ashal’s message sits there, stark and hopeful.

Ashal: I’ll be there.

I leave another message on the group chat.

If all four of us aren’t present, there’s no point. Dinner is canceled. We’ll reschedule when everyone grows up.

Hours after work ends, I drive toward Nessa’s apartment instead of heading home. I tell myself it’s about the evidence, not about Josh or the stupid kiss. Josh clenched jaw when I spoke about auditing accounts gave him away. If he’s truly embezzling funds, he has to be penalized for it. If he seriously put the company in dire risk of crumbling, then someone has to make sure that doesn’t happen.

That someone just happens to be me, as usual.

Nessa’s building is modest compared to the towers I frequent. I knock once and her door opens slowly. She freezes when she sees me.

"Asher."

"You said you had proof."

She blinks. "What?"

"The files? The blackmail? The falsified documents? I need whatever you’ve got"

Her face drains slightly. Her knuckles tighten around the door knob. "Asher, I’m so sorry... I made that up."

If she wasn’t avoiding my eyes and bite her lip, I’d probably have second guessed and believed the clumsy lie. She’s always had a tell when she told lies.

"That didn’t sound made up to me, Nessa."

"I was angry," she says quickly. "Josh cheated on me and I wanted to get back at him." Her hands tremble slightly against the doorframe.

"So, you risked a criminal accusation because you were angry?"

She looks away at the sound of footsteps echoing inside. "This isn’t a good time..."

Before she can land, Josh appears behind her wearing nothing but a robe. His chest hair gapes at me. He runs a hand through his damp hair with a smug expression on his face. I clench my fists and struggle to not wipe that smugness with one clean punch.

"Persistent, aren’t you?" he drawls. "She’s moved on, brother. She’s moved UP to the chairman’s favorite son. Why can’t you just accept that and let her be?"

His arm snakes around her waist again. "She’s my girl now and forever." Next to him, Nessa flinches. Josh kisses her temple. "Tell him, babe."

She swallows. "We’re... expecting."

The words hit harder than they should.

"Expecting?" I repeat flatly.

Josh beams. "You’re going to be an uncle."

I look at Nessa in shock and once again, she can’t meet my eyes. Disappointment settles somewhere cold inside me. I honestly thought she had a good head on her shoulders.

"Wow, I guess congratulations are in order," I say evenly.

Josh smirks. "Thank you. Remember her condition the next time you want to show up at her door at night."

As I turn to leave, he calls after me, "Don’t come sniffing around what’s mine."

Mine? I chuckle dryly. I appreciate the confidence but I don’t care much for Nessa’s choices. That’s her life but Josh is the last person with the prerogative to talk to me about boundaries. He crossed mine when he came between me and my father, then me and my company. Now, he’ll get what’s coming to him.

***

In the car, I take a deep breath.

Nessa is Pregnant with Josh’s baby? Was that the reason she changed her mind about exposing Josh? Or was he threatening her? I don’t buy into the lie that she came to me earlier because of revenge. I know her too well to fall for that lie.

The only explanation that makes sense is what her body language is telling me. Her fear in the boardroom wasn’t imagined and her certainty that day in my office wasn’t theatrical. She had conviction.

People don’t fabricate conviction that cleanly, unless they’re cornered.

If there’s even a fraction of truth in what she said...Rollins Group could implode. Father would never forgive weakness tied to his biological son.

By the time I pull into the driveway, a plan is already forming in my mind. I have to be smart and discreet about this. I need to run quiet audits and independent verification. I need trusted access to internal records Josh assumes no one reviews.

If he’s stealing, I’ll find it.

Father steps out of his study just as I enter. He ends a call with a clipped, "We’ll discuss it tomorrow." Then his eyes land on me immediately.

"You stood up Miss Fontaine."

"I apologized."

"With a damn bouquet of roses? Do you think that counts? She is an excellent match."

"I was swamped." I lie. Then a frown creases my brow. "Don’t get too riled up. I said I was going to go on a few dates and explore eligible women. I never promised to commit to anything serious."

He studies me with dim eyes. "You’ve been distracted lately, Asher"

The word scrapes against my nerves.

"Oh, have I?"

"At first, I thought it was childish when Josh indirectly hinted at it during the board meeting. I dismissed it at first but perhaps he has a point."

My blood heats up. "Josh, huh?"

"Don’t derail from the topic to pick a fight. You used to be so focused and driven. You never needed me to babysit you into making decisions that would ultimately benefit the company. Now, I literally have to coax you into everything."

"Interesting you mentioned that," I say. "Maybe I have indeed been distracted of late but if we’re going to apportion blames, you might as well start with yourself because if you paid closer attention to company records instead of my dates, you’d realize your focused biological son is so driven he has been pilfering money from the company."

Father’s expression hardens.

"Careful, Asher."

"I’m not done." I step closer. "Word is, he let something slip. A company secret big enough to sink RG deeper than any marriage of mine can salvage. Now he’s being blackmailed and he’s stealing from internal accounts to keep his blackmailer’s mouth shut. Does any of this really surprise you?"

Father’s jaw tightens imperceptibly. That’s when I realize it; he knows.

"What secret did you confide in your biological son that you kept away from the one you actually raised?" My eyes are narrowed in anger. My tone is low and deep. Every time I think I can’t be more disappointed in Brett, he finds a way to surprise me.

"There is no secret," he replies sharply. "And you will not spread such slander because you resent your brother."

"Resent?" I laugh once. "I resent incompetence, just like YOU taught me."

"You’re letting jealousy cloud your judgment."

"Jealousy? What could I possibly be jealous of? His impulsiveness? His recklessness?" I shake my head. "You’re living in denial, father. You know exactly how incompetent he is. You just refuse to admit it because your blood runs in his veins."

Father grabs my wrist as I turn to walk away.

"Incompetence doesn’t run in my blood. You are my son," he says fiercely. "I love all my sons equally. You’re rightful heir to Rollins Group because you’ve proved yourself."

I pull my hand free. The irony of his first statement is suffocating to me.

"I guess time will tell if I have a company to inherit after all."

The color drains from his face.

The look is something dangerously close to fear and somehow, it sends a sharp, twisted satisfaction through me.

I step back. "Good luck trusting Josh but get this; I’ll kill him with my bare hands if the rumors turn out to be true. I’d be damned if I let you, him or ANYONE burn down an empire my brothers and I have worked so hard to build."

His eyes widen at my cold threat. I turn and walk away before he can respond.