Rise Of The Disgraced Heir

Ian was silently working in his office when his phone began to ring. He quickly gave it a glance and noticed that it was Jas, his girlfriend.

"Aren't you going to pick that up?" Seth asked as he leaned against the door frame of Ian's office.

"Nope." Ian said as he shook his head. "It's not important." 

"You looked really annoyed at the caller, and it won't stop buzzing since you ignored the call." Seth pointed out, making Ian sigh. 

"Don't you have work?" Ian asked Seth as he picked up the phone and checked the messages. He was sure that it was just Jas, asking him to pick up the phone.

"I do, but it's much more interesting up here." Seth said with a laugh. 

After learning about Seth's position in his family, Marco had decided to grant the young man access to the CEO's floor. 

In Marco's words, it was beneficial to them to have the future mafia boss around, plus he was more than happy to see that Ian and Camilla had made a friend.

"Who keeps messaging you?" Seth asked as he stepped into Ian's office and sat down on a chair. 

"My girlfriend." Ian said with a sigh as he scrolled through the messages.

Jas: Ian please pick up.

Jas: I need to explain some things, please call me.

Jas: Ian please, call me.

Jas: Ian, we need to talk about this. We can't just fight and ignore each other. We need to talk this through.

Jas: Please let me explain, I know you'll understand then.

Jas: Nothing happened between us, I'm just doing this to keep everyone happy.

Jas: Ian, I love you and I miss you.

"You have a girlfriend?" Seth asked in shock. "Like not Camilla?"

Ian wanted to laugh at Seth's question, did he assume that Ian would be dating his co-worker? He knew that the company frowned on that, why would he break it.

"Camilla and I are partners at work, she isn't my girlfriend." Ian said as he rolled his eyes.

Jas: I'm outside R Tower, come and meet me.

Ian sighed as he held up a hand, telling Seth to keep quiet.

He quickly tapped on the call button and placed the phone on his ear. 

"Ian!" Jas said in an excited tone. "Are you here? I'm outside the building, the guards won't let me in because I don't have an appointment and I'm not an employee."

"Jas, go home." Ian said in a sad tone. "You're wasting your time here. I have a lot of work to do, so I can't come and meet you."

"What about after work? I'm sure you have time after work, it's not like you work twenty four hours a day." Jas said in a desperate tone over the phone.

"Jas, I'm not in the mood for this. Please, just go home." Ian said with a sigh. "I will call you when I'm ready to talk."

"No, I am not leaving without us talking. I will stay here until you show your face, Ian Lim." Jas said in a stern tone.

Ian knew that she wasn't joking. She would willingly stay out in front of R Tower and wait for him. Jas was a very stubborn person that always found ways to get what she wanted.

"Give me a few minutes. I just need to settle a few things then I'll come down, alright?" He asked as he waited for Jas' answer.

"Yey, I'll be in the coffee shop across the street!" Jas responded in an excited tone. "See you in a bit. I love you." She said as she dropped the call.

Ian couldn't help but frown. He knew that he wasn't ready to talk to her just yet, but she was forcing his hand.

"Girl issues?" Seth asked.

"Yeah, it's a bit complicated. You don't need to listen if you don't want to." Ian pointed out as he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

"No, it's fine." Seth said. "I'm your friend, that's what friends do, I guess. I really didn't have a lot of friends growing up. They were all afraid of my dad."

Seth laughed and shook his head. Ian simply smiled at his friend, he knew what it was like for people to steer clear of you and to be fake around you.

When the Lims were rich everyone wanted to be Ian's friend, but when they became poor, they avoided him like a plague.

"So what's up?" Seth asked as he placed his elbows on the table and leaned in to listen.

"My relationship with my girlfriend is very unusual." Ian said with a grin. "Her family accepts that we are together, but it doesn't mean they are happy with her being with a poor boy."

"So they want her to find someone else or you get richer?" Seth asked. "Don't shoot me but that sounds like it jumped right out of some drama or novel." Seth said with a laugh.

"Seth, you seem like a fictional character." Ian said as he rolled his eyes at Seth. "Mafia head's son that refuses to join the family business?" 

"Well, fiction often draws from real life. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has tried to escape the fate dictated on them." Seth said with a shrug. 

"Anyway, so right now, she is dating someone and she decided not to tell me." Ian told Seth.

"Wait, shouldn't she at least break up with you? That's rude of her to just date while you are together. What if the dating turns into a real relationship, then she would be cheating." Seth said, appalled by Ian's situation.

"We've had this arrangement for a while now." Ian said with a sigh. "She said that she didn't want to break up with me because she loved me."

"Is that the truth? Or is that just what she is saying so you don't break up?" Seth asked.

"Honestly, I don't know." Ian told Seth.

"Do you still love her?" Seth asked.

Ian sighed but didn't answer, did he still love Jas?