Rise Of The Disgraced Heir

As soon as Armand was taken from the meeting room, the room went silent. 

No one was sure what to do or say next. The CEO was still there with his assistant and some bodyguards.

"I want you all to take the rest of the day off." Emilio Reyes announced.

Everyone in the room remained silent as they simply nodded, acknowledging what he had said.

"I know you all have questions you are too afraid to ask." Emilio Reyes said with a sigh as he walked over to the head of the table, where Armand's seat was.

He looked at it and sat down, showing the employees that he was there to stay to talk to them. 

Despite this gesture of his, everyone was too afraid to speak up or ask a question. Ian knew that if Jake were to say something it would looked planned and unauthentic.

There was an eerie silence that now took over the whole room as Ian could sense how nervous the members of the sales department were as their CEO sat before them.

Deciding to take the lead, Ian spoke up.

"What did Armand do?" Ian asked, pretending to be unaware of what was happening. 

He watched as Emilio Reyes' lips curled into a smile. It seemed the CEO was glad that he had decided to break the ice and ask a question.

"According to what we have found, Armand and another colleague of yours, Mike, have been targeting certain employees, taking their clients, and taking money from those clients." Emilio Reyes informed them. 

"It happened to me, sir." One employee suddenly said, speaking out.

"The Reyes Family apologies for what you had to suffer in Armand's and Mike's hands. I have also been made aware that Mike has been claiming to be my apprentice. I would like to tell all of you that that is a lie." Emilio Reyes told the employees, causing them to whisper among themselves.

When Emilio Reyes announced that Mike was involved in the matter, Ian  already knew that the other employees already had guessed that Mike was lying about being the CEO's apprentice.

But still, they chose to remain silent in case they were wrong. 

"I have three apprentices, and none of them is named Mike." The CEO added, surprising everyone including Ian and Camilla. This was news to even them.

"The first one is my own son. I am grooming him to take over someday and he needs to have the right tools and the right perception of reality to be able to run the Reyes Group." Emilio Reyes explained.

Ian was surprised that the CEO was even giving an explanation. He didn't have to, he was the CEO and this was his personal business. It made Ian admire him even more.

"The second and third apprentices are people that will be working closely with my son, they will be his Marco." He announced.

Ian felt as Camilla suddenly grabbed his arm and gripped it. He knew she was just as shocked at the CEO's announcement as he was and yet neither of them were allowed to react.

The crowd once more erupted in conversation, this time with the employees becoming braver to speak in front of the CEO.

"They've been chosen." Ian heard Fred tell Ash. "I can't believe they've been chosen."

"What do you mean?' Ian couldn't help but ask.

"The CEO has been looking for people to be his son's assistants for a long time now, everyone in the Reyes Group knew they were gathering names and applicants. People submitted relatives, friends, people they knew were capable, and yet no one ever got accepted." Fred explained.

"No one, until now." Ash told them with a wink. She of course knew that those two assistants were Ian and Camilla. 

"Whoever they are, they will be the luckiest people in the country." Fred replied. "Learning from Assistant Marco is already a big deal, but learning from the CEO himself? That's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"I'm sure they are amazing at their work." A member of the team, who's name Ian had forgotten, added.

Ian turned to see that Emilio Reyes had raised his hand, telling everyone to be quiet.

"I understand you are all eager to find out who they are, but for the meantime, we will not announce it." He explained as he looked at the crowd in the room.

When his eyes landed on Camilla and Ian, he gave them a very slight nod, one that you would miss if you didn't know what was going on.

"As for the future of the Sales Department of Krisanta Land, I will be replacing Armand, but we still need to look into the candidates." Emilio Reyes announced.

"For those who had fallen victim to his and Mike's schemes, we will be compensating you for your losses. Here at the Reyes Group, we never want people to suffer. We want everyone to experience fair treatment and fair pay. It pains me that you have lost so many opportunities because of Armand." He explained.

Ian looked around and saw that a lot of people were smiling at the news, and yet there were others that seemed nervous as if they were waiting for something.

"To those that helped Armand and Mike or were involved with their work in stealing and deceiving, you will face the consequences of your actions." The CEO informed everyone. "We will be launching a full investigation on the matter, so I hope everyone will cooperate."

The members of the sales department nodded and said yes, making the CEO smile.

"You may all go home now." He announced as he got up and left the room.

As soon as the doors closed behind the CEO and his companions, the room erupted in chatter. Everyone had something to say and theories to discuss.

"We should go." Camilla said as he tugged on Ian's sleeve. "If we don't beat the crowd, we will be discovered." She added.

Ian nodded his head at her as they both left the room.

They weren't surprised to see Seth waiting outside the meeting room for them with their bags in his hands.

"Let's go, we need to talk." Seth said in a serious tone as he gave them their bags and turned towards the elevator.