Chapter 55 - 55

As Ian drove up to the entrance of the Reyes Mansion once more, Ian noticed the line of luxury cars and their security vans that were being inspected by the Reyes family's security team.

Ian expected no less from them. He knew that even among the rich, many wanted to harm the members of the Reyes Family. They wouldn't hesitate to help those that had ill intentions against the Reyeses.

Due to the thorough inspection, it took a while for Ian to finally make it to the gate.

As Ian rolled up and lowered his window the guard saluted him as he recognized the car.

"You can go on through sir." The guard said. He knew that Ian was one of the assistants, and among the staff of the Reyes family, they ranked the highest.

"No, you need to inspect the car, it's only fair. Plus people will be suspicious." Ian pointed out.

The guard at the gate looked to his supervisor next to him.

The higher ranked guard simply nodded and instructed for his men to conduct a thorough inspection.

Of course they found nothing, Ian would never harm the Reyes family and the car had come from inside already.

"It's all clear sir." The guard told Ian with a cheery smile. "And just so you know, we don't usually inspect your car."

"You should, you never know." Ian said with a shrug.

"Very well sir, we will." The supervisor told Ian as he saluted the younger man.

Ian was surprised at how seriously they had taken his recommendation, he didn't think that they would do as he asked immediately.

After thanking the guards, Ian rolled up his window and drove off.

Since there were a lot of guests, there was once more a line just to drop off passengers. There might have been only twenty families invited, but each family seemed to have brought three cars worth of relatives along.

Ian couldn't blame them, even among the richest families in the capital, the opportunity to step into the Reyes Mansion was rare.

The Reyeses rarely had events here, if they had a party or anything that required them to invite guests, they would either have it at Maharlika Hotel or the newly renovated Constellations Resort.

After another long wait, Ian finally made it to the entrance of the mansion.

A valet quickly came up next to him and took his keys.

It seemed that all of the employees of the Reyes Mansion already knew who he was, because the valet greeted him as Assistant Ian.

Ian thanked the man and made his way inside the mansion.

He wanted to laugh at how silly this was, he had just passed through those doors less than an hour ago and now here he was again.

"Mr. Lim." A butler greeted. "This way sir." The man directed as he walked next to Ian, matching his pace.

They walked down the hallway of portraits that Ian and Camilla had gone through earlier.

It was only now that Ian had realized that the door to Marco's office was not visible unless you were looking for it.

And this time around, it seemed like a plant had been placed directly in front of it, to obscure it from view even further.

At the end of the hall, they entered a huge entertaining space, much like the ballroom of a hotel, but this one was far more elegant. There were expensive paintings hanging on the walls, and a gold and crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

Ian couldn't help but look around and marvel at the opulence around him as the butler guided him to another line once more.

"What is this line for?" Ian whispered to the butler. He was sure that the butler knew who he was and that the butler would not hesitate to answer Ian's question.

"Each family will have time to talk to members of the Reyes Group." The butler whispered. "Marco and Camilla are informing them of their schedule. In the past this was on a first come, first serve basis. But this year, it'll be a little bit different."

Ian confused about the last line, but he nodded and acknowledged what the butler had said.

After a few minutes it was his turn.

Ian resisted his urge to smile, laugh, or tease his co-workers as Camilla pretended to look at a list.

"Ian Lim." Ian sad as he realized that he needed to give his name.

"Ah, Mr. Lim, we weren't expecting you to come." Marco said in a loud and intimidating voice. "It isn't everyday that someone ignores an invitation from the CEO of the Reyes Group. We thought your family decided to snub the Reyeses."

Ian was shocked at Marco's acting ability, he even got scared for a little bit before finally realizing that it was all an act and that he had a role to play.

"With all due respect sir, our invite got lost for some reason." Ian said in a humble tone. "The Reyeses and the Lims go way back, my family would never ignore the Reyeses."

"Very well." Marco said with a nod. "When is his schedule?" Marco asked Camilla.

"The Lims are last on the list." Camilla said.

"Very well, we will call for you when it's your turn, for the meantime, enjoy the party." Marco said as he gestured for Ian to proceed.

Ian thanked him and walked on. He knew that the people behind him were already gossiping about the Lims snubbing the Reyeses.

He was sure that by the night was over, that rumor would have evolved and there would be ten different versions of his conversation with Marco.

But those rumors didn't matter to Ian.

They didn't matter in the past and they would matter a lot less now.

These people had no idea that he was there to hear their gossip.

"Lim!" A man called out as Ian walked to the side of the room, it was what he normally did since they were so often ignored by the rich.

"Jake." Ian quietly responded as Jake made his way to Ian's side.

"Don't worry, I know." Jake said as he flashed Ian an knowing smile.

"Won't your father scold you for hanging out with me?" Ian asked. "I don't exactly make for a good image."

"It's fine." Jake said with a laugh. "Dad knows that the key to getting a project is not getting me mad."

"You're crazy." Ian said as he rolled his eyes at Jake.

"Let's get some food, I'm starving." Jake said as he dragged Ian to the other end of the room, to the buffet table.

"I'm full, no thanks." Ian said as he shook his head.

"Really, he's full?" Ian heard a woman whisper to her companion.

"Last I heard the Lims had become so poor that they can't even afford to eat three times a day. He should eat as much as he can." Her companion whispered back.

Ian shook his head and sighed. He knew he would never be able to escape these rumors.

"Speaking of being poor, did you hear, Mark lost their fortune on a piece of property he bought for his mistress." The first woman whispered to her companion.

Ian couldn't help but smile as they continued to talk, now this was the gossip he needed.

"Which Mark?" The second woman asked. "Mark is a very common name, be specific." She scolded her friend.

"Mark Miranda." The woman said in a voice that was a little bit too loud, making a few guests turn towards their direction.

"Is that all you are going to eat?" Jake asked Ian.

"Wait, I'm still picking." Ian hissed as he tried to listen in on the conversation of the two women.

"That's why he was so desperate to get an earlier slot." The first woman explained. "He needs a partnership with the Reyes Group or else the family will lose everything."

"Isn't this the third time this has happened?" Her friend asked.

"Yes, one more and he will lose control of the company and his younger brother takes over." The first woman said.

"If there is anything to take over." The second woman said with a laugh as they slowly walked away.

"Why were you gossiping?" Jake asked as he and Ian finally found a spot to stay at.

"I was just doing my job." Ian said with a grin as he slowly ate the food he had picked out.