Chapter 362 - 362: James's Announcement

*** At White Kingdom Grande Hotel ***

There were more or less two hundred attendees for tonight's party. Everyone started to enjoy the food while the live band was performing in the venue.

James Arison approached the higher-ups and directors of Arison's Holding. He thanked them for their presence. 

On the other hand, Selena stayed with Erick's team, ensuring that they wouldn't feel out of place in this party since almost everyone there was employees of Arison's Holdings and Arison Family's close friends.

Diana Mondragon also decided to make her presence known to Erick and his team so she walked towards their table. She was aware that Selena's attention was fixed on Erick. 

She could see the competition here and she was not the kind of girl who would back down on a challenge. 

'Let's see who is gonna win tonight.' Diana thought to herself, her eyes lingered on Erick's handsome face.

Selena was wearing a white off-shoulder mermaid dress while Diana was wearing a black halter neck formal long dress with a high slit on the left side. 

Selena's look gave off a vibe of woman's innocence and angelic nature while Diana's showed sophistication, fierce and alluring vibe. Both women were breathtakingly beautiful in their own unique ways.

"Hi, everyone. I'm glad to see you all here." Diana greeted them with a bright smile the moment she reached their table. 

Her eyes moved from Bryan to June and stopped on Erick.

June: "Miss Diana!"

Bryan: "Lady Diana. You are here too"

Erick: "Good evening, Miss Mondragon."

Selena darted her gaze between Diana and Erick's team.

"Do you know each other?" Selena asked them curiously.

"Yes, they are the officers-in-charge for my father's case." Diana promptly answered her.

"Yeah, that's true." June also supported her statement.

Selena just nodded, "Alright, I think I don't need to introduce you to everyone since you already knew each other."

"Yeah. By the way, can I join you here? I am not familiar with others but I am glad to see familiar faces here." Diana said while smiling sweetly at Erick.

"Oh sure, you can. Please join us. We are happy to have you here." Selena said, inviting her to sit down on the available chair beside her.

That's the moment James also went to their table. He finished greeting all the directors and higher-ups of their company.

"How are you doing, guys? Do you like the food here as well as the live music?" He asked them. James was now standing in front of them.

Allen: "The food here tastes delicious!"

Carl: "Yeah, don't worry about us, Mr. Arison. We are enjoying your welcome party."

June: "Thank you, Lady Selena, for inviting us all here."

Selena let out a soft giggle. "No need to be so polite officers. I am really glad that you make it here despite your busy schedules. Besides, I consider you as my friends. You helped us a lot in giving my father the justice he deserves."

Everyone fell silent after hearing her last words including James. He had not told her yet about their father's illness. 

Meanwhile, others stole a glance at Erick, observing his reaction. But he maintained his usual and neutral expression.

"By the way, brother… I would like you to meet Ms. Diana Mondragon. She's the daughter of Senator Alex Mondragon, our father's close friend before." 

"Miss Diana, I know you already heard a lot about my brother, James Arison." Selena introduced James and Diana to each other.

"Oh, he's still single," she added while smiling mischievously.

Others also laughed at Selena's last remarks. They knew what she was trying to do here. She was match-making the two of them, Diana and James.

James ignored his sister's teasing. He extended his arm to Diana, offering her a handshake as he said, "It's my pleasure to meet a lovely maiden like you, Miss Diana."

Diana flashed her charming smile as she peered at James. She had to admit that James Arison was also a very good-looking man oozing with s.e.x appeal. Now, she would like to taste these two handsome species, Erick and James.

She gladly accepted his hand while staring at him intently. 

"The pleasure is also mine," Diana said while gently squeezing James's hand.

After a while, the music stopped and they heard the voice of tonight's emcee. She greeted everyone and said some introductory words before calling some important guests to the stage in order to leave messages for James.

The first one who gave the message was James's mother. She told everyone how much she missed her son and how happy she was right now since he finally returned after working abroad for the past two years.

Everyone felt touched after hearing Mrs. Arison's emotional message to her son James. Soon, Selena was also called out followed by some higher-ups and directors of their company.

In the last part, the host called James to give his message to all the guests who were present tonight. James went to the mini stage. The host gave the microphone to him.

"First of all, I would like to thank everyone for coming here tonight. I am really glad to know that you are happy to see me back. I thought no one would miss me." James said, trying to make some jokes.

Everyone burst out laughing because of his last sentence.

"My dear sister, Selena. I know you are the one who put so much effort into this party. I love you, sis. Sorry for giving you a hard time when I left the responsibility to you, working as the acting Chairman because of my absence. I promise I will make it up to you, dear sis."

Another wave of laughter reverberated inside the venue. Then James continued to speak up.

"My dear, I have two announcements to make. Please listen carefully."

When they heard that, everyone kept quiet. All eyes were on James, anticipating his announcement. Selena and his mother also had no idea about this announcement. They were also curious about it.

"I want to grab this opportunity to inform everyone that I am stepping down as the chairman of the Arison Holdings and Mining Company."

Everyone gasped in surprise. They couldn't believe it. The confusion and disbelief were visible to their faces.

"Brother, what are you saying?" Selena mumbled to herself. She didn't understand why he was doing this.

"I know all of you are shock by my statement. Don't worry, I will still be working and assisting my sister on managing the company. My absence helped her to assume the bigger role and I know she is now ready. This is the will of my late father, Jorge Arison. I am just honoring his last wish."

Now, the guests could understand James's decision. They nodded in agreement. They admired the relationship of the siblings. The elder brother was willing to step down for his sister.

Unlike other siblings of wealthy families who tried to fight each other for inheritance. Everyone applauded James. Then suddenly Spike climbed up the stage and whispered something to James.

A light flickered through James's eyes. Then he left the stage, walking towards the direction of the entrance door of the banquet hall. He was still holding the microphone in his hand.

They just watched him silently. After a while, the entrance door was opened and a woman in her long red satin plunge maxi dress greeted their sights. The words beautiful and gorgeous were not enough to describe the lady in a red dress.

All their eyes were still fixed on the lady when they heard James's voice once again.

"And for my second announcement, I would like you to meet my lovely fiancee, Aliyah Ross."