Chapter 16

'I thought she graduated with a bachelor's degree, but why's she so incompetent?' Camilla complained about the receptionist, whose name she had already forgotten. 

However, she remembered her father's identity very well because that man borrowed two hundred thousand from her to pay for his brain tumor surgery and hadn't been able to pay the interest. 

It might sound sad because now the daughter had to work under her thumb while paying her father's debt slowly, but Camilla couldn't care less, 'A business is still a business. He came to me begging for money, so I gave him what he needed.'

Camilla Saenz was a notorious loan shark who preyed on people with gambling addictions and those in desperate need of medication and the like. 

She knew that most of them wouldn't be able to pay the interest, but that was the point. The more they couldn't pay, the better it got for her because they would do everything for Camilla in exchange for lowering their interest rate and paying off their debt.

Thus, she gathered enough people to work dedicatedly under her without paying a dime.

'Maybe I should send some of my men to beat her father up so she will work even harder,' Camilla pondered as she stopped before the secretary's desk. 

She smiled at Iris, Aiden's old secretary. This was the first person she wanted to replace because she didn't want anyone with a connection to Aiden to hold such an important position. 

"Good afternoon," Camilla greeted sweetly. "How are you, Iris? Doing well today?"

"Ah—" Iris stood up and bowed. She disliked this woman who visited the office at least three times a week just to bother her son, who was now the CEO. 

But she knew her position well. Thus, she also acted politely, "Good afternoon, Madam. Mr. Saenz is inside, so you can always come in."

Camilla's lips twitched as her patience wore down, "Why didn't you answer my question?"

"Y—Your question?"

"I am asking you if you've been doing well today. Why don't you answer that? Are you deaf, or are you trying to look down on me?" Camilla's accusation came out of nowhere. "I expect more from Aiden's secretary. If you can't be professional, maybe I should tell Sebastian to replace you."

Iris panicked because Camilla started accusing her just because she missed one unnecessary question. 

"I—I'm sorry, Madam. I didn't mean it that way. I just missed it—"

"Then maybe you're getting too old. This is probably an early sign of dementia," Camilla looked at Iris condescendingly. "I think it's time to replace you with a younger secretary."

Iris gasped, "P—Please don't do that, Madam. I've been working here for years!"

"Then your salary must be quite high," Camilla remarked. "It'd be better to replace you with a younger woman that will accept minimum wage."

"What's with the ruckus here?" 

Iris and Camilla turned their heads simultaneously. They saw Sebastian at the door, looking pissed off by the noise. "Shut your mouth. I have so much to do."

"P—Pardon me, Mr. Saenz!" Iris apologized immediately, even though it wasn't her fault.

But Camilla didn't apologize. Instead, she doubled it and said, "It's your old secretary. She has been making a ruckus, saying that I shouldn't fire her after she blatantly disrespected me."

"I didn't—"Iris wanted to defend herself, but Camilla's oppressive smile scared her. 

Thus, she kept her mouth shut while silently cursing Camilla in her heart. 

Of course, Sebastian knew how oppressive and manipulative his mother could be.

He knew he couldn't fight against his mother's orders, even in his previous life. 

In his previous life, he thought everything was justified because Camilla was his mother and, therefore, gave her all the right to dictate him as her son. 

He couldn't just defend Iris because it'd raise her suspicion.

"You're wasting your time with that stupid secretary, Mom. Just come in, and let's talk. I don't have much time," Sebastian said.

"Mm, you're right, son. I shouldn't have wasted my time," Camilla sighed. "But I can't help it, sometimes. I've been so respectful, but people like this annoy me so much," she said while pointing at Iris.

But she followed Sebastian into the office after that.

Iris was offended when Sebastian called her stupid, but at the same time, she was also relieved because his words had successfully diverted Camilla's attention. 

'That pair of mother and son are equally toxic. I wonder how Winter will survive with them in the future…' Iris thought. She recalled how Winter cried after she spent some time inside the CEO's office, and her mind began to speculate what hurtful things Sebastian might have done to her. 'I'm so worried about you, Winter…'