Standing in front of the flashing lights and microphone, the new CEO of YD has now met the world.
"Sebastian Day- the mysterious successor of YD, who has disappeared from the public's eyes when he was just a boy, has now returned."
On the stage, Sebastian had his hair slicked back, wearing a set of grey business suit. He seemed to calm, so comfortable in front of all these people who came to judge him today.
But if you looked closely, you could see the trembling of his fingers touching the speech paper he prepared, you could see his Adam's apple moving when he tried to calm himself down.
"I am very honored to be here today, with all of you, our friends from different media stations to witness the next stop for YD..."
The speech was prepared by Lynn and checked by the board.
Just read it out.
Just read.
Just smile and be the face of YD. "That's all you are good for anyways."
This evil voice kept repeating in Sebastian's mind. He had wished to be in this position thousands of times, but he always thought one day he would be the real successor of his family's business, not the emergency plan that nobody wanted to see.
"Mr. Day, can you answer a couple of questions?"
"Mr. Day, do you have any plans for the next season?"
"Mr. Day..." Sebastian was almost feeling dizzy with the amount of questions floating towards him when Lynn stepped in.
"Dear friends from the media, we understand that you must have a lot of questions for us and we really appreciate your time. Please, we have prepared some small snacks and more space for all of us in the meeting hall next door, we can continue the Q&A there..."
Lynn had not looked in Sebastian's eyes today, she was still upset that he had been acting recklessly since his return. But nothing would make her leave her nephew helpless on the stage, so she stepped up to help.
The media workers have all heard about the fancy lunch YD always prepares- as one of the richest companies, this would be the least they can do in order to get good media coverage.
"Don't worry, we will have time for everybody." Lynn smiled, gesturing for her assistants to lead the way.
Just when Sebastian was going to get off the stage, it happened.
"But why is Mr. Day here the next CEO?" A voice suddenly appeared from the crowd, "Why him? Didn't he drop out of school? Isn't he only 22? Could he be a good leader to this company or should the investors take this as a sign and run now?"
"Now. Come on." Jen stared at Sebastian, she had been waiting at the corner of the room, in case anything happened, "Tim, I think this is your cue."
Tim looked just as fancy as Sebastian today so that he could look like a professional who was more believable than just a student.
But before he could get on the stage to calm down the messy crowd, Sebastian had already taken over the stage:
"I understand that there has been a lot of discussions about my identity, the legitimacy of my position, and the speculations for my father."
The room went quiet hearing his words.
"What are you doing, Sebastian??" Jen was confused about what was going on. Was this part of the plan? Or is Sebastian planning to do something?
"I completely understand your doubts and concerns, and to be honest, I have the same doubts." Sebastian smiled, with a hint of disappointment in his eyes, "But I will try my best. And I am not alone." He gestured at Lynn, then pointed at the corner Jen was standing at:
"YD might be MY family business because my family name is Day. And I am the only son to my father, that we know of." The crowd started laughing a little because of his honesty, "But YD is the work of each and every worker who had or has been here, since 8 am in the morning. This is also their home, and it was created with their trust, their dedication. It's okay for you to doubt me, but please don't doubt that YD would be different just because I am here. I hope it would be different in a good way but that would take a long time before I could achieve anything."
Sebastian stopped for a brief second, his hands were trembling again, and everyone could tell that he was nervous.
"No one could foresee the future, but I promise myself and my family, and friends," he locked eyes with Jen, "That I would not disappoint them."
"Please, let's go to the lunch hall, it has been a long morning. Thank you, everyone." Lynn couldn't wait to finish Sebastian's sentence and to move the reporters to another room.
Sebastian couldn't see the expression of the reporters down the stage- the light was too bright for him to see, just like how his entire life, the title of being the next successor for too much for him to even know himself.
He was still standing on the stage when Lynn was busy saying hi to a couple of her reporter friends, he didn't know what he was waiting for.
Tim was gone, and Jackson was still waiting downstairs just in case. He didn't see Luna this morning, maybe she was still in her room, busy setting everything up.
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He turned around, and there she was, Jen.
Wearing a navy blue maxi dress, with a brown belt around her waist.
"Good job, little boy. That was more impressive than what Tim could have said." She smiled. Sebastian had never seen her smile like this before. The pure pride and happiness all over her face, "Why didn't you tell us you had this in you? Why did I have to put together a team for you, when you are strong enough to be your own support?"
"Because we all need someone, Jen. And I do need you."
The two of them smiled at each other, standing there as if the whole world was paused.
The nightmare that they were worried about did not happen today. Jen's plans A, B, and C were not useful, but she was glad.
"So this was it?" She asked Sebastian while they were leaving the conference room, "We did it?"
"What do you mean this was it? You promised that you would be my assistant for at least 3 months, remember?"
"At most. At most 3 months, then I will go back to school."
The two of them started chatting and walking to grab some lunch with the reporters, but what they didn't know was that in an unknown corner, there was someone filming their every move.
"Do you think we have enough materials now?"
"Oh yes, I wished they could have gotten closer to each other."
"This is good enough. Ready for the front page."