Chapter 6: Discovering The CEO's Sad Past.
"What did the CEO do after he found out?" Mia asked, curiosity etched on her face.
Colleague A responded,
"Isn't it obvious? He sacked and sent both his adopted son and secretary to jail for attempted murder. They're now serving life imprisonment."
Colleague B chimed in, her voice laced with sympathy,
"But since then, his body has been weak. Even if he survived the poisoning, there would be side effects. Our CEO is truly pitiful."
Colleague A's expression turned stern, and she hit Colleague B on the head.
"Are you the one talking or am I?"
Colleague A exclaimed, her anger startling everyone into silence. Colleague B rubbed her head, looking shocked and hurt.
"Why did you hit me like that?" she protested.
Colleague A justified her actions,
"Why wouldn't I? When Piper asked you to explain the situation to Mia, you refused, pushing it to others. Since no one wanted to say anything, I took on the task. I'm finishing the story, so let me handle it, okay?" She patted her shoulder, smiling smugly.
Colleague B felt irritated. "You do have a point, but did you have to hit my head?" Colleague A retorted,
"Hmph,Serves you right." She said feeling lit.
Colleague C intervened,
"Aren't you being a bit extra? She just added a few words to what you were saying."
Colleague A's expression remained stern.
"What do you know? When Piper told her to talk, she refused. But when I started talking, she suddenly had something to say. I'll appreciate it if you don't add anything to what I'm saying Periodt."
Piper interrupted,
"Enough already! When did you all turn into firecrackers? It's either you arguing or her arguing. It's very annoying."
Piper's complaint put an end to the argument, but the tension lingered.
Mia's mocking smile lingered as she shook her head.
"I've been watching you all, wondering when you'll stop acting like clowns. If Piper hadn't intervened, would you have kept arguing?"
Colleague A felt offended.
"Isn't that a bit harsh? Why call us clowns?"
Mia's response was matter-of-fact.
"I called you clowns because you three were acting like one."
The group's collective "Heyyyy" was immediate.
Mia feigned innocence.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
Piper, anticipating further escalation, pinched Mia's thigh. The sudden pain made Mia cry out,
"Ouch, that hurts!"
Piper's expression turned stern.
"What's wrong with you? You're mocking the people sharing important information with you. Are you whining at me?"
"But"
Mia attempted to explain, but Piper cut her off.
"Enough, I don't want to know."
The others nodded in agreement, giving thumbs-up to Piper while sticking out their tongues at Mia. She thought to herself,
"How childish."
Mia's attention shifted to another question.
"What about the CEO's biological son and family?"
The group's eyes met, and Colleague A signaled for them to lean in.
"This is top-secret," she warned.
"If you don't want to lose your job, keep it confidential." They all nodded, promising to maintain secrecy.
Colleague A revealed, "From my source, I heard that the CEO's wife and son died at the hands of his mistress. When he discovered the truth, he arrested her immediately." Piper and Mia exclaimed in shock, "Ay, caramba!!!" (Oh My Goodness!!!!!) and "Seo-yo!!!!" (Oh My!!!!)respectively.
Colleague B and C eyes were wide opened due to shock.
Colleague A continued, "That's not even the main tea yet. The adopted son I mentioned earlier is actually the mistress's son. Can you believe it?" She said while laughing at how amusing and twisted the whole story was.
The group was stunned, and they were even more stunned by Mia's loud reaction which draw strange looks from the cafeteria.
"WHAT THE HECK,"
Mia quickly realized what she has done and immediately apologized by bowing down to everyone after that she sat down, while Piper and her colleagues were embarrassed.
"Why was your reaction so big? How vergonzoso,(Embarrassing)" Piper said in Spanish. Mia apologized again, and Colleague C dismissed it, saying, "Whatever, what's done is done." While shaking her head.
Colleague A continued, "The poor old man has been alone since then, no family, no heir, and no secretary. You're the first one after that incident, so you need to be careful. All eyes are on you, baby girl."
Mia nodded, taking mental note of the warning.
However, Mia's curiosity got the better of her again.
"How do you know all this? You said it was a secret, so where did you get your information from? I hope you're not capping us right now."
Colleague A smiled slyly, "You don't need to worry, I have my source, and it's legit. Have a little trust in me, okay, Mia the Noob."
Mia frowned, dissatisfied with the nickname.
"Stop calling me that will you"
After lunch, they parted ways, and Mia returned to her post. She couldn't help but think about what she had heard, feeling a mix of emotions - sympathy, hatred, pity, and pain for the CEO.
She thought to herself, "So pitiful," but then wondered if the CEO deserved his situation. "But will it be bad if I say he deserves it? I mean, will he only feel like a man if he cheats on his wife by having a mistress and an illegitimate son outside?"
Mia shook her head, deciding to mind her own business.
"Let me just focus on my job and get paid. That's all that matters now."
However, she couldn't help but think about the CEO's situation, questioning his decision to have his mistress's child stay close to him.
She thought logically,
"If you think about it logically,the mistress's child will eventually find out about his mom's situation. He'll obviously try to get revenge, which he did, so why did the CEO let him stay by his side,so weird"
Mia shook her head again, telling herself to mind her business and continue working.