FULL NOVELXO Chapter Summoned by Ace
"I am sorry but regardless of what I think about this, I honestly don't think that I can change Ace's mind," I confessed softly.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Of course, he might just leave you behind when all of this is over. However, if he cares for you, don't you think that he'll at least lend you an ear?" he asked suggestively.
I had nothing to say to that. The possibility of Ace simply just leaving me when he quit his position brought a throbbing pain to my chest. Just thinking about it hurt so badly that I couldn't imagine how much it would actually hurt if it were to turn into reality. I knew at that moment that I needed to do something; however, I wasn't sure what to do. The chairman probably thought that he was being very convincing, and he probably wasn't wrong. However, I didn't think that it would be wise for me to take any action without thinking things through.
"Thank you so much for the warning and for thinking of me. I'll think about it..." I said without making any commitments.
"I suggest you think about it seriously and act as soon as possible. As you are already aware, time is running out. Ace is my son and I want what is best for him. I am sure that just like me, you also want what is best for Ace. What is best for him is for him to lead this company. I look forward to seeing the fruits of your efforts, Karina," he said before he smiled a little my way.
His smile only made me feel even more uncomfortable than I already felt. Without another word, the chairman stood up from his seat and I quickly did the same. "Take care," he said emotionlessly to me before heading to the door.
I stood tongue tied in the same spot for a while longer even after the door had closed behind the chairman and I was the only one left in the room. A sigh escaped from me as I closed my eyes, the chairman's words ran around in endless circles in my mind.
What exactly is supposed to be best for Ace?
Unfortunately, the workday was about to start in less than five minutes and that meant that I didn't have time to spend moping around here. I took in a deep breath before heading quickly for the door to make my way to my office where I knew that the team would be waiting for me. Hopefully, I would get to see more of Ace now that Project Alpha was approaching another important milestone. I was sure that Ace would definitely supervise the launch of the commercial and he would undoubtedly attend the press conference related to its release.
Jeremy stood in front of the door to our office when I arrived with a grim look on his face. My heart sank when I thought that something must have gone gravely wrong.
"What's up?" I asked.
Something told me that he was waiting for me to arrive. If I didn't need to meet the chairman, I would have made it here a long while ago. Of course, I couldn't tell Jeremy that at all.
"Ace was here earlier looking for you," Jeremy told me with a stern look on his face.
"Ace?" I said in surprise.
I took out my phone and saw a few miscalls from Ace. Simply because I was too shaken by the conversation that I had just had with his father and rushing to make my way here, I didn't think of checking my phone.
"Yup. He was here looking for you. Since you weren't here, he told me to tell you to see him in his office," Jeremy informed me with a worried look on his face.
"Did Ace seem... troubled or something?" I asked.
"Sort of..." he replied.
"Well, I'm a little relieved that you're not here to tell me that there's something wrong with Project Alpha," I said while trying to look on the bright side of things. "You may be right about that. You should go see Ace now. I'll catch up with you later," Jeremy said before showing me his reassuring smile.
After placing my bag on my desk, I quickly made my way to Ace's office where I knew that he must be waiting for me. I regretted not picking up Ace's calls; however, I couldn't quite do that if I was still having that tense conversation with his father. I wondered what Ace wanted to talk to me about. He did give me many miscalls so I felt that whatever it was, it had to be something important, very urgent, or both. I knocked on the door to his personal office and immediately heard Ace's reply.
"Come in," he called out to me from the other side of the door.
"Good morning. I'm sorry that I didn't answer your calls. I just saw them when I met up with Jeremy..." I apologized right away.
It was at that moment that I realized that I didn't want to bring up the fact that his father had just paid me a visit and that was probably because I didn't want to tell Ace what he had talked to me about. Everything happened so suddenly, and I haven't yet had the time to digest everything that he said and their implications.
"Sit..." Ace instructed.
I nodded slightly as I took the seat on the opposite side of his work desk. From where I was sitting, I could tell that Ace wasn't in the best of moods and that something was bothering him. The atmosphere in the room felt tense although I wasn't sure why that was so. On top of that, Ace came looking for me quite early in the morning which was quite unusual.
"Umm..." I murmured as I tried to gather my courage to ask him what was wrong.
"I heard that my father came to the company today..." Ace said before I could say anything.
--To be continued....