3…2…1! The commercial that held so much significance for the future of our company and the future of our relationship finally appeared on the large screen above us. The opening just felt so surreal and beautiful that I couldn’t bear to look away. “Rina…” Ace called my name and then I felt a tug on my hand.“Y-Yes?” I said questioningly as I tired my best to tear my eyes away from the commercial to look at him.“You’re supposed to be observing the audience and not watching your own commercial…” Ace pointed out quite correctly.“Oh…you’re right…” I murmured. Ace just shook his head at me before he grinned. He turned away before I could say anything more to him and I realized that he was already doing his job. That meant that I had to do the same thing. Quickly, I began looking around at the various faces in the crowd of people that were walking by. It felt amazing enough that some of them looked up to take a glance at our commercial on the screen. My heartbeat so fast and hard in my
“There’s a lot more people here…” I muttered.“You’re right. More people and younger people too…” Ace pointed out. Looking around, I had to say that he was right. Although it was just a walk away from where we were and we were still in the shopping district, the crowd here was very different. The people around us were younger and they seemed more excited to see our commercial. Ace tugged on my hand and led me closer to the screen where our commercial was playing. A small crowd of people had gathered around the front of the screen, and I could tell that they were paying attention to our commercial. Just like we did in front of the first point of display, we silently observed the reactions of the audiences and carefully listened in on their comments. I truly wanted to ask some of them a few questions about how they felt about our commercial but decided to do that a little later on in the evening when there were more people around. For now, it seemed like silently observing would be en
If only we could spend all our days working together like this, life wouldn’t feel so bad. I had to admit that work had become so much more fun and challenging at the same time since I started working in Ace’s team and also as his personal secretary. Although our relationship came with a lot of ups and downs, I couldn’t deny that everything made me grow so much more as a person. The joy that blossomed in my chest suddenly felt very bittersweet when I thought that there was no way that days like these could last between us. It was an unfortunately yet seemingly unescapable fact that these days were coming to an end. Our next stop was only a couple of minutes’ walk from where we were previously. Ace held my hand all the way until we arrived there. I didn’t miss how he paid extra attention to me when we were crossing the road together even if all the cars were at a stop at the red light and there were so many other people crossing the road with us. All the small things that he did for m
Why is she here? “Elizabeth wanted to drop by to congratulation us on the launch. Unfortunately, we were no longer in the office. I didn’t think that she would really turn up here to join us,” Ace explained to me casually before turning his attention back to Elizabeth. I was still too stunned to say anything as I watch the two of them conversing. Ace pointed something in the commercial out to Elizabeth and she looked quite impressed as they both watched the commercial on the screen together. As for me, I couldn’t stop wondering why Elizabeth had to turn up here. Was it normal for her to drop by to congratulate her main competitor on their commercial launch? So many wild thoughts ran through my mind as I stood glued to the spot with my eyes staring at their backs. I had no idea what was really going on or perhaps I was just over reading into everything. However, the way the two of them talked together made them appear to be closer than before. It was like any rivalry that existed b
“No, thanks. I just dropped by because I wanted to experience the buzz and also to congratulate you on the release of your commercial. I’ll pass for today. I don’t think Karina would like me disturbing your dinner date,” Elizabeth turned down Ace’s invitation with a laugh and a dismissive wave of her hand. I blinked rapidly in surprise as I wondered if I had misheard what she had just said. It felt like the perfect opportunity for her to spend more time with Ace, but she didn’t hesitate to turn down his invitation at all. The more I tried to understand what she was thinking or what she really wanted, the more I got confused. Regardless of the reason behind her decision to turn Ace’s invitation down, I was thankful that she would be leaving us alone soon. “Thank you for coming,” Ace thanked her with a smile. “I’m not exactly doing this for you. Enjoy your date!” she replied perhaps a little too cheerfully. Just like that, Elizabeth Chase walked away while waving a hand over her hea
“The launch looks good. All the placements look good…” Julianna murmured as she continued checking the screens. “There shouldn’t be any issues. Now we just need to wait for the feedback from the audiences,” one team member said reassuringly. “We actually went out to the shopping district earlier to get some firsthand feedback,” I announced with a smile.“Ace dragged you out there with him? How did it go? Were people super excited?” Julianna asked excitedly. I could feel all pairs of eyes in the room on me and it was clear that I had their attention now. Since everyone was undoubtedly stuck here in the war room in the office, they haven’t had the chance to see the real commercial playing outside or had any interaction with the audience. Now I truly understood why Ace was so determined to go out there to collect some feedback. It wasn’t just to satisfy his personal curiosity but it also made sure that we had something to share with the other team members. “I would say that people ar
“Yes. There’s really nothing. Although I think it’s a little cute that you’re worried but Jeremy and me is just too far of a stretch,” I replied as I waved my hands in front of my face and laughed lightly. Putting aside the issue between Jeremy and me, I felt like if there was a relationship more suspicious and more realistic, it would be the relationship between Ace and Elizabeth. I stared at Ace’s face and figured out that there was nothing for me to learn there. Whatever was going on, Ace wasn’t going to easily give it away. The more times I ran into Elizabeth, the more the way she acted confused me to the point where I didn’t know what to make of it. “You’re right. Let’s head out,” Ace said to bring that little off-track conversation to a close. “It’s really been a while since I went out drinking…” I murmured. “You better hold your drink…” Ace warned as he shot a glare my way. Now that I thought about it, the last time that I really went out drinking was the night that I ende
“The same probably applies to Elizabeth and me,” he said casually before taking a sip of his drink. Ace seemed so at ease even when we were discussing Elizabeth that I wondered if anything could ever throw him off. I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that either, but it seemed like he didn’t have much to hide from me. “Have you been meeting her often?” I asked directly. “No. There’s no need for me to meet her much anymore,” Ace replied with a smile. So, there was a need for him to meet up with her often before. “I’m glad that you don’t have to meet her often anymore,” I replied bluntly before I could stop myself. If it wasn’t the alcohol then it must be the sugar in my drink that was making me so bold and so brave all of a sudden. My words seemed to amuse Ace because his smile broadened and then he began to chuckle. The sound of the other people in the bar was loud and so was the music playing in the background; however, all of that chaos seemed to fade away into nothing when I