“Well, let me ask her…” Ace said before removing his phone from the side of his face. I kept staring at his face and then he turned to face me directly. My heartbeat sped up as I wondered what Elizabeth had just told Ace because it seemed to concern me. “Rina, Elizabeth wants to meet but it’s very late now, so she’s asking if you’re free tomorrow…” Ace informed me. “She wants to meet me too?” I asked without hiding my surprise. It made sense for her to meet up with Ace, but I didn’t quite understand why she wanted me to join them. The merger and her issues with her father did not directly involve me like it did with Ace. “Apparently so…” Ace replied with a small shrug of his shoulders.Although Ace did not look confused, I could tell that he didn’t quite know why Elizabeth would want me to join their meeting. It would be too extreme to say that I had a bad feeling about it at the time. “Is it fine for me to come along?” I asked.“She’s the one inviting you so it should be fine,
The entire vibe about her seemed to change and I thought that she fit very well into the casual and homey atmosphere of the house. “Thanks for inviting us…” I replied before smiling her way. “Do you want to look around the garden first?” she suggested with a smile.I was tempted to say yes to her random invitation but one look at Ace told me to hold my tongue. Despite the bright and cheerful atmosphere that Elizabeth wanted to present, the situation probably didn’t leave us with much time to pay attention to her well-tended garden. “Let’s go inside where we can talk,” Ace replied in my place. “You’re just killing the mood, Ace…” Elizabeth said jokingly. Despite her initial enthusiasm, Elizabeth did not push the matter any further as she turned and led the way into the house. Unlike the modest exterior of the house, the inside of the house was decorated quite luxuriously. I assumed that her grandparents used to live here and there was no reason why the place wouldn’t be decorated
“You know, I really did think about doing exactly that…” Elizabeth said before smiling our way. My mouth immediately fell open and I was speechless at how easy-going she sounded. I had thought that the matter was a grave one, and based on the devastated state that she was in the last time that she came over to Ace’s place, I thought that she must be having such a hard time deciding between her career advancement and the preservation of her love life. Apparently, that didn’t seem to be the case. What happened since that day to cause such a change in her, I had no idea and couldn’t even begin to imagine.Ace also seemed surprised at her reaction. After telling her so many times for her to break up with Kyle, it seemed like he was getting something akin to a positive response for the first time. I wished silently in my mind that she would explain to us what was going on and how she managed to reach that conclusion. “Have you decided or are you just playing around? Care to explain?” Ace
“I don’t know if you agree with me or not, but I feel like my father is playing games with us. Even if I break up with Kyle, I don’t think that he will support the merger. Instead, he’ll start to demand more from us. The more desperate he feels that we are, the more bargaining power he’s going to think that he has. That’s the type of person that he is,” Elizabeth explained.It was difficult for me to listen to Elizabeth speak about her father that way. I didn’t even want to imagine what their relationship was like. Everything just sounded like business and very transactional without any feelings at all in the mix. Unlike me, Ace didn’t act at all surprised. “Even if what you’re saying is true, you could always start by pleasing him by dumping your husband first. What do you think?” Ace suggested coldly. “I could do that, but do you think that it’ll honestly be enough?” Elizabeth asked rhetorically. “This is his only demand,” Ace pointed out.“For now…” Elizabeth shot back with wide
“Are you seriously going to make me listen to her crazy idea?” he asked as he stared at me with apparent disbelief. I couldn’t blame him at all for his reaction. After all, I couldn’t quite believe that I was asking my boyfriend to listen to a plan that involved him playing the role of another woman’s boyfriend. Even if it wasn’t supposed to be real, I knew that it was a very risky move. However, it wouldn’t hurt to hear her entire plan before we made our decision. “All I’m saying is that maybe we should listen to her plan first. It’s not like we have to agree to anything even after hearing all of it,” I pointed out in a small voice. I smiled a little at him with the hope that he would calm down and be a little more openminded even though Elizabeth’s plan sounded extremely crazy. Ace let out a growl that showed just how frustrated he was before sitting back down in his seat again. “Thank you…for this…” I murmured softly. “At least Karina still has her wits about her. Listen, you
I could tell that she truly believed that it would work out and maybe she wasn’t just doing this to get back at her father. At least, I didn’t think that that was her main objective, but it would probably come to that as well, which would be an additional bonus that would only add to her satisfaction. The atmosphere was so tense that I didn’t dare let out a sigh. Ace seemed to be thinking of something as he refused to comment on her proposal. It was clear that he was worried, and I could understand that Elizabeth’s unreasonable demand and overly creative solution must be getting to Ace. I could feel Elizabeth staring at us as she waited in silence for Ace’s answer. For a moment, I was scared of what Ace would decide, and if I had to be honest, I wasn’t sure what I wanted him to choose. Perhaps, just like Ace, I was torn between the alternatives. If Elizabeth’s plan worked, then the merger would get back on track and so would my future with Ace. However, that would mean that Ace had t
The peaceful and calm atmosphere of the house and well-tended garden vanished into thin air when we stepped outside again. Elizabeth was kind enough to walk us to the door and I had to say that she played the role of the host perfectly. “I look forward to hearing your positive answer. Of course, if you need my help about anything, please let me know. Thank you again for coming to see me here,” she said before smiling brightly at us. I was too lost in my own worries and confusion to even offer her a reply or a polite smile. Instead, the corners of my lips just twitched awkwardly. Thankfully, Ace stepped in to save the day. “Thank you for having us over. We’ll get back to you with our decision. Until then, please take care of yourself and make sure that you get enough sleep,” he said calmly. My body felt stiff as I stood frozen on the spot next to Ace. I could feel Elizabeth’s gaze shifting from Ace to me, but I couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “Take care of her. I think she’s super s
“Why do you think?” he asked me in return. It had already crossed my mind that if this was just about our relationship then I should definitely have a say; however, this wasn’t just about our relationship. The impact of this decision would spread much further beyond my relationship with Ace and our future together. Everyone involved in the two companies would be affected and the relationship between Elizabeth and Kyle would be greatly impacted as well. It was precisely for these reasons that I didn’t quite understand how this should boil down to a decision that had to be made by me. “It’s just…this isn’t just about us…” I replied in a small voice as I pleaded with him with my eyes for him to have mercy on me and tell me what he was thinking instead of making me guess. “I guess you’re right about that. I’m sorry again, I didn’t want to apply that much pressure on you,” Ace said before pausing to smile a little at me. “Then…” I murmured as I dared to hope that he would overturn his