Ace would quit his job and disappear from the company and my life. I wouldn’t see him anymore and everything would be chaotic for everyone. There would be a sudden change in management and then there’s also that matter to do with the merger. In reality, the only big change that impacted my life seemed to be my new staffing with Richard and the new team members that I had to work with. The other change was that Ace and I got even busier, and it wasn’t uncommon for the two of us to be spending time late in the office together. I had no idea whether I should count myself as lucky that the changes that I had feared did not come too suddenly or drastically or if I should fear the fact that the inevitable was just being dragged on. When I tried to think about it realistically, it did make sense that Ace wouldn’t just up and disappear while leaving the company and all his employees behind. Also, it wasn’t completely feasible for such a huge merger to be finalized in a matter of days. I was

Ace paused and since Elizabeth did not say anything to show that she minded Ace letting me in on what happened early in the evening, I decided to ask Ace for more details. “Her marriage? Did something…happen?” I asked while feeling quite afraid that I would choose the wrong word.It indeed felt like a sensitive topic, and I wondered what her father had to say about their marriage now that they were already married. I was sure that Chairman Chase did not find Kyle an impressive man fitting for the role of his daughter’s husband, but they were already married. Kyle had not gotten in touch with me for a while now and I was glad to have peace and quiet at that end. I had thought that things must have been progressing smoothly for Kyle and Elizabeth but that didn’t seem to be the case, at least, as far as her father was concerned. “As you’re already aware of, the chairman isn’t fond of Kyle as his son-in-law. Oh, and the two of them are not legally married on paper. Anyways, her father w

The story she was telling was finally taking a turn and it was for the worse instead of the better. The regretful look on her face told me that nothing played out as she had planned or anticipated. “That day things really got out of hand, and I guess I was very emotional when he told me that he would disown me if I didn’t break up with Kyle. I mean, after all that I did for him and all that I had to take from him, how could he say something like that to me?” she said before her voice started to crack up with emotion.The look that she had on her face told me just how ridiculous she thought her father’s suggestion was. I had no idea what Elizabeth had to go through to live up to her father’s expectations, but I could guess that she probably had been working hard to please him all her life. Elizabeth quickly took a deep breath, and her face became composed again. When she spoke once more, her voice was steady. “Then a stupid idea flashed into my mind that if Ace could pull that deal o

“Like I said, you don’t have to bother picking me up. I’ll go to the office, so if you want to see me, you can see me there,” she said before rolling her eyes in apparent annoyance. I figured by that time that the poor soul on the other end of the line was no other than her husband, Kyle. Of course, I did not sympathize with him and the treatment that he was receiving from his wife. Elizabeth said a few more words before she hung up the phone. “Good morning,” Ace greeted her casually.“Good morning to you too,” she replied while still staring at her phone screen. “Good morning,” I chimed in. “Guess you’re heading back to work?” Ace asked.“Yes, where else would I go? The company doesn’t run itself, unfortunately…” she said before she flashed us a smile. The gloom and doom Elizabeth from last night was completely gone and the confident Elizabeth was back. At first, I disliked this version of her so much but after seeing her in the state that she was in last night, I had to say tha

“Oh, Karina…” A familiar voice called my name from close by. I turned my head to the side to see Jeremy standing there with his laptop in his arms. Just like me, he must be in need of a break as well.“Jeremy. Taking a break?” I asked while offering him a smile. “Yup. You, too?” he asked in return. “Yeah…” I replied before forcing a smile. “You look stressed out…” he pointed out as he sat down next to me. “Do I? I guess it really shows…” I murmured while hating how tired I sounded. “Richard still giving you troubles?” he made a guess. It wasn’t Richard, or at least, it wasn’t just Richard. With the other issues weighing on my mind, working with Richard has felt like a walk in the park lately. I might have gotten used to him already, either that or the other bigger problems made all issues related to Richard seem miniscule in comparison. “A little…it is getting better, though,” I replied while apologizing to Richard softly in my head.Because I couldn’t tell Jeremy what was tru