I knew that he was trying his best to cheer me up. Jeremy, just like the rest of us, was assigned to a new project as well.
“You’re alone on your new project, right? As in, no one else from the CEO’s office is going to be there with you,” I asked.
“Guess it’s my time to shine all alone now. It will be quite lonely, though…” he replied.
“I bet you’ll end up missing having me with you, right?” I said teasingly before I laughed.
“Probably…” he replied before looking away.
“Oh, I have to go. I’ll catch up with you later, ok?” I quickly said when I realized that I had a meeting with my new team starting soon.
“Good luck on your new project, Karina,” Jeremy said before he lifted his hand and waved at me.
“Thank you! You too!” I called back and returned his wave.
…
**A few days later**
It was almost midnight and I felt bone tired from the many long days of working. The days just seemed to drag by ever since the new project started. To be fair, there wasn’t anything particularly wrong with the new project that I was working on. As a person, I felt like I had the average level of interest when it came to women’s fashion. Because of my financial situation up until recently, I didn’t exactly have the money to splurge on expensive or fancy clothing and so I wouldn’t ever consider myself a fashionista. Regardless, I was interested in fashion enough to have the passion to work for this new advertising campaign.
I let out a loud sigh in the dark and empty office where I sat behind my secretarial desk. It was so silent at night in the office that I could hear the sound of my own breathing and the ticking of the clock on the wall. I closed my eyes and immediately, I could see Richard’s cold gaze.
“Arghh…” I made a sound of disgust while forcing my eyes to snap open.
Working with Richard had proven to be a nightmare for the past few days. On top of being staffed on the same project, we were paired to work together as well. Even though Richard wasn’t at all strong on the creative front, he was paired up with me to help with the research and design phase. Just being close to him felt suffocating and the cold way he looked at me made me feel like everything I was saying and doing was just absolutely incorrect.
Suddenly, I heard a creaking sound. It must have been a soft sound, but it felt so loud given how silent it was. Light crept into the office as the door was pushed open further.
“So, you were here. Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
I was in his office, so I had no idea why I was still surprised that it was Ace who had entered. The light stung my eyes a little as my eyes struggled to adapt after being in the dark for too long. I took out my phone from my bag to see almost ten miscalls and they were all from Ace.
“I’m sorry…” I apologized immediately.
My hands flew to cover my eyes when the light in the entire office suddenly lit up. Ace had switched on the lights. When I opened my eyes and sneaked a peek through the gaps between my fingers, Ace was leaning against the door frame with an unimpressed look on his face. For a moment, I felt so scared that I almost jumped out of my skin.
“You look quite dead. What happened?” Ace asked.
Ace approached my desk before sitting leisurely on it with his legs crossed. He turned to stare directly at me, and I quickly pulled my hands away from my face.
“What happened?” Ace asked again with his face just inches from mine.
With the way his hazel eyes scanned my face, I guessed that he might already have a good idea about what was wrong.
“Nothing much. The usual work stuff…” I replied vaguely.
“Richard giving you a hard time?” Ace took a great guess.
“Yes…” I replied without feeling the need to explain further.
I peered up into Ace’s face and our eyes met. It was just so like Ace to understand what was going on. My heart leapt in my chest when I thought that Ace would surely sympathize and find a way to help me out even if it was just a little.
“Good. You should suck it up. This should be a great experience for you,” Ace said before he smiled sweetly at me.
What…?
“Aha…” I murmured while trying not to show my disappointment.
I should have known that Ace, being the Devil CEO that he is, wouldn’t offer me any help on something like this. Tough love sure is tough…
“Instead of complaining, why don’t you think of all the things you are learning from Richard instead?” Ace asked challengingly.
“Like…how to deal with someone who is overly strict and bordering being rude?” I retorted before I could stop myself.
“Was he really rude to you?” Ace asked with raised eyebrows.
“Not really…” I muttered as I was forced to admit that Richard wasn’t exactly rude to me.
“Then it’s all good. I’m looking forward to some promising results. I think you two will make a good team. The rest of the team members are decently talented as well,” Ace said with a nod of his head.
“Everyone is so nice…except for Richard…” I said softly as I recalled the first time that I met everyone.
Everyone on the team was so welcoming that it surprised me at first. Richard, on the other hand, seemed to be used to it. It didn’t take me long for me to figure out that the change in people’s attitude toward me was because I was part of Project Alpha. Like it or not, that branding would be stuck with me for as long as I worked at Jessen’s and Hill’s.
--To be continued…
