Novel Full Chapter 414 Close Yet Faraway
“No…” Ace replied without missing a heartbeat.
“You can kiss my cheek. How’s that?” she suggested with a modified solution.
“I don’t think there’s a need for that. I’ll just wrap an arm around your waist and hold you close,” Ace proposed before yawning.
“That works too. The meeting with the board of directors and some other major shareholders is already next week so let’s do our best until then,” Elizabeth said before lifting her hand to fix her hair a little.
“That’s fast…” Ace commented but he didn’t seem excited.
“If things go well, we should get their greenlight to discuss the merger. It’s going to take a while to get them all on the same page but at least we’re starting somewhere,” Elizabeth explained with some excitement.
“Hope things would really be that simple,” Ace muttered.
“You should be there to convince them,” she suggested.
“Isn’t it supposed to be an internal meeting?” Ace asked.
“Well, since we’re dating with some future in mind, I don’t think that my father or the other people would mind. Don’t you think?” Elizabeth replied with a little laugh.
“If your father is fine with it, then I’ll be there,” Ace replied and for once he seemed to show genuine interest.
“I’ll leave the convincing in your capable hands,” Elizabeth said.
I was sure that having Ace there would help to convince them to see the merits of the merger. I prayed for things to go well as planned so that we can all stop this act. Ace always tried his best not to do anything that would make me feel overly uncomfortable. On my end, I tried my best not to be overly sensitive or let my discomfort show in front of Ace so that he wouldn’t have to worry too much about me.
“I think it’s about time…” Helen notified all of us politely.
“Alright, let’s go…” Elizabeth said.
“Let’s get this over with…” Ace said passively.
The moment that the two of them stepped outside, they were magically a well united couple that seemed to get along well in every single aspect. As for me, I quickly transformed into what I hoped was the perfect professional secretary as I walked behind them while keeping a suitable distance with Helen by my side. It was a shame that I couldn’t be the one to walk proudly at Ace’s side, but I was thankful enough that I was in a position to watch over him.
The event was hosted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of one of Chase Creatives’ biggest and longstanding clients. Even I’ve heard of this account before and the numerous attempts that was made by Ace and his father to acquire them into our portfolio of clients, although without any success. Normally, Ace wouldn’t be invited to attend an event like this but since he was dating Elizabeth now, he was more than welcomed as her guest and escort. The client also sent Ace a personal invitation to the event as if acknowledging the prowess of our company for the first time ever. 𝒃𝙚𝙤𝙫𝒆𝒍．𝙘𝒐𝙢
I watched on in silence as Elizabeth and Ace posed together as the perfect couple in front of a large group of reporters and cameramen. Flashes from the camera seemed to explode everywhere around them as the reporters swarmed them to ask questions. None of the questions were out of the ordinary and the two did not have any trouble in addressing them all smoothly. After hearing these similar questions asked over and over again, I had lost interest in actively listening in. That was until a particular question caught my interest.
·?θm “Now that you two are back together, are there plans to merge your businesses?” a middle-aged reporter asked in a very loud and booming voice.
I felt like my eyes were about to pop out of their sockets at his question. Although it was just a question and there was no evidence that news of the merger had leaked out, it still made me panic. For someone to mention anything akin to a merger made my body stiffen because I was so on edge. My eyes were glued on Ace and Elizabeth as I waited to see how the two of them would react. If they panicked even a little, the two of them did not show it at all. Elizabeth just smiled before looking at Ace as if asking for him to step in to take control of the situation.
“Wouldn’t that be great?” Ace said before beaming a wide smile at the crowd of reporters.
He sounded casual and friendly instead of serious about it. Ace then started laughing to pass it off. The reporters seemed satisfied with his answer and the positive attitude that Ace showed which seemed to be in support of a possible merger. Elizabeth just smiled and laughed along with Ace as he pulled her closer against his side.
To my utter relief, another reporter asked them another question that steered the conversation away from the sensitive topic of a merger. I let out a sigh of relief as I stood in my position to the side. With the discussion happening next week, it would be bad if anything appeared in the news now. Hopefully, Ace’s passive comment will go unnoticed.
…
“Thank you for your hard work today as well,” Helen said before handing me a bottle of water.
“Thank you for your support as always,” I replied with a polite smile.
“Yes, who knows how many more events we’ll have to work on together,” Helen said before heaving a sigh.
Helen was probably the only other person besides the three of us and Kyle that knew that Ace and Elizabeth were faking their relationship. Elizabeth apparently trusted her well enough to tell her what was going on. That was to be expected given that we really needed to help to make things run smoothly. I had to admit that I would probably struggle to do everything alone without her assistance.
“That felt like it took forever…” Ace complained in a mutter.
–To be continued…