The End is Near


    “I almost had a heart attack in there. The way he thought about it for so long gave me a bad feeling at


    first,” Jeremy told me as he were on our way back to our desks.


    “I know exactly what you mean. Well, at least we got the pass otherwise the project would have been


    dyed,” I replied before I let out a loud sigh.


    “Thank you, you two,” Julianna said from behind us.


    “Oh…” I murmured as I turned around to face her.


    “No need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, just thank Karina. After all, it was her brilliant idea


    that helped get us through that,” Jeremy replied before he startedughing.


    It felt a little awkward for him to give me all the credit like that. Julianna looked at me before he lips


    broke out in a bright smile.


    “Thank you, Karina. You’re doing well,” she said.


    “Thanks…” I thanked her in a small voice.


    I watched as she waved and turned to walk away from us. A warm feeling started budding in my chest


    and I realized soon after that I suddenly felt quite proud of myself and my achievements. We were so


    close to the key part of thepetition already and that was theunch of themercial. After that,


    themittee would decide on the winner. The otherponent that would y arge role would be


    the amount of donations that themercial would be able to rake in.


    “What are you thinking about? You should be celebrating and not frowning,” Jeremy said as he peered


    close to my face.


    That was when I realized that I had been frowning while I was thinking about the next phase of the


    predict the donations amount and that made me nervous.


    “Sorry, I’m excited but a little anxious about the next phase. You know, theunch and the audiences’


    reaction…and the donation amount…” I confessed honestly.


    “That’s so normal. I’m sure everyone feels the same way. I, for one, will never get used to the feeling of


    worst oue possible,” Jeremy replied before heughed a little at his own thought.


    “You feel like that too? I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it,” I said with widened eyes.


    Jeremy justughed at my reaction. Although it seemed like we could rx for a bit now, I knew that


    this rest wouldn’tst long. Things would really pick up when the date for themercialunch is set


    and that was bound to happen very soon.


    “I can’t wait for everyone to see ourmercial. Even if I’m nervous about it, I really want to see the


    audiences’ reactions and feedback,” I said wistfully.


    “Let’s focus on getting it out there first. Step by step, ok?” Jeremy replied with a chuckle.


    “I guess you’re right about that…” I agreed.


    …


    **A few dayster**


    After the marketing andunch n was approved by Ace, it didn’t take long for Julianna to finalize the


    had to rush to meet the deadline. Despite that, Julianna seemed very confident that the deadline was


    realistic and that themercial would beunched on time without a hitch. Everyone was excited and


    extremely motivated to work on this.


    After theunch, we would have a couple of weeks to monitor the performance of themercial and


    the associated donations and make some adjustments to our marketing execution. A shiver ran


    through my body at the thought that the end of thepetition was approaching and that also meant


    the end of Project Alpha.


    The sessfulunch of themercial and the result of thepetition worried me quite a lot.


    However, I couldn’t deny that there was something that worried me even more than that. With how


    busy everyone in the CEO office was, some may have forgotten that the end of the Project Alpha


    marked the end of Ace’s time as thepany’s CEO as well. If he fully intended to follow through with


    the public announcement that he made at his birthday party, then Ace would step down from his


    position right after the end of Project Alpha.


    Just thinking about it made me feel nauseous. I was sure that Ace has not changed in mind about that


    matter and I doubt that there was anyone who could change his mind. As for what he has nned or


    even what he’s going to do after quitting his job, I had absolutely no idea. Time was ticking by without


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    waiting for anyone and soon I would find out all the answers to my questions.


    “There’s someone here to see you,” one of the secretaries told me once I arrived at the office.


    It was early in the morning and the workday had not started. Since there was very little time left until the


    and leavingter to put in that extra work to make sure that everything would progress smoothly. I


    cocked my head to the side in wonder about who would possibly want to see me. The way the


    secretary’s eyes darted randomly all over the ce told me just how nervous she was feeling.


    “Who is it?” I asked in a whisper.


    “You’ll see. Just follow me to that meeting room over there,” she instructed.


    Back then I had no idea that I was in for such a shock. We arrived in front of arge meeting room and


    without further ado, the secretary opened the door and pretty much ushered me inside. The door


    closed behind me, and I came face to face with the only man sitting at the long meeting table.


    The chairman…


    --To be continued…