Sneaking Out Together


    The event did not end quite as we had all expected. In the end, the buzz of questions around Ace’s


    uing retirement from his position as the CEO did die down a little and the crowd of reporters was


    brought under control by the security team. There was a moment of peace before order was restored


    and the press’s attention shifted back to what was supposed to be the focus of the event which was the


    I began wondering what would be covered more in the news between Ace’s retirement confirmation or


    theunch of themercial. If I had to make a guess, I would bet on the topic of Ace quitting his job.


    Hopefully, Julianna had some backup n to deal with this so that Project Alpha wouldn’t be impacted.


    There was also the possibility that themercial might gain a lot more poprity and views by riding


    on the back of the news rted to Ace. Whatever was going to happen, I prayed for themercial to


    be a sess.


    Toward the end of the event, the questions turned back to Ace’s personal career again and many


    questions were asked about what he intended to do after leaving thepany. Those questions really


    brought me to the edge of my seat although I had a feeling that Ace wasn’t going to give anyone a


    straightforward answer.


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    “Are there potential candidates for the next CEO already? Who will be taking over after you?” one of


    the reporters asked.


    That was a great question. So far, I haven’t heard of who might be taking over as the CEO if Ace really


    left. The future of thepany and all of its employees would rest with that new CEO and what he or


    she decided to do. I was certain that my life as well as the lives of the other employees would change


    greatly under the management of the new CEO. There wasn’t anything that I could do at that moment


    but wish for the best and to hope that the new CEO would have visions that aligned well with Ace’s


    values and how he managed and did things.


    “We haven’t gotten that far in the process yet. Of course, when we have selected a new CEO, we will


    announce it to the public,” Ace replied casually with a smile.


    All in all, I surmised that nothing was set in stone for the future and everything seemed pretty much


    unknown except for the fact that Ace seemed confident that he would be leaving thepany. I


    wondered if his father would return and take over as the CEO once again. The Chairman was older


    now, but I could still see him doing very well in taking active management of thepany. The real


    problem was that he had stepped down for Ace to take over, so I doubted that he wanted to return to


    actively manage thepany once again.


    Since the press didn’t wrap up their questions, it was Ace who decided that he had had enough of their


    questions. With a few polite words of parting, Ace stepped down from the stage and disappeared


    behind the stage to get away from everyone. That move brought about the official ending of the event.


    Now that their target of focus was gone from the scene, it did not take long for the reporters to take


    their leave. I stood to the side of the auditorium door along with the other staffs as we thanked the


    reporters foring. It took a little while for everyone to leave the auditorium considering how fully


    packed it was in there before.


    “That was…something…” Jeremy mumbled from close to me.


    Everyone was gone by that point and the team members were the only ones left in the auditorium. I


    had to agree that I also found it hard to describe how that event went down. For my own personal


    reasons, I had very mixed feelings in the pit of my stomach that made me feel slightly ufortable.


    “I think it went pretty well…I guess…” I replied before trying my best to smile.


    “Yup. The press is interested for sure. We’ll definitely get a lot of coverage, both on Ace and the


    “I agree with that,” I replied.


    Just as the event team members worked hard to clear up the auditorium, my phone vibrated a few


    times in the palm of my hand. I turned around to shield my phone screen from everyone else before I


    turned on the screen to read the text message that I had just received.


    ‘Meet me at the car,’


    Ace’s instructions were simple and very concise. Since he didn’t exactly tell me when, I assumed that


    he wanted me to meet him at his car immediately. After making up some random excuse, I quickly took


    my leave and headed for the parking lot.


    …


    “Let’s go,” Ace said as he opened the car door for me.


    When I arrived at the car, Ace was already there. I had no idea why I was so surprised to see him


    already there waiting for me. The sight of him leaning casually against the side of his sportscar felt so


    attractive to me that for a moment when I first spotted him, I just wanted to stand there to admire him


    for a bit. That didn’t quite work out because he spotted me right away and quickly waved me over. He


    seemed very impatient to leave and I could understand why that was so.


    “It’s still midday. Is it ok for us to head back already?” I asked when we got into the car.


    Ace let out a sigh and drove off and that was probably his way of telling me that we were leaving the


    office regardless of what time of the day it was. I started worrying more than a little about Project Alpha


    now that themercial hadunched.


    “Don’t we need to be in the office for theunch? What if something goes wrong?” I asked with clear


    worry in my tone.


    --To be continued…