Love Slave to My Devil CEO Boss R18

292 Torn Between Emotions

“The same probably applies to Elizabeth and me,” he said casually before taking a sip of his drink.

Ace seemed so at ease even when we were discussing Elizabeth that I wondered if anything could ever throw him off. I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that either, but it seemed like he didn’t have much to hide from me.

“Have you been meeting her often?” I asked directly.

“No. There’s no need for me to meet her much anymore,” Ace replied with a smile.

So, there was a need for him to meet up with her often before.

“I’m glad that you don’t have to meet her often anymore,” I replied bluntly before I could stop myself.

If it wasn’t the alcohol then it must be the sugar in my drink that was making me so bold and so brave all of a sudden. My words seemed to amuse Ace because his smile broadened and then he began to chuckle. The sound of the other people in the bar was loud and so was the music playing in the background; however, all of that chaos seemed to fade away into nothing when I found myself getting lost in the depth of Ace’s eyes. It made me feel like we were alone, and it felt more than enough for it to be just the two of us.

“You don’t have to worry much about this anymore. Right now, I’m more focused on Project Alpha to make sure that we win the competition. Of course, I’m doing it for the company and for everyone else associated to it, but I guess I’m a selfish person and so I’m also doing this to makes sure that the end of my career here ends on a high note. We really can’t afford to lose out on this one,” Ace said determinedly before he flashed me a playful smile.

I had no idea how the commercial of our competitors turned out or how they were doing but I was confident enough that we would win. Of course, nothing about our victory was guaranteed; however, I didn’t have any problem in maintaining my confidence in the matter. The fact that Ace was focusing on this to make sure that our victory would be secure made me feel more reassured than anything that it would happen. If we win, everything will go according to plan, and everything would be great except…

.....

“Rina…” Ace called my name softly.

My eyes glanced up into his face and then our eyes met. I gasped at the look of concern on his face and then his brows drew together in a slight frown.

“Huh?” I murmured when I didn’t quite understand his sudden change in reaction.

“What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Ace asked.

His beautiful fingers approached my face slowly and then I felt the warmth of his fingertips gently against my cheek as he wiped away my tears. I hadn’t even realized that I had started crying and that was because I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts. Just thinking about Ace leaving brought tears to my eyes. It had become such a sensitive topic for me that I was now shedding tears unconsciously just from thinking of it. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath that made my chest tremble from emotion as I tried my best to calm myself down.

Today was supposed to be a good day and a day for celebration. We were out at this rooftop bar to celebrate a very important milestone and our success so far. I knew that it wasn’t the right time for dark thoughts or painful tears but I still couldn’t stop myself from crying that easily.

“I’m sorry…” I apologized in a shaky voice.

I wasn’t sure what else to say because I couldn’t bring myself to tell Ace why I was crying. Instead, I tried to plaster a smile on my lips to reassure him that I was fine. The look of concern did not disappear from Ace’s features and I knew that I had failed at reassuring him about anything. He sighed before taking my hands into his and giving them a soft squeeze.

“Stop apologizing. Should we leave? I’ll take you home…” Ace offered.

It was true that I wanted to leave but it didn’t feel right for me to drag Ace back with me when everyone else was still having so much fun. The party had just started and I was sure that everyone else wanted Ace to stay with them. It wasn’t an everyday occurrence that the team would get to party with the big boss like this and I was sure that everyone was excited.

“I can go back by myself. I’m fine, honestly. You should stay here with everyone else,” I quickly told him.

Ace just shook his head at me without saying anything. He probably thought that I was speaking nonsense and he didn’t even bother to reply to me. Instead, he stood up and pulled me up along with him. His hold on my hand tightened as he turned towards where Julianna and the rest of the team were.

“Sorry, Rina isn’t feeling well. I’ll take her back first. Please enjoy the rest of the night everyone. Of course, I’ll pick up the bill so drink, eat, and party as much as you want…” Ace announced.

“Wow!” many members of the team exclaimed at the same time.

A loud wave of cheer and wild applaud echoed all around us. It seemed like Ace would be picking up a pretty large bill by the time this party came to an end, but I knew that he wouldn’t mind at all.

“Thank you, Boss!” a team member yelled loudly before turning to hug her colleague in a playful embrace.

“Karina, are you ok?” Julianna asked as she came closer to me.

I could see that she was worried. Julianna didn’t look drunk yet, but she was definitely already tipsy.

“Yes, I’m just…a little tired. I’m so sorry that I can’t stay longer than this…” I replied before smiling at her.

–To be continued…