Babel Novel
Open and Honest
Open and Honest
My eyes widened a little in surprise and I started to feel nervous for no good reason at all. Although it
wasn’t supposed to be a secret, I didn’t think that Ace would like to find out that I had met up with his
father even if it was because the chairman had requested for me to do so. I wondered if Ace knew
about my little meeting with the Chairman already or not.
“I see…” I replied vaguely without wanting to give anything away.
If Ace found out that I met the chairman, he would undoubtedly ask me what we talked about, and I
didn’t want to tell Ace that. The fact that I felt clueless about what to do next also bothered me.
“Did you meet him?” Ace asked as his eyes stared directly at my face.
“He…requested to talk to me,” I replied honestly.
It didn’t seem like I could avoid discussing this topic with Ace any further. Now that I didn’t have a
choice in the matter, I thought that it might just be better to be completely honest and open with Ace.
After all, we were supposed to be on the same team on this. Maybe if I just ask Ace outright, he would
tell me something useful that would help me figure out my next move or make up my mind. The future
seemed so uncertain and filled with unknowns.
“What did you talk to him about?” Ace asked as he kept his eyes on me.
I started to feel slightly uncomfortable under his intense stare. After taking in a deep breath and letting
it out slowly, I made up my mind to tell Ace everything. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“Your father wants me to find a way to stop you from quitting your job,” I told Ace quite bluntly.
Although I had put in the effort to muster up the courage to talk to him directly about this, Ace didn’t
seem at all surprised at what I had just told him. His lack of reaction made me feel even more confused
than before.
“Is that all?” Ace asked.
As in…is there supposed to be something more than this?
“Umm…yes. He doesn’t want you to step down from your position as CEO and he thinks that I might be
able to find a way to convince you otherwise…” I replied.
Apart from this, I didn’t think that there was anything else that the Chairman spoke to me about. He did
make me very confused when he brought up the issue regarding my future and my career but that was
probably also related to making me feel like there was a need for me to keep Ace in his current CEO
position.
“Is that really it?” Ace prompted again before he went silent to give me a moment to think.
“He told me that if you ran off again, you would leave me behind. Alternatively, if I can keep you here as
the CEO, then when you manage to grow the company as agreed with him, he’ll let us get married,” I
told Ace honestly.
Ace seemed to be thinking about something for a brief moment before he nodded his head as if finally
satisfied with what I had just told him. Once again, he didn’t seem surprised at all at what his father had
told me.
“So, what do you think about what he told you?” Ace asked again.
His eyes kept on staring at me and I started shifting uncomfortably on my seat. It felt like the real
interrogation had just started. His question was such a tough one for me because that was precisely
what I wanted to figure out.
I didn’t want to believe that Ace would leave me simply because he was going to quit his job. I mean,
wasn’t it even more normal for me to be dating someone who isn’t my boss and not the other way
around. There were a couple of things that didn’t make sense about what the chairman had told me.
The first one was that my romantic relationship with Ace would come to an end if he quit his job. I didn’t
think that he was dating me simply because he wanted to date his secretary.
On top of that, things may become easier for us if he was no longer working as my boss and I’m no
longer his secretary. For one thing, we probably didn’t need to keep our relationship a secret anymore.
Eating out like normal and going on normal dates just like other couples will become possible for us
because we didn’t have anything to hide anymore. Just thinking about the various dates that I could go
on with Ace made me want to smile and giggle like a playful child.
However, this company and my career here might be very different if Ace isn’t here anymore. If he
wasn’t here, the company would have a new CEO and depending on what that person is like, the
direction of the company and how thing are done may change drastically.
“I’m honestly still very confused and unsure about what to think or what I should do…” I confessed
softly.
“Tell me more about it,” Ace urged, and his tone felt encouraging and caring.
“You wouldn’t mind listening to my thoughts? It might not really make sense because I haven’t really
put my thoughts together. Everything feels so messy, and my thoughts are all over the place right
now…” I said a little shyly.
“I don’t mind. Take your time, Rina,” Ace replied as he kept his eyes on me.
“Ace…” I called his name softly.
“What is it?” he replied immediately.
“Can I ask you some questions?” I asked as I dared to meet his gaze.
“Sure. Ask away,” he replied without hesitation.
This is probably going to sound very strange, but I had to ask him this before I could go on and think
about anything else.
“Ace, if you quit your job as the CEO, what will happen to us?” I asked in a small voice.
--To be continued…