Chapter 187

187 Real Kindness

“I wish they allowed chairs down here...” he said wistfully.

“Let’s go. I think we’ve done enough for today,” I agreed with his earlier suggestion.

“Got something good?” Jeremy asked with raised eyebrows.

“Hmm...I think so...” I replied with a confident smile.

...

Although I wanted to go back to the archive so badly to dig through Ace’s past works, the schedule of my work with Jeremy did not allow me any spare time to do that. Jeremy wasn’t just a genius at what he did, he also worked very hard and long hours. I couldn’t blame him because we were really pressed for time. The manager of the production team applied loads of pressure on us to finish the final storyboard and plans as soon as possible so that his team would have enough time to do a good job of producing the commercial.

As a result of that, Jeremy and I were stuck together working throughout the day and late into the night. Ace was surprisingly the most understanding partner when it came to working. Because I had to stay late into the night with Jeremy at the office, I had less time to see Ace. In fact, we never got a chance to go on dates and even dinner together was out of the question for almost an entire week.

“It’s getting better; however, it’s not there yet. I’m sure that you two can feel it as well,” Ace commented on our latest work.

“Right. I think I know what you mean. This part and I guess this part as well need some more thinking and work,” I replied solemnly.

.....

“That’s right. Well, I’m always here to set up a meeting with me whenever you need it,” Ace said to conclude our meeting.

I left his office along with Jeremy. We were so close to getting it right but getting the final touches of the design right was one of the hardest parts. Ace had a meticulous eye for detail and his sense was always spot on. After running this storyboard through with him a couple of times, I was starting to get a hang of his preferences and how he saw things.

“The CEO sure is getting nicer...” Jeremy mumbled as he stood next to me in front of Ace’s office.

“What do you mean?” I asked curiously.

“Usually, he doesn’t give us that many chances to get his feedback. Getting meetings to review work with him wasn’t this easy and he would shout at us quite a lot if we didn’t live up to his expectations,” Jeremy said as if he was recalling some dark times in the past.

“Really? He was like that?” I asked with widened eyes.

“Definitely. You can ask anyone on the team. Ace is...tough to work for...” Jeremy said with certainty.

“Right...I guess I can agree with you on that,” I replied with a smile.

Ace was indeed hard to please and hard to work for. That came with some of its cons but a lot of pros as well.

“No one on the team has ever quit, though. I guess we are all in love with the pain...” Jeremy said with a laugh.

“I guess...” I murmured in wonder.

'

“Back to work! We have to get it right this time around,” Jeremy said with conviction.

I nodded and smiled while noting that it was already late in the night. Ace stayed overtime to help review our work again. Having to review and re-do the work was tiring and sometimes demoralizing. However, I could tell with each iteration based on Ace’s feedback that we were progressing fast forward. Each new version was heaps better than the last. We’ll make a commercial to win the contest for sure at this rate.

I was just so sure of it.

...

“You’re not heading home yet?” I asked as I popped my head into Ace’s office.

It was already late at night, but I was still stuck working with Jeremy. To my surprise, Ace was still working in his office. I guessed I wasn’t the only one who was busy and swamped with work. The way Ace seemed very focused on the work at hand told me that it must be something important.

“I’ll head back with you. Are you done for the day?” Ace asked without looking up from the screen of his laptop.

“Yeah, I’m done. If you’re not done, I can wait for you...” I told him as I sat down patiently onto the sofa in his office.

“Let’s head back. I can do this later,” Ace said as he pushed the screen of his laptop downwards to close it.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yes. Enough work for now,” Ace replied with a smile.

He opened his arms as he urged for me to approach him. That was exactly what I did. The feel of his arms around my waist as I stood in front of his chair felt nice and warm. Ace buried his face into my chest and breathed in deeply. I could tell that he was tired and so was I. Work was really stressing both of us out and draining us of our energy.

I lifted my hand and began stroking Ace’s hair absentmindedly as he stroked my back and my waist. We let the warmth of our bodies and the gentleness of our caresses comfort each other in peaceful silence. Tough times didn’t feel like they were so bad when I had Ace to comfort me like this.

Jeremy’s words about Ace becoming kinder came back to me and I wondered if that was true.

Perhaps, there was a chance that Ace had always been a kind and caring person in his very own way. Maybe it was our fault for not realizing it. Either that or Ace is finally showing me more of his true self. Regardless, I loved what I was seeing and feeling right in front of me.

“Ace...” I whispered his name as I moved to look down into his face.

Ace didn’t respond to my call of his name, instead, his face came closer until his lips were on mine. He kissed me softly a couple of times before increasing the pressure of his lips on mine. I moaned softly before parting my lips to accept the entrance of his hot and wet tongue into the depths of my mouth. Our wet tongues swivel around in a passionate dance that left my core throbbing in heat.

–To be continued...