The time for the press conference finally arrived and I
found myself dressed politely in a black dress with matching suit blazer in the
same conference room as Ace and countless other reporters. I could feel their eyes
on me as I stood to the side along with the other staffs that helped organized the
event.
I hated every single second that I stood there. The
reporters recognized me immediately and snapped many photos of me. I didn’t
want to be there, but I had to be. After failing to argue with Ace on this, I didn’t
have a choice but to turn up to the conference.
“I don’t think I should be there. If we’re seen together, it
might cause more trouble and more rumors,” I voiced my concern openly.
“On the contrary, I think it’s better for us to be seen
together. You should be there at the press conference to show that you’re my
secretary and that you are committed to your work. You’ll go wherever you need
to with me, and people will have to get used to that. There’s nothing for us to
hide,” Ace said with confidence before he flashed me a smile.
I didn’t share even a fraction of his confidence. Without a
doubt, the reporters will write whatever they wanted to write. Ace may be used
to this sort of situation but something like this had never happened to me before.
“Maybe we shouldn’t see each other for a while…” I mumbled
my suggestion.
Ace’s eyes widened and then narrowed at me. I could feel his
anger without him having to voice it and it made an uncomfortable lump form in
my throat.
“Never happening…” Ace said resolutely.
His arms wrapped around my body before he pulled me hard
against him. He hugged me tight for a moment before letting me go enough to
stare deeply into my eyes. I could sense the desperate need in his eyes before
his hand cupped the side of my face and then his lips crushed against mine. His
lips captured mine in a smoldering hot kiss. Ace’s wet tongue thrusted boldly
into my mouth before he began grinding his tongue against mine while his other
hand pressed my body tightly against his.
I moaned before I wrapped my arms around his neck and began
kissing him back with wild abandon. His hips grinded against mine and I could
feel his hardness against my belly. His cock was already so hard. His arousal
fueled the flames of my desire, and I knew that it was very dangerous for us to
continue this way.
“Never suggest anything like that ever again. I don’t want
to hear it,” Ace said with unmasked anger.
“I’m sorry, Ace…” I apologized softly.
“Just stay by my side. Do you understand?” Ace asked as his
eyes stared deeply into mine.
“Yes,” I replied with a nod.
I could still see that scene vividly in my mind. We had that
conversation just hours before the start of the conference and because I didn’t
have a comeback for his words, here I was at his side as he hand wanted. All
the members of the press had taken their seat and the atmosphere was tense as
everyone waited eagerly for Ace to start speaking at the podium.
“Good afternoon to everyone. Thank you for your time. I’m
Ace Hills, the CEO of Jessen’s and Hill’s. I’m here today to address the recent
rumors surrounding a couple of misleading photographs that were taken of my
secretary and myself,” Ace said before he smiled politely as his hand gestured
in my direction.
All eyes were on me, and my body froze. Why did he have to
bring their attention to me like that?
I smiled professionally as I nodded my head solemnly.
The audience’s attention returned to Ace who was ready to
continue. The tension in the air seemed to have increased again.
“The truth is that rumors are just rumors. My secretary and
I are not engaged in any inappropriate relationship. We are not romantically
involved in any shape or form. However, it was true that we danced together as
captured in the photos that has been extensively shared on many public domains.
That day we were attending a client’s party together as part of our usual work.
The theme of the party involved ballroom dancing and that was what we ended up
doing as part of our jobs. It is absolutely expected and normal for my secretary
to accompany me on various business occasions,” Ace explained smoothly before he
paused for effect.
The audience still had their eyes on him and when he was
sure that he still had their attention, he smiled professionally before continuing
on.
“The angles in the photographs that were selected, I am sure
from many countless others that were taken, have misled everyone that we were
kissing. This is indeed false because we never engaged in such an act. The recent
release of those misleading photos has brought about much damage to Jessen’s
and Hill’s and have led some of our clients to question our professionalism in
handling our work. As a result of that, our legal team will come to a decision
soon whether they would like to take any legal action,” Ace said before smiling
charmingly.
After that he concluded what he wanted to say by mentioning
that the company’s management, including himself, and all employees of the
company are serious in strictly abiding by the no-dating rule between employees
working for the company. The press did have some questions at the end, but Ace
answered them all smoothly.
The press conference ended without any surprising event to
my utter relief. I prayed that Ace would be right once again and that
everything about this issue would die down eventually. Just like a storm that
had suddenly hit us, I prayed that the storm would pass just as suddenly.
…
**Around a week later**
The most devastating part of the
storm passed. Things have died down somewhat but not completely. The best part
was that we could return to work without incident. That didn’t mean that we spent
the previous week hiding away somewhere. After Ace’s announcement at the press
conference, we returned to work immediately.
--To be continued…