Chapter 288 - 288 Uncomfortably Close

288 Uncomfortably Close

Why is she here?

“Elizabeth wanted to drop by to congratulation us on the launch. Unfortunately, we were no longer in the office. I didn’t think that she would really turn up here to join us,” Ace explained to me casually before turning his attention back to Elizabeth.

I was still too stunned to say anything as I watch the two of them conversing. Ace pointed something in the commercial out to Elizabeth and she looked quite impressed as they both watched the commercial on the screen together. As for me, I couldn’t stop wondering why Elizabeth had to turn up here.

Was it normal for her to drop by to congratulate her main competitor on their commercial launch?

So many wild thoughts ran through my mind as I stood glued to the spot with my eyes staring at their backs. I had no idea what was really going on or perhaps I was just over reading into everything. However, the way the two of them talked together made them appear to be closer than before. It was like any rivalry that existed between them before had completely disappeared and in its place was something akin to companionship. I cocked my head to the side as my brows slowly drew together into a frown and then my eyes narrowed suspiciously.

What is really going on between them and what is their relationship really like right now?

Elizabeth knew very well that I was dating Ace, but she didn’t seem to have any problem turning up here although she knew that we were together. She also didn’t seem bothered at all when she saw me. I didn’t understand what was going through her mind and it did occur to me that perhaps she didn’t even think like a normal person in the very first place.

“Rina…Rina…”

I snapped out of my thoughts when I realized that Ace was calling my name. Elizabeth gave me a curious look and I felt anger boiling up inside of me. I had no idea how she could act so unbothered like this. The fact that she acted like she belonged at Ace’s side almost made me lose it.

.....

“Umm…what is it?” I asked.

“Do you want to explain to Elizabeth the concept behind the commercial and also the idea behind the marketing plan? After all, it was your idea,” Ace asked as he waved for me to come closer to them.

“Umm…sure…” I replied as I tried to act as natural as possible.

Of course, I didn’t think that I succeeded at appearing natural at all and the last thing that I wanted to do at that moment was to explain the work that I had done to Elizabeth. I had no idea why Ace was getting me to do something like that. He was right that it was my idea that was behind the commercial and the marketing plan; however, I didn’t see why I had to explain that to Elizabeth.

“This commercial is really interesting. I see that you’ve made some adjustments to the storyboard compared to the last time that I saw it. I have to say that it turned out much better than I had envisioned in my mind. I’m sure you all worked hard and that Ace must have trained you up a lot,” Elizabeth said before smiling my way.

If she was someone else, I might have appreciated her compliments and the smile that she flashed my way. Perhaps I was being too on guard, or I was just paranoid because it was her. Another possibility was that I just plain straight hated this woman.

“Thank you. There’s not much behind the concept that differed from the story that Ace told the committee members during his presentation before. As for the marketing plan, I just adapted something that I saw that I thought would make the commercial connect more emotionally with the audiences,” I explained as briefly as I could.

“I can see where you’re coming from, and I have to say that that approach sounds very much like something that Ace would do. I guess it’s only natural for a team member to think like her boss. Is that right, Ace?” Elizabeth commented with a small laugh before turning to address Ace.

The way she drawled her voice when she spoke to him made me want to gag. If they were all alone, I wondered if she would have thrown herself all over him by now. That thought flashed through my mind and I felt pain stinging the palm of my hands and realized that I had dug my fingernails into my flesh from clenching my hands too tightly into fists. I bit down hard on my inner lower lip before taking in a deep breath and holding it.

Anger management…anger management…

“Should we head back to the office?” I suggested while trying to sound as cheerful as I could.

If I can get Ace to agree to head back to the office, then Elizabeth probably won’t follow us. Unfortunately, that was the only idea that I could come up with to get rid of her and I hated myself for my lack of options to dispose of her.

“I thought we were going out for dinner. Do you still want to go back to the office instead?” Ace asked calmly.

It was true that I wanted to go to dinner with Ace; however, I was more than willing to give that up if that meant that I could get rid of Elizabeth. Ace also acted so casual around her now, and that made me feel even more uncomfortable than before.

What is Kyle doing now of all times? Why can’t he keep his wife at home or under surveillance?

“We’re going to grab dinner. Do you want to join us?” Ace turned to ask Elizabeth.

My mouth literally dropped opened and I wanted to pull on my hair and scream. The thought of the three of us going out for dinner together was worst than any nightmare that I could have dreamt up.

–To be continued…