I blinked rapidly to snap out of my ominous thoughts to find Ace staring intensely at my face as he rested his chin on the back of his hand. Automatically, I offered him a smile to hide the fact that I was in fact quite stressed out at that moment despite how well everything seemed to be progressing. His hazel eyes seemed to appraise my face and I could tell that he could read me and what I was thinking.

“Yes…?” I replied while trying to keep my tone light.

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“Should we go to the office today or should we just call in sick?” Ace asked before he laughed a little.

I was very tempted to go with his more than subtle hint that we should just call in sick and take the day off together; however, I couldn’t quite bring myself to hog Ace all to myself when I knew that everyone at the company must be waiting for him to make an appearance like some superhero. Unwarranted rumors could go spreading around the company as well if the CEO did not turn up to work after publicly announcing his retirement like that.

“Let’s go to the office. I’m sure many people are waiting for their hero to make an appearance,” I stated my decision before I would change my mind.

“Hmm…I thought you would choose to sleep in with me for the day,” Ace said.

I giggled as I watched him stretch his arms while turning his body from side to side. How he was stretching reminded me of a cat but due to his size and also his apparent prowess, I thought that a large tiger might be more suitable as an analogy.

“I have to admit that the idea is indeed very tempting, but I still think it would be best for you to turn up to the office today. Everyone will be worried if you don’t turn up. Plus, I’m sure that everyone is waiting to congratulate you,” I said before smiling brightly.

“Umm…” Ace made a sound that told me that he was absolutely unconvinced.

“You haven’t been to the office since the announcement of our victory. Everyone must be waiting for you so please just do it for them?” I suggested a little pleadingly.

Ace didn’t look at all happy with my suggestion although I could tell that he knew that I was right about this one. He was probably just lazy, but I knew that he was a very responsible person. After a moment of what truly resembled him sulking, Ace let out a sigh of resignation.

“I guess I can do it if it’s for you…” Ace murmured as if he was talking to himself before he slowly got up from his seat.

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“Thank you, Ace…” I thanked him as I stood up from my seat as well.

I thought that our conversation was over as he both got about our daily routine of getting ready for work. Needless to say, we were already late for work, but it was pretty customary for the workday to start later the day after the celebration. That was how things were every year. I would be extremely surprised if this year was any different and if I didn’t spot anyone hungover at work.

“Rina…” Ace called my name softly.

I turned to see him emerging from his dressing room and my eyes widened at the change from his homey mode to his professional CEO one. This wasn’t the first time that I had seen such a transformation, but it never failed to impress me and make my heart skip a beat. I wasn’t sure which mode I liked better or preferred and that was probably because I was so in love with him either way. The dark grey suit that he had on suited him very well and made him look very mature. It was a stark contrast to the white t-shirt that he had on before along with his slightly tousled hair look that he always got after waking up.

“What is it?” I inquired with a smile as I wondered what he wanted.

Ace seemed to hesitate for a brief moment before he came to stand right in front of me. I was slightly taken aback by how close he was standing over me and the fact that his tall and large frame was looming over me. His hazel eyes seemed serious as he stared down into my upturned face. Before I could take a good guess of what had gone wrong, Ace spoke up.

“What do you think about moving in?” he asked but it also sounded like an invitation to me.

“Umm…” I murmured reflexively as my mind struggled to process his sudden proposal.

“Let me rephrase that. Rina, you should move in and live here with me,” Ace said while sounding quite resolute about it.

It was true that I was spending more time with Ace at his place and spending the nights with him. As we got closer, it became natural for me to sleep over at his place after meeting up after work or having dinner with him. However, I still spent many nights back at my apartment where I could enjoy some relaxing time and some privacy. I wasn’t a stranger at Ace’s place anymore and he even gave me all the keys and card access to his place so that I could come and go as I wished. However, I still felt that moving in to properly live with him was a different matter and that made me hesitant.

Ace’s hazel eyes kept staring at me as he waited for my answer. On one hand, I was glad that he was proposing that I move into live with him because it does go to show his commitment in our relationship. I was glad that he was willing to take things a step forward and we could spend more time together that way. Although I knew that there were definitely merits to it, those merits did not stop the uneasiness that I felt sprouting up in my chest.

--To be continued…

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