I chewed on my lower lip as I wondered how Ace was feeling as he calmly delivered his speech. He sounded so professional and in control that it wouldn’t be challenging to trust him to handle everything. After a moment of pause where Ace seemed to be looking in the direction of where the shareholders were seated, he continued with his speech where he addressed the other parties to ease them of their concerns.

“Last but not least, I would like to address our employees, everyone working for both companies. Undoubtedly, this is going to be a big change for everyone. However, we strongly believe that this will be a change for the better. From this, we will all emerge stronger and in a more competitive position with a brighter and more secure future,” Ace announced.

Although I was watching his speech on screen and he wasn’t there right in front of me, he still felt so close, and I could hear the sincerity in his voice. I knew very well that Ace was very concerned about the wellbeing of his employees and the changes that they would have to go through as a result of the merger and that was probably why he was making sure to address their worries upfront. I wished desperately that his words and his good intentions would get to all the employees that were listening just like they got to me.

If things went according to plan, after Ace’s public announcement, the message would be cascaded down from the company’s upper management down to the middle management level before reaching the individual level in the form of small group announcements. Ace told me that that would ensure that everyone truly understood what was going on and it would provide them with the opportunity and platform for them to ask their questions.

“Finally, I have another very important announcement to make. As I have announced before a few times, I have decided to step down from my position as the CEO of Jessen’s and Hill’s. With this merger on the way, I feel even more strongly about my decision. This is the perfect opportunity for me to take our company to greater heights and also pass this legend on to our new CEO..” Ace announced before he smiled and then gestured with his hand toward Elizabeth.

Gasping sounds of shock and ‘Oh..’ of disappointment erupted from the audience all around me in the auditorium. As expected, Ace’s announcement was very shocking and also a big disappointment to most if not all the employees of Jessen’s and Hill’s. Clearly everyone knew that merging the company would mean that there would be only one CEO at the end of the day instead of two. It was natural for everyone at Jessen’s and Hill’s to hope that Ace would continue being the CEO instead of us getting a new CEO from Chase Creatives, our longstanding rival.

“Thank you. I’m Elizabeth Chase and I will be taking over as the CEO of this new entity,” she announced while sounding proud yet humble at the same time.

Elizabeth went on to talk about how she would make the company bigger, stronger, and better. She then continued to make promises to all relevant parties to reassure them just like Ace had done. All of her words seemed to fade into the background as my attention shifted to gauge the reactions of those around me. It might be useful if I could give Ace a good and comprehensive download of the sentiments of the employees and my colleagues. historical

“Ace is really leaving..” Jeremy whispered from next to me.

“Yeah..” I replied in short.

“Are you ok with that?” he asked softly so that his words would not be overheard by other people.

I knew exactly what he was asking and why he was asking. Since he had found out that Ace and I were in a relationship he must have figured out that it would trouble me if Ace no longer worked here. Honestly, I didn’t quite know how to feel now that it was really happening. I had known for a while now about Ace’s plan to step down from his role as CEO and also his plan to leave the company completely. That would mean that we would have less time together at work and that I would no longer be his personal secretary. However, that also meant that we no longer had to keep our relationship a secret.

“I’m fine with whatever he decides,” I replied simply.

I didn’t bother to explain to Jeremy that I was certain that Ace had put in a lot of thought into his decision. In that thought process I was sure that he had somehow factored in how his decision would impact me. My immediate reaction was that I didn’t want to be apart from Ace, but in the longer term, this was probably the best move for us and our relationship. Going out on dates publicly with Ace without having to hide will have to compensate for the fact that I would no longer see him at the office.

Jeremy just stared at my face for a few seconds before looking away from me without asking anything else or making any comment. I felt that that was for the best because I wasn’t in the mood to explain myself to anyone. Instead, I redirected my attention to the people around me to see how they were taking the announcement that was still going on. Elizabeth and Ace now took turns sharing some plans related to the merger which sounded very interesting.

The announcement ended with a Q&A session where people could ask everyone on the panel some questions. Not surprisingly, Ace and Elizabeth ended up answering most of the questions asked. While that was going on, the audience in the auditorium seemed to have very mixed reactions to the news of the merger. While some had faith that things would turn out fine, many were doubtful and fearful of the change and how it may impact them. Job security became one the most talked about topics among the murmur of conversations that erupted in the auditorium.

--To be continued..

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