**6 months later**

“Karina, can you help take a look at this?” my new supervisor requested as she waved me over.

“Oh, sure..” I replied before making my way over to her side.

Bending a little and looking down at the screen of her laptop, I could see a very well-organized storyboard of the new commercial that we were working on. It has been six months since the announcement of the merger and many things have changed since then for the two companies, its employees, and also for me as well. historical

“This part here, what do you think?” she asked as she pointed to a certain scene in the storyboard.

“I think it should help with the flow and make it easier for the audience to understand the benefits of the product,” I replied with what I honestly thought.

“Umm..I’m not sure about it to be honest. I feel like the scene might feel a little out of place here. What about moving it a little later on? Maybe here instead?” she suggested as she directed her index finger to point to a later part in the storyboard.

“That could work as well. Let’s go with that,” I agreed after a moment of picturing what the flow would be like in my head.

“Great. Can I bother you to adjust this based on our alignment please?” she requested.

“Of course. I’ll do that now,” I replied with a smile.

We were six months into the merger now and based on the plan shared with all employees, we had now reached the end of phase one of the merger implementation plan that was separated into three phrases with each lasting six months. Just as it was agreed and announced, Elizabeth took over as the CEO of the new merged entity and that meant that Ace no longer acted as the CEO. However, that didn’t mean that Ace suddenly disappeared the next day after all the agreement papers were signed. In fact, the plan was for Ace to stick around to help out with the transition until the end of the first phrase.

The merger brought about as many new changes as opportunities for everyone involved. For starters, the company still operated from two buildings because there wasn’t a building big enough and immediately available to house the two companies once it was combined. What that meant was that some departments had to move buildings to ensure that operations could run smoothly although there were now officially two headquarters.

The biggest change that everyone experienced was the merging of teams between the two companies. What that essentially meant was that all teams and functions became bigger, and everyone got a whole batch of new colleagues. Something similar applied to the members of the CEO’s office as well as myself. Surprisingly, Elizabeth also had a team of elites that worked directly with her on key projects as well and it was with that team that the CEO’s office was merged with. Now we reported directly to Elizabeth on key projects while working with experienced project managers for our other projects.

My current supervisor, whom I had a challenging yet fulfilling work relationship with, was also a project manager from Chase Creatives. The people that we worked with weren’t the only thing that had changed, the clients that we worked for also changed. For my very first project after the merger, I was staffed under a manager from Chase Creatives to produce a commercial for a long-standing Chase Creative client. It wasn’t easy but I wholeheartedly welcomed to challenge to work under a new manager while also serving a client that I would never have the opportunity to serve had the two companies never merged with one another.

I stared at the unmarked date on my desk that I had memorized as I felt my heart skip a little in my chest. Although I had known quite some time ago that this day would eventually come, now that it was here, I still felt unprepared to face it. Right at the date marking the last day of the month and marking the end of six months since the start of the merger, it was Ace’s last day working at Jessen’s and Hill’s.

“I just sent over everything. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” I told my teammates at the end of the day.

There wasn’t anything that could hold me back and make me leave work even a minute later on that day. When I was out of the door of my team room, I was walking as fast as I could in my heels as I headed to the elevator. The ride down to the lobby never felt so torturously long before. My heart began beating faster and louder in my chest as my longing to see Ace quickly became overwhelming. Since it was his final day at the company, we had decided to end it off with a celebration of our own to put a positive spin on things. I had Ace to thank for turning down the other multiple invitations that he had received to celebrate his early retirement from the company to spend the evening with me. It made me feel like someone important and I couldn’t wait to spend the evening with him.

“Ace..” I answered his call as I pressed my phone against the side of my face.

“Just wait in front of building, I’ll pick you up there, so you don’t have to walk to the parking lot,” Ace instructed.

“Oh..but..” I began protesting before I stopped myself.

“It’s past working hours now so I no longer work for Jessen’s and Hill’s,” Ace pointed out what I had just realized as well.

“Right..” I murmured.

“Just wait for me there,” Ace repeated his instruction again before he hung up.

I stared with a slight feeling of confusion at my phone screen as I waited for reality to sink in. Ace’s last day working for the company was over, which meant that we no longer had a need to keep our relationship a secret from anyone anymore.

Wow..

--To be continued..

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