482 Dark Beginnings

Everyone would complain to a certain degree when we had to go through a move because of the hassle of moving our things. Ace looked around and I could tell that he must be recalling some old memories that he had of this place.

"This used to be my table," he said as he reached out a hand and tapped softly on the desk in front of us.historical

"I see. This must bring back some very good memories for you," I said with a smile.

"Not really..." he replied softly.

Did he just say 'not really'?

"Oh..." I murmured when I realized that I might have said something inappropriate without thinking.

Ace turned to grin at me and for a moment he had a sad faraway look in his eyes. I had always thought that Ace's career must have been all rosy and smooth sailing given his family background. Apparently, I couldn't have been more wrong.

"I started working here even before I graduated from college. My father helped establish the company and this is our family business. So, from a very young age, I already understood that I would end up working here one day and it would be just a matter of time before I had to take over the family business as the next CEO," Ace explained.

He leaned against the desk and seemed to relax a little. It felt like Ace was truly opening up to me by telling me this story about himself. His words touched me and so did his sincere attitude. I couldn't wait to hear more of what he wanted to tell me, and I could feel my chest tightening up in anticipation.

"I did all my internships here at this company and my father was still very active and involved in the company back then," he continued with his story.

"Did you like it?" I asked with a smile.

In my mind I could imagine a younger Ace excitedly working on his internships at the company and then starting out his fulltime job here. I knew his profile very well, so I already knew that his first job was at this company. That was before things went south with his father and he ended up making his escape to start his own companies.

"I loved it. Sometimes I think my father was very successful in ingraining all his lessons in me, and because of that, I ended up looking forward to working here and liking my job. Then sometimes, I would think that it may have been what I'm naturally inclined to enjoy on my own," Ace replied with a smile.

I could tell that Ace liked his job, although not the entire bulk of responsibility that came with it. However, I was sure that he was in love with the core of what he did. Creating and directing impactful commercials must have been at the heart of Ace's passion for his work. I believed that to be true now as well as back then.

"I really enjoyed all of my internships and my first job working here as well. It felt like I could put all the things that I've learnt and all my passion into good use all at the same time. Back then, I thought that it was the perfect job for me. On top of that, my father was pleased that I was following in his footsteps and was on the right track to take over the company," he said before pressing his lips into a thin line.

A strange feeling came over me and I knew at that moment that the flowery story where everything seemed to be going so well would come to a swift end. Ace had a slightly conflicted look on his face for moment before his expression relaxed as if he had come to terms with everything and was willing to take it for what it was.

"At first things went well. I adapted fast to how the team was working, and I was churning out good results. The clients liked my work, and I got the opportunity to work on even more important projects. Then that time of the year came around..." he said before grinning meaningfully at me.

"The Ashford competition," I murmured.

"That's right. The Ashford competition came around, and for the first time, I was staffed on the team to represent the company in the competition. If you think that the Ashford competition is a very big deal today, imagine how big and important it was to the company back then," he said before nodding his head slowly.

I couldn't quite imagine how big of a deal it actually was, but I knew that it must have meant everything for the company and everyone working in it. Jessen's and Hay's became even more famous after winning the Ashford competition repeatedly year after year. However, the first competition that Ace got involved with was years ago, so it was very likely that up until that point the company did not yet have the track record that it had today.

"It must have meant everything..." I replied in short.

"I was very excited to be part of the team. I was so determined and fired up that looking back, I realized that I must have ignored many signs. There were rumors of nepotism and that I was only chosen because I was my father's son. Of course, I was used to hearing something like that ever since I was much younger, so it didn't matter much to me at the time," Ace said before coming to another pause.

"Sounds complicated," I commented while trying to keep my tone light.

"Very. Inefficiently complicated. At first, I didn't pay it any mind at all. Then I started having head on arguments with the project manager. We didn't have the same views and I was too confident in myself and too stubborn to take much feedback," Ace said as a dark expression clouded his attractive facial features.

I didn't even want to imagine what kind of memories he was recalling from back in the days.

--To be continued...