Love Slave to My Devil CEO Boss R18



477 Call of Fate

It was frankly such an amazing feat because I was certain that these two were rising stars in their respective fields and well known within the industry.

"Since Richard and I are here, we're good for planning and marketing. Now, if only we have someone who can help us with the design and creatives," Julianna said before smiling meaningfully my way.

"Don't say that. You'll just end up pressuring Rina into joining us,” Ace said with a small laugh.

"But she should just join us. Right, Rina? I don't even know why you're hesitating for so long," Julianna said.

As always, she was very direct with her words. She was also right that if I were to join Ace's company along with them then they would have someone to work on designs and creatives.

"Don't worry. We'll have more people joining us soon in a couple of weeks," Ace said happily.

"Sounds good," Richard said emotionlessly.

"I don't mind working in a small team as long as everyone is talented and motivated. That being said, having a little more than three people would be good," Julianna said with a laugh.

"I wasn't sure how much work we'll be getting at the start. Plus, you two are also very expensive already. Over-hiring will bankrupt the company," Ace explained.

"I don't mind if you cut down on my pay when we don't have enough work," Richard stated like it was nothing.

"I'm not fine with it but I'm sure that you'll have no trouble bringing in work," Julianna said with confidence.

"Actually, you happen to be right. At first, I wasn't so sure about the work but now that word has gotten out that I've just started a new company, I've had a few potential clients contacting me already," Ace said with a smile.

"You already have work?" I asked while feeling very impressed.

"Yup. Nothing is finalized yet, but we should end up with more work on our hands than we can handle very soon and that is why I'm trying my best to recruit more people," Ace explained.

"Is Elizabeth fine with you poaching her people like this?" I whispered to Ace.

"She's fine with it. I made a deal with Elizabeth that after I quit, I can offer for the people who used to work in my CEO's Office team to come and join me if they wish," Ace clarified casually.

"Oh, I see..." I murmured.

"What are some of the projects that might be in the pipeline?" Richard asked with keen interest.

His question captured Julianna's attention as well as my own. I was certain that the reason that these two moved over to join Ace's company must have been because of the high-impact nature of the projects that they believed that they would get to work on. The details of the company's upcoming project surely had me interested as I waited to hear more from Ace.

"We have a few but the most promising one will be a commercial to promote the use of alternative sources of energy in small communities," Ace revealed with an excited smile.

"Alternative energy. Clearly something that I have to read up on," Julianna commented with keen interest.

"I don't know much about the details either..." Richard admitted.

It was clear that he had entered into his work-mode although this was supposed to be the company's first party. Ace went through some of the details about the project that he heard from the client while I felt slightly envious of how interesting their project sounded compared to the one that I was currently working on.

...

I wished I could have said that it was my own free will and hardcore determination that pushed me to make the decision for myself regarding my career change; however, that wasn't what happened. It was in the middle of the night when I received the call that would change my life quite significantly. It felt like fate was at work because I should have been fast asleep during that time of night. My phone was on silent mode and normally I wouldn't even realize that it was vibrating. However, on that particular night, I needed to go to the toilet in the middle of the night.

While I was returning from my quick visit to the toilet, I spotted the screen of my phone lighting up and showing that I had an incoming call. The moment I spotted the name of my mum's close friend and neighbor, I quickly answered the call while praying that there wasn't some kind of emergency.

"Hello?" I answered the call in a soft whisper so that I wouldn't wake Ace up.

"Karina? It's your mother..." she said with clear panic in her voice. My mother?

"What's wrong with my mother?" I asked as I tried to keep calm.

"I don't know. She passed out and I called the ambulance and they're taking her to the hospital..." Auntie informed me in a shaky voice.

I could tell that she was also scared and panicking. I felt like passing out myself after hearing that my mother was being sent to the hospital in an ambulance in the middle of the night.

"I'll be right there. Thank you so much for letting me know," I thanked her.

"Ok. I'll wait for you at the hospital," she said before hanging up. 

"Rina, did something happen?"

I turned to see Ace sitting up on the bed with his head turned my way.

"My mother... is being taken to the hospital..." I replied in a voice that sounded so broken.

My mind felt blank for a moment and my entire body felt cold. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do and the distance from where I was to my mother never felt so far. I could feel my hands shaking from a mix of shock and panic. A tightness enveloped my chest and it felt like I wanted to cry but I just couldn't.

"Come, Rina. I'll drive you there right now," Ace said as he quickly came to my side.

--To be continued...