Chapter 14 - Exclusive

Ava

Today was Sunday, so Ace was at home—technically, he was working from home.

Breakfasts on Sundays were a little late due to being on the weekend. This morning, everyone looked even fresher than usual, thanks to the extra couple of hours of sleep. Also, Grandpa and Grandma had already left for their trip.

After breakfast, I chatted with Emma while she worked on a school project. When I felt like she might need some time to concentrate to figure out the next part, I decided to excuse myself and go bother Ace for a while. That guy seriously needed a big break from work today. God, I even felt tired of watching him work. How could he love working so much? My dad also spared himself more breaks than Ace did.

I knocked on the door of Ace's study and opened the door slightly when he didn't respond. I peeked at Ace, who was sitting on the chair, his laptop on the table. His study was filled with thick books, which were all non-fiction books. It was about business and whatnot. There was a shelf filled with files. Everything was so organized.

"Are you here to steal something?" Ace asked all of a sudden, without even sparing me a single glance.

I was still peeking from the door. How did he understand it was me when he didn't even turn this way or ask who it was?

"Yes," I replied sheepishly and got inside the study.

He shook his head with a sigh. "No wonder why you were peeping like a thief."

I sat on the couch in the corner behind the coffee table. I took a magazine from the table and started going through them. It was filled with the new clothes collection by the Valentino Fashion.

"What did you want to steal, anyway?" he questioned out of curiosity. This time, he looked at me, awaiting my response.

"I am here to steal your time. Are you busy?" If he was busy, then I wouldn't bother him much. But if he wasn't busy, I would give him company.

A genuine smile evolved on his lips as he said, "Did I ever tell you I was busy anytime you called or texted me?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "No?"

"I have always seen your texts on time and received your calls, even if I was in a meeting. What does that mean?"

"That you pretend to be busy, but in reality, you have plenty of free time?" I deadpanned.

I knew what he was trying to imply, but if I said what he wanted to hear, there would have been an awkward tension between us once again. So it was better to not exactly say what he wanted to hear. I knew he meant that he was never busy for me. Sometimes it was better to play dumb.

"Sometimes I wonder how you did well in Yale. How did they take you if you were this dumb?" Ace's annoyed voice brought me out of my trance.

I narrowed my eyes in his direction. "I think you exactly remember how hard I studied during that time, so I don't have to reply to your question."

He chuckled and got up from his seat. I saw him making his way toward the shelf to pull out a file.

I flipped through the magazine and saw the new collection. I remember one section of my closet, which was next to our bedroom, being filled with these dresses of almost all colors. I was surprised to find any clothes at all in that closet.

"Hey, aren't these clothes the same ones as in my closet?" I asked when I found the outfit I wore after showering the first day on one of the pages.

"Uh-huh," Ace replied casually.

"So you basically put all the extra dresses of your company in my closet?" I arched an eyebrow. "Did you not want to spend more money than necessary on your wife's clothes?"

He stopped reading the file near the shelf and glanced at me. "There were other brands in there as well. Don't you dare imply that I am a miser."

I burst into laughter hearing him. He was right, indeed. There was plenty of brand clothing. But it was just fun teasing him.

"By the way, when will you be launching the new collection? You seem busier these days," I mentioned and got up from my seat after putting the magazine back on the coffee table.

"It's going to be launched next month," he answered.

I went to Ace's table and saw there was an entire file called 'Valentines.' I opened the file, and it was filled with different designs of dresses. Surprisingly, I had these designs of dresses in my closet too.

"When will you launch this collection?" I asked him, holding the file in my hand.

"That's gonna be the special and surprise collection which will be launched on Valentine's Day next year." He walked toward me with a proud smile.

Valentine's Day was still months away. He didn't even launch these dresses. They seem to have not even been mass-produced yet, either. Then, how do I have them in my closet right now?

"How do I have these styles of dresses, then?" I couldn't help but ask.

He moved dangerously closer to me. If I tried to shift now, I would have to push him because he was on my left side. On my right, there was his chair, while in front of me was his table. Behind me was just the plain wall. I had nowhere to go.

He whispered into my ear, "Maybe I made a special request to have the first-made dresses of this collection, crafted straight by the hands of our head designers, delivered for my wife? There are perks of being the boss, you know."

He didn't just do that. He gave me the dresses from this exclusive collection, that too made by the head designer. The first-made dresses were not meant to be sold; they were for displays or for big-shot fashion shows. On top of that, those weren't even ready to be launched!

Until now, every time he would launch a new collection, he would put aside one set of each dress for me. But this time, he gave me the one he hadn't even launched. Right now, the dresses I had in possession were the only ones made in those exact designs. Wow, that... that really made me special.

My breath hitched at the closeness when Ace was peeking over at the file in my hand. Quickly, I sat on Ace's chair to maintain some distance before my legs turned into jelly and I fell into his arms.

I put down that file and picked up another one. It was the next year's Spring collection. They were just hand-drawn pictures with color combinations and measurements written at the moment. I flipped through the pages and noticed a design. "Ace, don't you think this dress would've been the best if this design was horizontal instead of vertical?"

He took a closer look at the design I showed him. This time, I was sitting on his chair, and his face was literally over my shoulder. So much for maintaining distance.

"Can you show me a demo?" he asked me.

I took a pencil and a white paper from the table. I started to draw the exact same dress but altered the design slightly, based on what I felt would look the best. All this time, Ace was standing close to me, his warm breath hitting the shell of my ear lightly, so it was quite distracting. I tried my best to storm through it and finish the design without embarrassing myself.

Once the design was completed, I showed it to him. He went to sit on the couch and took a closer look at the design.

"Ava, this is awesome. How did you...?"

"I don't know. I just thought this would be better," I replied honestly.

"Thank you for this. Even my employees were confused about how to make that dress look right, but you managed to do it so easily. Great job, Ava," he said to me, and I gave him a shrugging smile. "Anyway, I'm going to make a call to the head of the department so that everyone can stop stressing about this design." I nodded, and he pulled out his phone to make a call.

I got up from my seat and walked out of the study to give him space and also because his closeness still bothered me. I had always felt different about him, and now, those feelings were stirring deeper. I had gotten used to being physically close to him, but now... Was it because of that kiss? Why couldn't I forget about that? It was just a mistake. Ugh, when will I stop feeling like this?

I was walking down the stairs on my way to make a blog in the garden, and that was when my eyes fell on the entrance.

A blond woman entered the mansion, her amber eyes scanning the house until they landed on me. She beamed at me brightly.

I beamed right back at her. Liliana was back!

I was about to run to hug her, but I stopped dead on my steps when I saw another person stepping inside the house behind her.

Those small black curls—caramel skin. Please don't be the person I am thinking of you to be, I prayed silently.

As soon as his blue eyes fell on me, I almost lost my lost on the stairs.

Simon Rainstorm was here with Liliana.