The Trap Of Ace

couldn’t figure it out.

Suddenly he took a step closer and tucked a strand behind my ear. “Did you like the office, Rosebud?”

his rough voice whispered, eyes roaming on my face.

My breath caught at my throat.

First Emerald, then Ms. Hutton, and now back to Rosebud. What was he doing?

I slapped his hand away and stepped back, before I lose my sanity. “It doesn’t matter if I liked it or not.

It’s not that I’m working here anyway.”

I ran away from my home to NY just to stay away from him. I hurt my family and friends just to be away

from him. And now my fate has brought me here, in the company his cousin owned. I couldn’t let this

happen. Though it wasn’t his company, but it was one of his family member’s. So avoiding him wouldn’t

be an easy thing for me if I stayed. And considering his weird behavior towards me recently, I didn’t

believe he’d keep his distance.

He tilted his head, giving me a challenging look. “And who told you so?”

I raised my chin, even that didn’t help with his over six feet height. D**n man! “I did. I won’t work in this

company. I’m going back to New York.”

At the mention of NY, he tensed. But only for a second. The next moment he was in utmost ease as he

shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry to inform you, Ms. Hutton. But you can’t.”

“What do you mean? You can’t force me to work here!”

“Did you read the rules and conditions before you applied and accepted the job?”

I frowned. “Yes?”

A tiny smirk tugged at the edge of his mouth. Something dropped at the pit of my stomach. “Then you

must’ve read about the three months contract. In which, you agreed to the condition that you can’t leave

this job at least for ninety days while accepting this job. So that means, Emerald Hutton-” he closed the

gap again, staring at my eyes, “-you can’t leave this company and this city at least for three months even

if you want.”

I gaped at him. Speechless. How could I forget about the clause? Because at that moment, it wasn’t a

big deal for me. I wouldn’t have left the job even if it was for some years instead of just some months.

But now…

“I don’t care about any contracts. I’m resigning and no one can stop me. And how do you know about

this contract anyway?”

“I know a lot of things. And you will have to care, Ms. Hutton, if you don’t want a big red mark on your

career.”

“I- I…” I didn’t know what to say. He’d point. Breaching this contract could be a big thumbs down for my

career.

The look of triumph in his eyes vexed me.

And then I remembered his words.

You can’t escape from me anymore.

No. I can’t let that happen. I- but what can I do?

Then I turned to Caleb and before I could ask for any help, he put his hands up. “I’m sorry, Em. But I

can’t help you in this. The contract states that, just like the employee can’t resign before the estimated

time, the employeer even can’t fire them until its for something major issue.”

But it is a major issue for me! I wanted to scream.

“Please, is there nothing you can do? You could transfer me somewhere else,” I requested.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Em. And why transfer though?”

“Uh, nothing. It’s just…”

“Are you scared of something, Ms. Hutton?” He stood before me. “Is there anything that you think you

can’t handle?” He cocked his head.

My jaws clenched. What was he trying to do? Was he challenging me?

“I’m not scared of anything or anyone!”

“You sure about that? Because it seems like you’re desperate to escape the city. What are you afraid

of?” He fired back.

Something squeezed in my chest. His questions pricked me. Did he really not know of why I wanted to

escape this city so desperately?

“I- I’m not escaping anything. I’m not a coward you’re sounding like I’m!” My eyes burned as I defended

myself.

“Yes? But you’re behaving like one,” as soon as he said that, regret flashed over his features. “Emerald, I

didn’t mean…”

“You know what, Achilles Valencian? Go to h**l!” Sending him a glare of wrath, I turned around and

stormed out of there.

***

Watching down the whole city from the balcony helped me cool down my nerves. When I found this

balcony empty, I decided to take some breaths in the fresh air. And thought of all the things that just

happened to me.

Though Ace’s words stung, he was telling the truth. I was running from someone, him. I was a coward. I

just didn’t have the courage to be around him more than I could handle.

More than my heart could handle. But now that a challenge was thrown into my path by him and my fate,

was I ready to accept it?

My phone beeped.

I’m sorry.

I glared at my phone as if I was glaring at him instead. Sorry my foot! He did it on purpose. To hurt me.

Because he knew it was a sore subject for me. Though he never mentioned it, but I knew, somehow in

deep down he knew of my feelings for him.

That was years ago! Yes, years ago. I reminded myself.

And I didn’t know what changed, and why he was after me, but whatever he wanted, he won’t get it.

Achilles Valencian wouldn’t get what he wanted this time. Be it if he wanted to hurt me or something else.

Gripping the phone tight into my fist, I typed.

Whatever you’re trying to do, you won’t succeed in it. I won’t let it happen. Just three months, and I will

be free of this contract soon. You can’t make me stay here forever.

Yes, I decided to face it. It was high time to face my fears. I didn’t even have any choice. Maybe, just

maybe I could finally move on from the past hurt facing the my fears? Who knew? And in these three

months, I could stay with my family. Plus there was Tess’s wedding arriving. So in a way, there was a lot

of positive sides if I stayed back and worked here.

It was just a matter of three months, anyway. I could do it.

Spending some time more sitting on the couch, I got back inside and found Caleb’s assistant, Liza.

After she gave me a whole office tour and explained my job here, we stopped at the management

department. With dozens of cubicles where dozens of people were working tirelessly on their given

tasks.

“So, Liza? Where will I work from?” I turned to the tall blonde.

“Your cabin is at the forty-eighth floor.”

My eyes narrowed. “Cabin? Shouldn’t I get a cubicle like the others? I mean, I’m just a new employee,

assisting head designers.”

“You’re right. But the boss had made a cabin especially for you so that you don’t have any kind of

discomforts. And trust me, you will love it.” She smiled.

Caleb? But, wouldn’t that be partiality? Then I shrugged. A personal cabin didn’t sound so bad.

I wonder, if Tess knew of my job in Caleb’s company.

When Liza took me to my cabin, she was right. I fell in love with it at the first sight. It was decorated in a

combination of white and blue colors. Everything in the cabin was either blue or white. The couch, the

shelf, even the beautiful paintings on the walls. It also had a floor to ceiling window from where I could

watch the whole California.

I breathed in awe as I took in the beautiful view of the busy city from the window. It was like a customized

personal office. As if someone decorated every single thing with utmost care and affection.

I must thank Caleb for this. Getting my own personal cabin kinda reduced the bitterness of the argument

I’d with his frustrating cousin.

Once Liza left me on my own, I put my head into the work. All of it was a little difficult at first, but then it

all turned manageable with time. But it needed hard work. Piles of files were stacked on my desk. I didn’t

even realize when the sun set in the jam of the work. And as a newbie at this, I was lacking with speed.

A knock on the door made me look up. My brother strolled in with a small box in his hand.

“What’re you doing here?” I asked.

“Came to see how my little sister is doing at the first day of her office. Why? Is that a problem?”

I rolled my eyes and jutted my chin to the box. “What’s in it?”

“Cupcakes. I thought you’d like some after a day full of work,” he said, opening the box. The

mouthwatering sweet aroma of them had me salivating. Only then I realized how hungry I was.

“Thanks!” Grabbing one, I took a bite.

“So? How was your day? Did you like the office?” he asked, putting almost half of one in his mouth.

“Other than the shock that I was brought here on purpose and who was the owner, everything else was

pretty good. The people over here are very nice and humble.”

He nodded in understanding. “I heard what happened. But I don’t have any complain against their

decision. We can have you closer to us after all.”

I shook my head. I knew none of my family members would see any problem in it. For them, whatever

Caleb did, was right. I can’t even stay upset with him for it, he didn’t know my reasons. If I were in their

place, maybe I would do the same.

“Hey, I know what you’re thinking. But don’t worry. I’m sure he won’t do anything that will make you

uncomfortable. I can talk to him if you want?” he offered, concern latched onto his face.

“No need. It’s not that I’ll have to face him everyday. Not that I care, but it’s good that Caleb is the owner

of this company and not him. So there is nothing much to worry. I won’t see him often.”

“Who told you Caleb is the owner of this company?” He raised his brow.

I frowned. “What do you mean? He’s the CEO, right?”

He nodded. “Yes, as a CEO, he manages everything. But he’s not the owner. Achilles owns this

company. He bought it.”

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