Love Slave to My Dev Chapter 335 - 335 His Disappearance

335 His Disappearance

When Ace walked up on that stage, I never dreamt that he would give a speech that would mark his retirent from his role. Even though I knew that it was coming, I never imagined that he would end things so abruptly and publicly like this. I wondered if the Chairman knew in advance about Ace’s announcent and then I highly doubted it.

This long-awaited victory undoubtedly brought

great joy; however, it would be inaccurate to say that we didn’t see this coming. Even though I wasn’t as confident as Ace and the other mbers on the team were, there were many things that led us to believe that we were most likely to win the competition. Ace was probably quite certain of it and Julianna clearly felt the sa way. Jeremy, being captivated by numbers and statistics, was also very well convinced.

The amount of donations that we received to back the cause was a very impressive amount. The donation amount alone put us in first place, leading the competitor in second place by miles. That coupled with the positive comnts and praise we’ve received on social dia from the audience and so industry experts, made a very firm case that we would win. In that sense, our victory didn’t co as much of a surprise but that doesn’t an that it was a cause for any less celebration.

Ace’s abrupt announcent truly stole the spotlight even if it wasn’t his intention to do so. I wasn’t sure how other people felt about it, but to , the joy that ca along with our victory faded in the blink of an eye. The disappointnt of reality hit

hard and falling back to the ground from such a high point truly hurt emotionally.

The shocked murmurs and whispers in the hall and all around

suddenly got louder. It didn’t take long for soft whispers to gather motion and grow into people yelling out questions at Ace. Almost all at once, chaos seed to have broken out in the auditorium. So people stood up from their seats, the reporters started using their microphones and speakers to amplify their questions. I was imdiately worried for Ace and his safety even though I knew that there were many security guards and bodyguards around.

“Everyone, please calm down and remain in your seats! You can ask questions later after the end of the ceremony,” the host almost had to scream into his microphone as he attempted to control the crowd.

His words and efforts didn’t seem to have much effect at all. Within a short while, the security team was called in to escort out reporters and other people who were causing trouble and disturbances. Throughout it all, I kept my eyes on Ace who didn’t seem bothered at all by what was going on around him.

“I apologize for that, Mr. Hills,” the host apologized to Ace.

“Oh, it’s fine. I did expect sothing like that but perhaps to a lesser degree. On that note, I don’t think that the news that I’ve shared is necessarily news. There’s no need for anyone to feel so panicked. I’m just stepping down from my role as CEO but that doesn’t an that I’ll be disappearing from the face of the earth,” Ace said before he laughed jokingly.

.....

What does he an when he says that he’s not going to disappear?

The host laughed along but I could feel that Ace’s words and sudden announcent left the host in a very awkward position as well. I had no idea why Ace had to announce his retirent here or why he had to remind everyone that his ti with the company was pretty much up. Whether it was beneficial to the company or not, I wasn’t sure. However, it was undeniable that the company would get a lot of attention from what Ace had done.

…

Just like I had witnessed and participated in the years before when the company won this competition, almost everyone in the company stayed behind after work to watch the live awards ceremony. I knew without a doubt that everyone must have cheered when the results ca out. In my mind, I could see my colleagues, both the ones that I knew and those that I didn’t know personally, holding their drinks in their hands and getting a little tipsy while watching the live broadcast of the ceremony. After the announcent, the full-fledge party would start and go on well into the night.

With that in mind, it beca the default option for all of us to return to the company together in order to celebrate with the others. It felt like we were heroes returning from a long-waging war when we finally arrived back at our company. At least, that was the way that I felt with so many people waiting in front of the company to greet us when we got out of the team bus. I could hear the cheers of the people even before the bus door opened.

Everyone else on the team lifted their hands and waved proudly as they made their way out of the bus. I did the sa although I felt slightly embarrassed inside. My mind wasn’t fully on what was going on around

although it was a mont that I should have been taking in and living to my fullest. The truth was that I was too worried about Ace to focus fully on celebrating. Unlike that ti at his birthday party, Ace sohow disappeared from the venue after leaving the stage. I tried calling him a few tis, but his phone was switched off. Although I kept telling myself that he may have switched off his phone to avoid calls from the reporters or from his father, I couldn’t completely shake off the feeling that sothing was wrong.

“Karina…”

I heard soone calling my na and turned around to see my ex-boss waving eagerly to . Since moving from my old departnt to work with Ace and his team, I haven’t had much ti to visit my old departnt or my old boss.

–To be continued.