Undercover Excitement
Undercover Excitement
Although it was the middle of a weekday, there were many people in the shopping district. I guessed
that just goes to show how into shopping people were. Then again, most people that were there were
younger people who haven’t started working yet or the elderly. Many tourists were among them as well.
I was certain that within a few hours, this entire place would be packed with people.
I fully assumed that Ace knew where we were going. He must have spoken to Julianna and the team
already and that meant that he knew all the spots where the commercial would be displayed. My heart
began beating harder and faster in my chest at the thought of how close I was to finding out the
audience’s reaction to the commercial that we had worked so hard to produce.
Many couples walked hand in hand as they looked into the many attractive shop displays. I wondered if
we looked like a couple on a casual shopping trip together as well as I walked with my hand in Ace’s.
Seeing our reflection in the shop display window made me think that we looked like quite a pair with our This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .
casual clothes on. No one would suspect that we were actually here to gather some insights for our
commercial. The way Ace held my hand and led me through the throng of people on the sidewalk
made me feel like we were on a date indeed.
“That’s the first spot…” Ace said as he pointed his index finger at a very large screen located on a large
shopping mall in front of us.
“Wow…” I murmured in awe as my eyes fixated on the large screen.
Our commercial is going to appear there?
“Julianna went all out…” Ace said what I had in mind.
“I don’t even want to imagine how much it costs to get our commercial up there…” I muttered to myself
as my eyes stared up at the large screen above us.
Ace was right about Juliana going all out about these commercial placements. This was supposed to
be a non-profit project but it seemed like so much investment from our company had gone into it. That
made sense considering how important it was for our company’s reputation for us to win this
competition.
“Not much. I think Julianna negotiated for a very good rate with the excuse that our work is non-profit
and that it’ll make it look like the mall is supporting a good CSR cause,” Ace replied with a careless
shrug of his shoulders.
“Oh, I see…that’s smart…” I said as I nodded my head.
“It’s Julianna…” Ace said with a small laugh.
“Right…” I mumbled in reply.
I had to say that I was very impressed with her work and hoped that the audiences would be just as
impressed if not more impressed. Once again, I was reminded that the CEO’s office team was really
comprised of the top talents in the company and that I probably had a long way to go to match up with
them. I stared up at the screen before taking in a deep breath. Instead of feeling down about it like
before, I started to feel more determined about improving myself so that one day, I would be at their
level too.
The way he said her name made me feel like he was so proud of her, and although that I knew that he
probably meant that professional, it still brought a slight stinging pain to my chest. My eyes darted to
Ace’s face and then I wondered if he ever mentioned that he thought that I was smart in front of other
people like that.
Probably not…
Another commercial was playing on the screen and it was clearly not yet time for the launch but that
only made me feel even more excited. Ace checked the time on his watch before shoving his hands
into his pant pockets and turning to me.
“What is it?” I asked with slight worry.
“We still have some time, I guess. Want to grab a quick meal before coming back here?” he suggested.
“I’m not really hungry…” I mumbled.
It was true but more importantly, I was scared of missing the first moment that our commercial would be
displayed on the large screen.
“You know, the commercial will be played over and over once it starts, right?” Ace asked before
grinning at me.
He probably knew what I was thinking and what I was scared of. Of course, I knew that the commercial
would be looped forever until our assigned slot came to an end.
“It’s not the same thing. I want to see it since the very first time that it starts playing. The audiences’
reaction the first time is going to be the most unique as well…” I argued my case passionately.
“Alright, alright…I get it,” Ace said with a chuckle.
I smiled at him when I found him smiling at me. The way his hazel eyes seemed to sparkle told me that
he was probably just as excited to see the commercial as I was. Instead of going out to watch a
romantic movie on our date, here we were waiting to watch the commercial that we worked hard on to
produce.
“Umm…if you want, I can go buy you something to eat…” I suggested while hoping that it would be a
good-enough alternative.
“I’m fine. Let’s go out for a proper meal after you’re satisfied with watching the commercial here,” Ace
suggested.
“Ok…” I murmured.
I felt his arms slipping around my waist before he pulled me backwards a little until my back was
pressed up against his hard and larger frame. His arms around me felt very warm and secure and I
was overwhelmed by his familiar scent. Many people walked past us without paying us any mind as the
shopping district started to get busier than before.
“Umm…how much longer do we have to wait?” I asked after standing there for a moment with Ace’s
arms around me.
--To be continued…