Begins with Trouble, Ends with Love

Chapter 4

As for Ace, he sat with a stressed and worried look due to the overwhelming work both at the company and the pub. Currently, in the young men's office, all four were intensely reviewing the accounts. Since arriving at the office, Carlos had been walking in and out so frequently that Nira, Carlos's assistant, was left holding her head, though it was nothing compared to the young boss's frustration.

"It started going wrong three months ago," Ace turned to speak to Russ, who was looking at the file in his hand before casting a thoughtful glance at King.

"I think we need to take decisive action. More importantly, how did they get the details about the cars we ordered?" Ace remarked before looking at his two close friends.

"There's a rat," both Russ and King said simultaneously.

"Who the heck is it?" Ace cursed before turning to see Carlos walking in with a large stack of documents.

"What's up? Did you find anything?" Ace asked immediately.

"I found a suspect," Carlos replied before handing over an employee file he had just retrieved from the HR department.

"Mr. Peterson, from the sales department, is the younger brother of Kyla, the former pub manager." When Ace heard the name of the pub manager he had fired four years ago, he gritted his teeth.

"He just can't let it go, can he?" Ace’s eyes blazed, causing Russ and King to shiver at the sight of their friend's face.

Flashback to four years ago, on the day the young man went to check the pub because Russ called to report someone selling drugs there, he usually wouldn't get involved unless it was a big issue, as he allowed his two friends to handle it.

His infrequent visits to the pub had their advantages, allowing Ace to see many things. Upon arriving at the pub, he was greeted by a receptionist who led him to a table and inquired about additional services he didn't expect the place to offer. The receptionist eagerly offered a variety of services to the young man, who seemed quite wealthy.

But Ace declined everything. The receptionist had to retreat before turning to meet the pub manager who happened to walk in.

Kyla, who was 30 years old at the time, looked in the direction the staff pointed and was stunned by the handsome guest sitting on the large sofa before gracefully approaching him.

"Would you do me the honor of having a drink with me?" Ace turned to look in the direction of the voice before glancing over.

"Kyla, the manager," Carlos, seeing who had walked in, leaned over to whisper to the person next to him.

"Hmm," Ace nodded in acknowledgment before turning to look directly at the person approaching.

"Hello, I'm Kyla, the pub manager," Kyla promptly extended her hand to the young man.

"Hello, I'm Ace. Nice to meet you," the young man extended his hand to shake hers before nodding for the woman in front of him to take a seat on the other side of the sofa.

"The staff mentioned you declined our special services. May I ask what kind of service you would like? I can arrange it for you," Kyla started the conversation as she saw the waiter bring a glass of drink.

"I'm here for work. I don't want any additional services. By the way, when did this place start offering these services?" Ace got straight to the point.

"Well, we've been offering these additional services since I became the manager. The owner gave me the authority to make all the decisions, so I wanted to make this place more well-known, and that's why I introduced these services," Kyla explained, thinking the person in front of her might want to know more before making any decisions.

"Hmm, I wasn't aware of that. Since the pub opened, I thought I had planned enough promotions to keep this place running without additional services," Ace’s words made Kyla pause, and she nodded to the waiter to change the drink as his glass was already empty.

"Uh, what did you just say?" Kyla asked hesitantly.

"Alright, I've spent enough time here. I'll head upstairs to check the accounts," Ace downed the amber-colored drink in one go before heading to the third floor to his office.

"Where are you going? That's the owner's floor," Kyla, who had been interested in the young man since she first saw him, was taken aback when she saw him heading to the third floor.

"Yes, and you know there are three owners here, right?" Ace replied, glancing at the female manager once more.

"Mr. Ace," Kyla murmured, biting her lip before looking at the glass he had just finished with determination.

"Heh, with that much gone, it won't take long," Kyla muttered softly, then glanced at a sweet-faced young woman who had just started working that day. She gave a knowing look before beckoning the new girl over.

Ace, starting to feel something was wrong with his body, cursed in frustration. He was there to check on something because his close friend and partner had received a report about something. As he ordered his confidant to find the culprit, a knock on the door suddenly sounded.

"Who is it?"

"Uh, the manager sent me to bring you a drink," Amira, a young woman in her mid-twenties, replied.

"Come in," called out a voice from inside the room, prompting Amira to slowly open the door. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed her arm, causing the tray of drinks to fall and shatter.

Amira, pulled into the strong chest, stood frozen before stammering,

"What are you doing? Let me go."

"I'm just bringing the drinks as ordered by the manager," she said truthfully. In reality, only someone with orders from the pub owner or manager should bring drinks to this room. Suddenly, Amira, on her first day as an employee, was told by the manager to deliver drinks to the VIP room.

"I didn't order them to be brought up. Oh, so you're in cahoots with her, aren't you?"

"But it's strange, why didn't she come to see the results herself?" Ace, now struggling to restrain himself due to the effects of the drug, combined with the slender figure in his arms, with a faint scent of baby powder, caused him to inhale deeply.

"But it's better that it's you. If it were her, even if she came in, I wouldn't touch her." Ace, now trying to regain his composure, looked up at the person in his arms. Her sweet face and wavy hair made her naturally alluring.

"As for you, this is your punishment for being an accomplice." Amira was stunned when she heard the big man finish speaking, her eyes widened as he threw her onto the wide bed in the other room.

"Please, let me go. I don't know anything. I'm just doing my job," she pleaded.

"Let's not waste time," the sound of a zipper being pulled down echoed, and Amira struggled to escape his strong hands as he tried to pull her skirt off her slender legs, before looking up at the big man with eyes full of anger.

"Don't tire yourself out by struggling," Ace reached out to stroke the sweet face that was glistening with sweat and tears, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"You know, the more you act like this, the more I like it. Let's see how long you can hold out," Ace, who liked to win, was even more pleased by her demeanor. He then leaned down to her bright lips, gently kissing and nibbling them bit by bit, his strong hands caressing her slender body.

The effects of the drug made it difficult for Ace to hold out for long. When his patience ran out, he ripped the white shirt Amira was wearing, sending buttons scattering in all directions. He leaned down to inhale her scent, his thick lips leaving rose-colored marks as they kissed her skin, before skillfully unhooking her bra.

Ace was equally surprised, as he hadn't expected the person beneath him to be a virgin. He remained still to let her adjust to his size. When he saw she was getting used to it, he leaned forward to kiss her small lips, then possessively swept his tongue over hers in her sweet mouth.

Ace, driven by both the drug and his desire to possess her, pressed himself fully against her and started moving slowly. Before his patience ran out, he withdrew his hips and then pressed in deeply. The slender body shuddered and hugged him tightly, her delicate hands raking across his broad back in ecstasy. Ace intensified his actions vigorously.

Amira, who had resigned herself to her fate, let things happen. Before the encounter ended, her slender body collapsed against his strong chest as dawn broke.

***

Returning to the present…

Ace let his mind drift back to the events of four years ago, prompting his close friend across the table to shake his head, assuming Ace would have forgotten by now. But who would have thought Ace never did?

"So, how are you going to handle it?" Russ asked the person in front of him.

"Eliminate the traitor, leave nothing behind," came the soft yet decisive reply, causing both friends to sit up straight immediately.

"Okay," Russ and King agreed before leaving their friend's office immediately. After his friends left, Ace took out his phone and was surprised to see a name on the screen.

"Hmm, what did Mom send?" Ace murmured as he opened the app to see what his mother had sent.

"Twins?" Seeing the picture his mother sent, Ace quickly dialed her number.

"Mom…"

"If you have time, come up to North Carolina," Mrs. Benneth replied briefly before hanging up immediately.

"Sigh, but why those kids?" Ace murmured before saving the picture his mother had taken and sent.

"Carlos, check my schedule. Look for three or four consecutive free days. Oh, and book a flight to North Carolina too," Ace instructed Carlos, who had just walked back in, to check the schedule immediately.

"Carlos, come take a look at this," Ace, still seeking answers to his lingering questions, handed his phone to his trusted aide.

"Mrs. Benneth and Grandma Joyce," Carlos said after looking at the picture.

"No, the twins sitting in the middle," Ace shook his head before stating the main purpose of the picture.

"Your kids?" Carlos joked casually, as it was just the two of them in the room. Carlos was both Ace’s cousin and a capable secretary.

"I'll kick your guts out," Ace retorted playfully.

"Hey, look at this. They look so much like you. If they're not your kids, whose are they?" Carlos said while examining the photo and glancing at Ace.

"And Mrs. Benneth didn't say anything?" Carlos asked.

"No, she just sent the photo. When I called, she just said that if I'm free, I should go to North Carolina, that's it."

"Haha, Mrs. Benneth is truly amazing. She's one of the few people who can make you restless," Carlos teased with a grin, thinking about his aunt's personality.

"And the schedule?" Ace asked, seeing Carlos laughing in the chair, inquiring about his own schedule.

"Yes, yes, don't worry. I'll clear up the work to see what's urgent and what's not. As for the plane tickets, we'll wait to see the remaining schedule first," Carlos said while laughing.

"Alright," Ace replied, waving his hand to dismiss the person in front of him to handle his schedule immediately.

***

Over at Farm of Love, the place was bustling with young female customers. After ordering, they immediately asked for the shop's stars.

The twins did not disappoint, especially the older one, who charmed the girls with his smile and ended by taking them to the vegetable and fruit section.

The younger twin, in his usual style, agreed to take photos but rarely smiled. However, the girls weren't deterred, thinking it was just part of his personality.

"Kids, it's time to drink your milk," Amira called out as she walked out from the back kitchen with two glasses of milk, addressing the twins who were being photographed and fed snacks by the customers.

"Come on, Aaron, Mom Amira is calling," Aiden said, seeing their mother holding the milk glasses, and turned to call his younger twin to follow, making the girls smile at their cuteness.

"Hey, you two little rascals, with bellies that big, you probably can't drink milk anymore," Adam teased as the twins reached the back of the coffee counter.

"Of course we can, Uncle Adam. I didn't eat that many snacks, right, Aaron?" Aiden quickly defended himself and looked to his younger twin for support.

Aaron nodded in agreement when his older twin asked, making Adam laugh, as it was rare to see the younger twin back up his older brother's words.

"Ha ha, alright, go have your milk with Mom Amira now." Then the twins walked over to their favorite recliners and reached out to take the milk glasses from their mother's hands.

"Mom Amira, is Grandma Alice coming tomorrow?" Suddenly, Aaron asked his mother, which made Amira raise her eyebrows in surprise because the younger twin usually didn't ask such questions.

"I don't know either, Aaron," Amira replied. Upon hearing his mother's response, Aaron's face visibly fell.

"Why are you asking, Aaron?" Amira knelt down in front of her son and gently stroked his light-colored hair before asking.

"I just want Grandma Alice to come," Aaron replied softly.

"I guess he's really taken with Mrs. Benneth, seeing how much she dotes on him," Adam said with a gentle smile, observing the younger twin's demeanor.

"Indeed, Adam, I don't know how they got so attached." Amira turned to talk to Adam before looking back at the twins, who were starting to doze off after drinking their milk.

"Boys, after you finish your milk, you need to drink some water before going to sleep, okay?"

"Okay," the twins replied, smiling as they took their water bottles to drink before heading back to their recliners.

"Oh, they're already asleep. They must be really tired," Adam remarked with surprise when he saw the twins had fallen asleep faster than expected.

"They've been out with me since morning, and when we got to the store, they met their fans, so they must be exhausted," Amira explained.

"That's fine, let them sleep," Adam said before heading to the produce section to restock, while Amira returned to the kitchen to prepare snacks and get ready for the evening customers.