Claiming Mr.CEO

CHAPTER THREE

Morning in an all-boys hostel dorm building, London,

The sun shined brightly and it was already morning. Crescent, on the other hand, was still comfortably asleep in his bed.

"Wake up," Ace smirked as he touched Crescent's face with his index finger. Crescent, on the other hand, was blissfully sleeping and brushed Ace's hand away grumpily.

"Crescent." Ace grimaced, but a sly smirk crept into his face, "Wake up," he said softly as he leaned in close to Crescent's ear.

"Go away." Crescent said in a sleepy tone. "I'm still sleepy,"

Ace leaned in even closer, slipping a hand under Crescent's shirt. He tilted his head and smirked. "Better wake up or I'll punish you,"

"Ace! Wait." Crescent said aloud as he woke up from his sleep and sat in his bed. He groaned the following minute when he realized he was alone in his dorm room and no one was around. He realized he'd been dreaming all along.

"What a terrible way to wake up!" he grumbled to himself. Even the face of that man is enough to spoil his mood for the day.

Crescent has been apart from Ace for three years, yet the memories of their relationship continue to haunt him. The recollections are both cruel and sweet. Crescent had sworn to stay away from Ace at all costs, but his memories keep betraying him. He's been battling his heart for years, trying to forget about Ace.

Crescent clenched his fists into balls until noticing warm water drops on his hands. He realized he was crying now, but there was no particular emotion on his face. Only his eyes were dripping.

"Don't cry," he whispered to himself, trying to force himself to calm down.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Half an hour later,

Crescent had already dressed up for his commencement ceremony. He rushed out of his dorm room with one last glance at the wall clock.

He rode his bicycle outside and paddled all the way to the Academy. It was three years since he'd adjusted to this foreign place, and it's simply amazing how quickly his time had passed. He seemed to have been a freshman only yesterday, and now he's set to graduate.

Crescent arrived at his university. He stopped and parked his bicycle in the cycle lot.

"Hey."

Crescent turned around to find a young man about his age. He was a British male with a baby face, brown eyes, and dark brown hair who stood five feet six inches tall.

"Hey, Mike," Crescent said to a male who was also riding his bicycle to the academy.

Mike was Crescent's only friend at the Academy. A man with a cheery demeanor. Crescent had stopped socializing with other people after leaving New York, switching countries, and arriving at this academy. Even the other students didn't pay him any concern because he preferred to be alone. But then there was Mike, who barged in and soon became Crescent's friend.

"Don't 'Hey' me!" Mike snarled fiercely as he parked his bicycle, "I thought you said you'd call me and wake me up." His voice was smooth with a clear British accent.

"Sorry." Crescent admitted hesitantly. "I forgot," he said.

Crescent was obviously unable to tell Mike of his forgetfulness, since his mind was preoccupied with other matters, such as dreams of his ex-boyfriend.

"Where are you lost now?" Mike questioned, startling Crescent by snapping his fingers in front of him.

Crescent realized that he was dazed.

Mike then noticed his wristwatch. "Oh, no! We're running out of time!" He screamed and grabbed Crescent's arm as he dashed into the academy.

Riverwood Academy of Business Statistics,

Crescent and Mike hurried to the auditorium, where the graduation ceremony had already begun and the principal's speech was being delivered. The auditorium was packed, with teachers at the front and young students in the rear rows.

Both of them crept into the crowd and took seats next to each other, making sure not to disturb anyone else.

"Students! I'm thrilled to be a part of your graduation celebrations, and I'm really proud of you all for your well-deserved achievement." stated the principal with a warm smile, "Congratulations on your graduation, and best wishes for your next adventure!"

Loud cheers echoed across the auditorium.

"This is so boring," Mike groaned with boredom as he said, yawning.

"Ssh!" Crescent hushed him quietly.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

About One and a half hour later,

The commencement ceremony finally came to an end and the people were busy saying goodbye to each other. The entire campus has been decorated, and students who will be saying their final farewell to university life have gathered for the last time. The students were taking pictures with each other to commemorate their final academic moments together. Some had happy expressions because they were looking forward to their new life outside of the academy, while others were sad since they were growing apart from their favorite people.

"You're not going to miss anything, are you?" Mike asked Crescent. They both exited the building and headed into the open space. Both of them were clothed in black graduation robes and caps.

"Not really," Crescent stated blatantly.

Mike, irritated, replied, "You are brutally honest."

Crescent grinned as he observed Mike's reaction. "You don't have to be concerned. I'll be in touch with you," he said.

Mike's face lit up, "Really?" He asked.

Crescent replied with a nod and a smile "Just let me know if you come to my country. I'll show you around."

"Okay!" Mike exclaimed gleefully.

"Hey, Mike!" One of the other students shouted to Mike, who appeared hesitant to leave Crescent on his own.

"It's fine." Crescent said."Go on,"

Mike said, "I'll be back in ten minutes," and then dashed away.

Crescent smiled as he looked around his surroundings. The young students relished every second of their lives.

"Congratulations on graduating."

Crescent's steps came to a standstill as he heard a familiar male voice and saw his teacher standing in front of him.

"Thank you, sir." Crescent gave a smile to his elderly professor, who regarded Crescent as his favorite student.

"Time passes so quickly." The older male smiled as he took small steps towards Crescent.

"That's true." Crescent laughed a little but the next minute, he let out a genuine smile, "Thank you so much for being my mentor, sir." he said.

The professor couldn't help but smile at his student's words. "Wait a bit." He said, surprising Crescent, "I got something for you."

"For me?" Crescent asked confusedly, "What is it, sir?"

"Here, take this," The professor said as he handed Crescent an old pocket watch. It was a spherical copper-colored watch with a black dial and golden arms. Crescent clearly remembers that this watch was given to the professor by his late Mentor. So Crescent couldn't help but be shocked that his profession was gifting him his most prized possession.

"But sir, I can't take this!" Crescent said, nervously. He was shocked to discover that his professor had given him an old souvenir that his professor had always carried. Crescent was adamant in his refusal, but his teacher insisted.

"My mentor gave this to me saying I was his best student and now I am passing it to you, my best student." The professor smiled, "It's a pity that I'll be losing a great pupil. It would be wonderful if you could stay here as a fellow teacher. You had the qualifications. Don't be concerned about the recommendations. I could help you with that." He said as he placed the watch in his palm, and he had no choice but to take it.

"Thank you, professor." Crescent accepted the watch, "I'm grateful that you would pass the suggestion on to me, but I have to return since my father is going to retire, and I'll have to be there to support him by taking on the responsibilities that have been assigned to me."

Crescent's teacher patted his head as he smiled, "You know you are really mature for your age. But you might want to reconsider going back. This is a very good chance for you," the professor said.

Crescent let out a soft laugh, "I know, but my father wants me to join his company, and I knew I'd have to run it at some point." He said.

The professor hugged Crescent, "Okay, I see what you're saying. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you very much, professor." Crescent ended the conversation with a bright smile on his face.

________________________________________________________________________________

In the streets,

As they walked through the streets, Crescent and his friend Mike were chattering.

"I've heard there's a new Korean restaurant in town. Do you want to go?" 'Mike recommended'

"Yeah sure, I've never had Korean cuisine before." Crescent hummed gently.

A few girls' squealing interrupted their conversation at that precise moment. Crescent paused for a second before carrying on with his chat as he walked past the girls.

"Look over there!"

"Wow! It's Ace Elrod!"

"He looks so handsome!"

Crescent's steps came to a stop when he heard the familiar name when he was passing by a store and saw a familiar face on the TV. He took a deep breath and pretended like he did not notice the news of a young entrepreneur rumored to be involved with multiple partners.

"He's a fine snack!" Crescent turned around to see his friend Mike.

"He's nothing more than a player." Crescent spoke with a lot of disgust in his voice.

"Woah, looks like you got some issues with him. You should look at your face when you talk about him." Mike let out a laugh but Crescent's serious expression did not change.

"Yeah, I don't like that guy," Crescent replied.

"You know him?" Mike asked out of curiosity.

Crescent was taken off guard by his friends' questions. He took a pause for a second, thinking about something, but the next moment he spoke, "No, I don't."

Crescent continued walking and his friend followed right after him. The whole way, Crescent didn't speak a word. Ace Elrod is someone whom Crescent loved and hated the most in his life.

_______________________________________________________________________________

The next morning in New York, Skylark Estates,

It was already the weekend and not many people were present at the company. The employees were enjoying their day off, but then there was the CEO of the company, Ace, who was in his cabin, in the middle of sorting out some paperwork to speed up the starters for tomorrow's meeting.

"Ugh!" He groaned in annoyance when he took a sip of his hot black coffee. Anyone could tell that he was in a very bad mood.

Finally, to make his mood worse, his best friend stormed into the room without warning.

"Ace Elrod!" Regan barged into Ace's cabin, flinging the door wide open.

"Do you ever know how to knock?" Ace asked annoyedly, but Regan didn't seem to care.

"What did I do this time?" Ace asked, since whenever Regan is in a bad mood, it surely has something to do with Ace himself.

"Can you explain why you ended up taking over Simon's company? f*****g paid a huge amount and goddamn shut it down? Is this some kind of joke?" Regan scoffed. Ace quickly realized why Regan was in such a foul mood as a result of Regan's question.

"Okay, now I remember what I did." As he answered, Ace nonchalantly continued to study his files.

"Mind explaining in detail?" Regan asked, folding his arms up to his chest. The irritation was clear in his voice.

Ace sighed exhaustedly as he finally started to speak, "When I personally sent my men to have him get associated with a part of our stock in the stock market, that bastard refused my offer. He flatly declined, stating that he is not interested in working with me."

"And?" Regan asked, his brow furrowed with disbelief as his friend's behavior became increasingly absurd with each passing day.

"He had the audacity to say "no!" to ME! He stated that he was not interested in collaborating with me. No one can say no to me!" Ace responded like it was the most obvious thing to say.

"Then, would you mind explaining why, after destroying his firm, you ran him over with a car?" With his question, Regan cut Ace off, and Ace tilted his head sideways, admitting his guilt and smirking to himself, causing Regan to sigh in irritation.

"Dad got me a new car as my birthday is coming up. I was about to take it for a test drive and Simon came right at that time in front of my car. Don't worry, he's not dead at least." Ace acted as if he had done that man a favor by allowing him to live.

"So just because someone was on your way to a test drive instead of using the horns in your goddamn car, you f*****g ran over a person?" Regan asked Ace in disbelief.

"Heh." Ace let out an arrogant smirk.

"Don't 'heh' me!" Regan couldn't express his anger in words as he raised his voice, "The guy's in a hospital."

"Fine just pay his hospital bills then." Ace said, unconcerned.

"You're impossible." Regan finally said, being unable to deal with Ace's lack of empathy.

Ace did not speak anymore, rather he organized the remaining files in his desk and resumed working quietly.

Regan, on the other hand, was quick to catch up with Ace's unusual behavior.

"You seem in a bad mood," Regan asked, because he noticed how absentminded his best friend seemed. "Was uncle very harsh with you?"

Ace was in the middle of marking out some statistical errors with a red pen, but as soon as he heard Regan, his movements stopped and he took a pause before answering, "Dad told me Crescent is returning." he mumbled in a low voice.

Regan took a second, since the news was surprising to him as well. He frowned, pausing as soon as he heard Ace, but the next moment, he regained his composure.

"I see, but what does that matter to you? Didn't you say you got over him? Or is it his presence still affecting you?" Regan asked.

"No! Nothing about him affects me anymore. He left on his own." Ace raised his voice.

"Part of the reason was you yourself," Regan said as he sighed, and Ace paused for a moment.

"Give it up Ace, you know you will lose it when you see his face. I just don't want you to do anything rash like last time." Regan said it was the most obvious thing, but Ace clearly denied.

"I won't." Ace answered.

Regan sighed, "It was my job to warn you, but don't end up running from the consequences after you've taken action. Every action of yours will have an opposite and equal reaction," he said.

"Can we stop with the science classes?" Ace said as he rolled his eyes, returning to his casual self no matter how hard he tried to deny himself. It felt almost impossible to hate Crescent even after all these years, but still, he had to keep trying, he had to tell himself over and over that he had to make himself keep hating the person he once loved the most.