Chapter 12

N O E L L E

Nine years ago…

Maxwell was telling me about his upcoming album and the songs he collaborated with a famous band when an unfamiliar guy approached us. “Good afternoon, Miss Lewis.” He greets in a very formal way. He is wearing a coat and tie. I gulped as I remember someone like him approached me a year ago.

“My name is Allen. The CEO wants to talk to you.” My eyes widen in shock the moment I hear the word CEO. Shit! Holy cow! Is this for real!? “He’s outside, Miss Lewis.” What is he doing here!? Shit. I get nervous all of a sudden. What should I do?!

“We are still eating.” I stun when Maxwell speaks. I divert my attention to him, and I swallow the lump in my throat as I see him looking intently at Allen. “Tell your boss to wait.” He says firmly.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that, Mister Hughes.” Maxwell and I get shocked to realize that Allen knows him. “The CEO wants to talk with Miss Lewis immediately.” He says.

 “But—“

“It’s fine, Maxwell.” He looks at me unbelievably. “I know him. I will be right back.” I say as I stood up. “Wait for me, okay? Don’t eat my food.” I said as I chuckled.

“Please follow me, Miss Lewis.” I nodded at Allen as I followed him. I look over my shoulder to look at Maxwell and smile at him. The problem is how I should explain this to him later. He must be curious who the CEO is and what he wants from me. Well, I guess I’m curious too.

I breathe out heavily as I try to calm myself down. It’s the first time to meet the CEO, and I can’t help but feel anxious. I don’t know how to talk to him or how I should treat him. What does he want from me anyway? What could be the reason for his sudden appearance?

“Miss Lewis is here, sir,” Allen says to a guy who is facing his back at us. He is wearing a navy blue coat and pants. He looks like a very formal person. Students are staring at him as they pass through us.

“Noelle.” I feel goosebumps all over my body that moment I hear his voice. He slowly turns to look at me. I swallow the lump in my throat as his appearance intimidates me. He has this aura of superiority. He looks cold and scary. “We have finally met.” I can’t believe the great CEO Levi Alexander Mitchell is here!

“Indeed, Mister CEO. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Shit! I manage to pull that one off! Heck, I’m freaking nervous! It feels like he’s judging me by the way he looks at me. Damn it! I can’t believe he is this scary in person. I think the chairman did not take good care of him to be like this.

“Call me Levi. Calling me Mister CEO is too formal for my fiancée.” Shit! My fiancée, my ass! He’s creeping me out! I wanna cry! “I’ve come personally to remind you about the contract. I believe my dad already discuss it with you.” Oh. The contract. Right.

“I also believe that there is a proper place to talk about that,” I say formally that the words choke me. “Please follow me,” I say as I smile. A fake one, though. I lead the way going to an empty student lounge.

It’s empty during lunchtime since almost all of the students are in the cafeteria. I survey the area first before closing the door to make sure no one is around. Allen did not enter the lounge. His boss instructed him to wait outside.

“Now, about the deal, Mister CEO,” I say when I face him. “I haven’t forgotten about it. Your father keeps reminding me about it every freaking weak.” An awkward smile forms on my lips.

He nods as he puts both of his hands in his pocket. “I’m glad to know that. However, I heard a rumor about you this morning.” He declares that makes me look at him in confusion.

“What about it?” I ask as my eyebrows knit together. One thing that I find about him is he likes hearing gossips. I thought this man was busy running his company.

“I came to know if the rumor is true.” He says, and that makes me gawk at him. Seriously!? He came all the way here just to ask that?! He has a lot of free time, hasn’t he?

“What?” He asks while batting his long eyes lashes, literally. What has gotten into this guy to ask such things? Is it that important for him to know the truth about it that he decided to show up?

“I don’t think I need to answer your question, Mister CEO. The rumor has nothing to do with you.” I say firmly while looking directly at his bluish-gray eyes. Shit! Why did I just realize how beautiful those eyes are? I quickly diverted my gaze away from him. I can’t stand staring at his eyes any longer.

“I have the right as your fiancé to know all things about you, Noelle.” He smirked as he realized that I was taken aback by his words. Jerk. He has no idea how the word fiancé is freaking me out.

I try to compose myself and try to ignore his remarks. “You have all the energy in the world to concern yourself with these minor things, haven’t you?” The man in front of me and I have just met. We don’t know each other except for our name, that’s why I can’t think why he is asking me about this. “A rumor is just a rumor, Mister CEO,” I say.

“It doesn’t seem like that to me, Noelle.” He says as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

“What do you mean?” Seriously, what is he saying? I just answered what he wanted to hear, didn’t I?

“Now I know you’re not just an average college student who suddenly got engaged with a businessman.” My eyebrow arc automatically. “I also came to inform you that I am acknowledging the contract. So if I were you, I would start taking it seriously from now on. I’ve let you do your things for a year, but it just ended today.”

I think my neurons are working leisurely today that I am processing every word in slow motion. Several of my neurons also failed to understand what I heard.

“Expect my presence from time to time starting today, Noelle. I can’t let you do your things from now on. Let me show you how serious this fiancé of yours is to you.”

Shit. I feel like this conversation is sucking my energy away.

Maxwell and I are dating; it must be the rumor he heard. What the heck? He believes in rumor?!

I drop myself on the couch the moment he walks out of the student lounge. I breathe out heavily as I try to calm myself down. What was that!? I don’t understand him at all. He’s serious about what? Gosh. He’s making me crazy. He said a lot of things that I couldn't understand.

I gather all my remaining strength to stand, and I walk lazily out of the lounge to resume my disturbed lunch break. “Is that a threat?” My eyes widened in shock when I heard Maxwell’s voice, and I gasped to find him talking with Levi.

“It’s a warning, Mister Hughes. You don’t know who you are dealing with.” Levi’s voice makes me shiver.

Maxwell smirks. “The hell I care. I will do whatever I want. You can’t control me just because you’re stinking rich.” Maxwell says as he eyed Levi with a threatening look. Shit. What are they talking about?!

“We will see about that,” Levi says as he looks over his shoulder to look at me. I even startle at his sudden action. “Dad will probably call you about the rumor. Just tell him that we’ve already talked about it. I’ll take my leave now, Noelle.” He says before walking past Maxwell’s side. Allen followed him shortly.

I breathe out another heavy sigh the moment he vanishes from my view. The aura around him is so tense that it’s hard to breathe. Maxwell looks upset, obviously because of Levi, but I wonder why. I am curious about what they are arguing about.

“Are you okay?” Maxwell asks. I nod as an answer. He pulls me inside the student lounge and puts the food I was eating earlier. “You may eat here.”

“Thank you,” I say as I smile at him. He sits on the couch across mine as I start to dig in. I’m starving after the conversation with the CEO. Who told him to show up while I was eating!? Grr. Who he thinks he is?! This school is not part of his company, so he better behave.

“Say, what’s your relationship with him?” I suddenly got choke and started coughing. “Slow down, will you?” He says as he rubs my back. He gives me drinks, and I drink them.

“You startled me!” I hiss after coughing few more times. “Where did you get that idea?” I ask, and then I frown at his facial expression. “Why do you have such a long face?”

“Levi Alexander Mitchell is the CEO of Mitchell Corporation. I first saw him in a studio while doing photo shoots for a magazine, though it’s the first I have talked with him.” He explains. “He’s a very busy person, and he spent his precious time talking to you, so I’m curious about his relationship with you.”

I continue digging my food after his statement. I consider Maxwell as a friend, even though we just met a few days ago. My engagement with Levi is not confidential, so I think it’s okay to tell him about it. However, I found it too personal, like how I treat the rumor. I did not tell the whole story to Levi because I find it too personal as well.

“We don’t have that kind of relationship.” I decided to tell the truth without telling him the whole story. “It is like an employer-to-employee kind of relationship,” I say as I smile at him awkwardly.

He beams at me suspiciously. “Really?” He clarifies. Well, I am not romantically taking this engagement. I doubt Levi likes me, so in my perspective, it’s not that kind of relationship.

I nod as an assurance. I even look directly into his eyes. “Absolutely. No doubt about it.” I say. “What were you two talking about earlier? You looked tense.” I ask.

He shakes his head. “It’s nothing to worry about.” He says as he smiles. His usual warm expression came back. It’s my chance to look at him suspiciously. “Trust me, Noelle. I can handle him.” My brow arcs at his remarks. He is hiding something from me.

I did not ask further questions until I finished eating. He walks me to the laboratory room where my next class is. “I hope you don’t mind me tagging with you along from time to time, Noelle.” He says before leaving for his next class.

I shake my head. “I don’t. I always enjoy your company, and I’m comfortable around you, so don’t hesitate to call or approach me anytime.” I say while smiling. Gaining another friend is fun for me.

He smiles widely before rubbing his nape. He looks embarrassed all of a sudden. “Thank you. See you tomorrow, then.” I nod at him before walking into the lab room.

Let the five-hour experiments begin!