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Chapter 17

Author: Chweety
The Frotconn weekly Monday meeting was the time to wrap up the previous week's work. This was Noelle's first time back at the familiar table since she had left a year ago. The board members did a double-take when they saw herSome were clueless about her return, while others had their opinions of her colored by the recent scandal.

Noelle pretended she did not see a thing, grabbed the papers, and plopped down in her chair. Her gaze was steady as she ignored the buzz around her. The bigwigs, the chairman and the general manager, had not shown up yet, so the room was buzzing with chatter. Some of the older, more seasoned directors were acting like uncles at a family reunion, rehashing the drama from the engagement party with flair.

One of the directors, who had butted heads with Noelle before over work matters, could not resist stirring the pot. "Some people embarrass themselves and still strut into the office like nothing happened."

Noelle's brow creased ever so slightly. She meant to
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    Peter Lennon squinted, picking up on the nervous tone in Ronald's voice, and asked, "What's up? Did Charles throw another curveball your way?"Ronald let out a forced chuckle. "Isn't your assistant some kind of computer whiz?""Just call him yourself." Peter's voice was curt, and the line went dead. Ronald stewed in silence, thinking about how Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Lennon must be cut from the same cloth. Both of them were cold businessmen with no patience or sympathy. Shaking it off, Ronald dialed up Lareal, Peter's assistant. "You've got thirty minutes to dig up info on a lady, someone Mr. Hoffman's looking for."Exactly thirty minutes later, Ronald had the scoop on Winter. He was practically gushing with gratitude. "Man, you're a lifesaver!"On the other end, Lareal gave a cool snort. "Does Mr. Hoffman have his eye on this chick?" Winter did not seem like much, but she played a tough game. Lareal could not see how she would be Charles’ type, so he pried a little."No way! I’ve got

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