"Really?" Charles stood abruptly, yanking a paper from the pile behind him. "I didn't come here to listen to your excuses. You seem to be in the dark on how I operate. Since I've brought you in, it's clear—you're out of the Collosus Group.""Mr. Hoffman!" Jenson's legs turned to jelly, and he nearly dropped to his knees, "Mr. Hoffman, I admit it, I messed up! I was backed into a corner, you know? I've got my aging parents and my kids to look after, and sure, being the finance chief sounds like a sweet gig, but... it takes guts to do this job! I was desperate. My mom's sick in the hospital with heart disease, she needs a transplant, and I was out of options."Charles gave Mr. Lowry an icy stare. "I gave you a chance to come clean, and you wasted it!" With that, Charles hit the intercom button, and Ronald was in the room in a flash. "Mr. Hoffman, Joey's spilled the beans. A bunch of those phony accounts never reached you, so things were smooth sailing until now."A smirk played on Cha
Ronald had just come back when he spotted Charles gazing out the towering window, lost in thought. Clearing his throat to announce his presence, Ronald caught Charles's attention.Charles shot a brief look at Ronald, who snapped to attention. "The guy's been taken care of, but Mr. Hoffman, are we good to go with this?""Why wouldn't we be?" Charles strolled over to his desk, picked up a cigarette, and rolled it between his fingers without lighting it. "It's high time we dealt with this. Letting it drag on isn't doing us any favors."Charles was the kind of guy who liked to get things done in one fell swoop since it was less hassle that way. "He's so fond of making moves, so let's give him a grand one to think about."Ronald sensed that Charles was dead set on taking Robert down this time. Things seemed to be moving faster than expected, and he could not quite catch Charles's drift. "You said before that you'd let him keep hopping around for a bit. I thought you weren't going to tou
"Why should you tell me? It's work time, Noelle. Check that attitude," Xavier snapped, his voice taking on an edge. "Do you even care about this place?""I don't have to prove anything to you about my commitment here. If you don't need anything, Mr. Harris, I've got work to do," Noelle shot back, her voice icy.Her impatience was the last straw for Xavier. He grabbed her hand hard, forcing her to face him. "Noelle, we're at the office, and I'm the boss here!""Okay, Mr. Harris, what's the big deal? Tell me!" Noelle said with a frosty laugh. "Hey, we can talk without you grabbing my hand, right?" She clenched her teeth and said, "Let go!"After a struggle, she finally wrenched her hand free. Staring at the red marks Xavier's grip left, Noelle felt a surge of annoyance. "You were saying, Mr. Harris?""Do we really have to be like this, Noelle?""Not talking? Then I'm going back to work!" Noelle obviously did not want to keep bickering with Xavier, not here in the office with everyo
"Yeah, I'm on the road. How about you?" Noelle asked. "I'll be there in half an hour or so.""Yeah, I'm out too. Let's meet up!"Half an hour later, Noelle spotted Charles chilling by the mall entrance, with no car in sight. She stepped out of the car. "Where's your car?""Ronald drove it off." Charles said with an easy grin, one hand chilling in his pocket. His smile was like a warm spring day, totally disarming.Noelle paused, a hand to her forehead, "Oh!" She could not help but think Charles was playing dirty with a smile like that. She never knew a guy could look so good just by smiling.Charles narrowed his eyes, catching Noelle's vibe, a spark of mischief in his gaze. "You don't seem too thrilled.""No way!" Noelle laughed awkwardly, "You're totally seeing things!""I guess I must be," Charles said with a playful smile, "Looks like I'll have to ask you for a lift home then, Mrs. Hoffman!"Noelle was speechless for a moment... Was he for real? "You can just call me Noelle.
It took Noelle a while to catch the hidden meaning in Charles's words. By the time she pieced it together, the moment had slipped away, and she could not find a decent excuse to circle back to that conversation.They walked into the mall and made a beeline for the fresh produce. Noelle usually cooked at home. She rarely went to the mall for groceries, usually sticking to the local market. However, with her job eating up her time, her pots and pans were gathering dust.Charles was in his element, unlike Noelle. Following him through the aisles, Noelle felt that familiar tug of something more than admiration for this guy.She could not put her finger on it, but Charles was not like any rich kid she had ever met. He had this air of elegance and a cool charm but with a sly twist. He had the polish of the well-off without the usual arrogance.Noelle was at a loss for words. However, if anything, Charles was one of a kind.Charles, leading the way with the shopping cart, noticed Noelle
"Oops!" Noelle carefully put back the extra items she had grabbed, "So now we... Ouch!"Before Noelle could finish her sentence, she was jolted by a shopping cart that a customer had accidentally let go of. The cart had come out of nowhere, and even Charles, with his ninja-like reflexes, could not catch it in time.Charles, with a swift move, pulled Noelle out of harm's way, but the cart clipped him, causing his ankle to twist.Noelle inhaled sharply, the throbbing pain in her calf forcing her to clench her teeth.Charles caught the pained look on Noelle's face and quickly shoved the cart aside, crouching down to massage the spot where she had been struck. "How are you? Does it hurt much?"The spot where Charles's hands were was tender, but Noelle shook her head. "I'm fine, really!""Are you sure you're okay? I'm so sorry!" A woman, clutching her child, hurried over, her face awash with remorse. "I was watching my little one and didn't see the cart get away from me. I'm terribly
A warmth spread through Noelle's chest, though she tried to sound annoyed. "Really, what will people think, seeing me in here like this?""It’s either the cart or the hospital. Take your pick!" Charles challenged her with a choice.Noelle's mouth opened, but no words came out. She chose to remain silent.Sometimes Charles could be so overbearing, Noelle thought. However, in a strange way, his assertiveness was kind of endearing.Noelle knew Charles was only fussing over her because of her sprained ankle, and she realized that not every guy would be so thoughtful. She bit her lip and sat still in the shopping cart, twiddling her fingers. She was grateful, indeed, but she was also an adult, and being carted around by Charles was just plain weird.Out of Noelle's sight, Charles let a smile creep into his eyes, a fond grin that made everyone else around wish they had someone to look at them like that.Pushing the cart with one hand and juggling some groceries with the other, Charles
Noelle, believing it was better to avoid making a scene, tugged at Charles's hand to keep him quiet. "We're really, really sorry!""Look, ma'am, you seem like a sensible person. There's been no harm done today, so we'll let it slide this time. However, you and your husband need to watch it from now on. What you do at home is your business, but in public, you’ve got to mind yourselves. Think about it. The mall is huge, with tons of people around. Something could go wrong, you know?""Yes, sir. That makes total sense. We've got it," Noelle said, flashing another smile and quickly adding, "We’re really sorry about this, won't happen again, promise."After her apology, Noelle shot Charles a look that could freeze lava. Noticing Charles's growing impatience, she took his hand and gave his palm a secret pinch. "Hey, it's no biggie, right? We messed up, that's all. Your turn to say sorry.""Me, apologize?" Charles scowled. Noelle's warning glance, however, told him this was not the time f