The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)

Charles left after that, leaving Ronald and Brian staring at each other in surprise.

Brian, in particular, was even more shocked.

He had not expected Charles to so openly admit to favoritism and to do so in such a thorough manner.

The West City Development Project was incredibly challenging, and even he was not fully aware of all the difficulties it entailed. With so many experienced people in the project department, not everyone had the qualifications or experience to participate.

Yet, with just one word from the boss, a newcomer like Noelle, who was practically a novice, got to join the project.

Brian found this hard to accept.

Ronald sighed and patted Brian on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it. You have no idea how surprised I was the first time I saw Mr. Hoffman being so attentive to Ms. Shaw. I almost couldn't believe my eyes!" "Mr. Hoffman, being attentive? To Noelle?" Brian's eyes flickered with realization. "Are they..."

Ronald nodded. "It's exactly what you're thinking. Just take good care of her. Think about it—she could've easily stayed at home, but she wants to work. Mr. Hoffman doesn't want her to work anywhere else, which is why he brought her into his own company.

"And since he trusts you the most here, you're the one who'll guide her. So, good luck!" Ronald patted Brian's shoulder again. "I believe you can handle it!"

"You're flattering me. I think the person Mr. Hoffman trusts most is you," Brian replied, though he could not help but feel pleased with the compliment.

Even someone as upright as Brian could not ignore the fact that the boss' woman was now part of his department, so the idea of bending the rules did not seem so bad anymore.

"I'm off. What happens next is up to

you," Ronald said as he walked to the door. He then paused as if something had just occurred to him. "Oh, right. About Mrs. Hoffman being in your department, no one else knows about their marriage except for a few of us, so..."

"I understand!" Brian nodded. "I'll keep it quiet."

"I mean, if anyone questions Mrs. Hoffman's presence, just tell them she's my distant relative."

Brian chuckled as he organized his files. He quickly returned to the project department.

When Arya saw Brian return, she quickly stood up. "Mr. Parker, I'vez already introduced Noelle to the project department team and took her to HR to complete the onboarding process."

Seeing Brian's expression, she continued, "Oh, and I've placed Noelle at Samantha's old desk. Since Samantha is on maternity leave, I figured we could rearrange things when she comes back."

"Good." Brian nodded and gestured for Arya to get back to work before walking over to Noelle's desk.

Seeing her going through some old project files from the department, he nodded approvingly, then tapped on her desk. "Ms. Shaw, could you please come to my office for a moment?"