The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)

Ronald sighed internally.

Noelle made it to Collosus Group in the nick of time. She had barely taken her seat when Brian emerged from his office. Noelle shot up. "Mr. Parker!"

Brian nodded, giving Noelle a quick once-over. "You're late."

Noelle blinked in surprise. "I'm not late, Mr. Parker!" She rushed to explain, but Brian cut her off with a dismissive wave. "The project team should be here ten minutes early. You're new, so you didn't know, but don't let it happen again." "Understood, Mr. Parker!" Noelle nodded, making a mental note.

"Look, it doesn't matter who you are or what you've been through today. The company's rules are set in stone, and there are no excuses. Got it?"

"Got it." Noelle promised she would be on time from now on, which seemed to satisfy Brian. "Alright. Come with me to my office."

Noelle straightened her clothes and followed Brian.

Once they were in the office, Brian motioned for her to take a seat. "Yesterday, I showed you around West City, so you've got a bit of the picture. These files are for you. Take them home and cover them." He pulled out a stack of papers from his drawer and handed them to Noelle.

She accepted them, though a bit bewildered. As she flipped through them, surprise flickered across her face. "Are these all projects you've worked on before, Mr. Parker?"

He nodded. "Each project has its own set of challenges. Start by looking these over."

"Are you suggesting I join this project, Mr. Parker?" Noelle asked, clearly taken aback. Brian paused, his hand on the papers, and met her gaze. "Is there a problem?"

She shook her head, then nodded. "It's just that I'm new here, and I haven't really dealt with this kind of project before. You're sure you want me in on this?"

"I'm not handing it over to you, I'm just letting you in on it," Brian clarified. "You're not up for it?"

"No, I am!" Noelle could not believe

her luck. Getting hands-on experience beat just dreaming about

projects any day. She was just a little taken aback by the offer. She did not really expect to land a project so soon with her level of experience.

"This project's a big deal for the company, and it's not a one-man show. It's all about teamwork. They wouldn't give us this gig if they didn't think we could nail it. Your ideas and approach might need some polish, but you've got patience and an eye for detail, and that counts for a lot."

"Thanks, Mr. Parker!" Noelle beamed, her determination shining through. "I won't let you down." "Good luck."

Noelle stepped out of the office with the stack of papers Brian had handed her. Arya was on the way to deliver a coffee to Brian, so they nearly collided. Arya's expression flickered with something unreadable as her gaze lingered on Noelle.

Noelle felt a weird vibe from Arya's look but shrugged it off with a quick hello.

Once outside, Noelle dove into the papers and realized she had struck gold. Brian had shared some of his own professional gems with her, which she didn't expect him to be so generous with. Her phone buzzed, pulling her from her thoughts. Ronald's name flashed on the screen, sparking her curiosity. "Hello?" "Mrs. Noelle, it's Ronald."

"Mr. Wells, what's up?" Noelle checked to make sure no one was eavesdropping before relaxing a bit. "What's going on?"

"Madam, I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time. Could you step out for a second? I'm right outside the project office."