The Cherished Wife



"Don't you want to know what's going on?"

Brian watched Arya zip over to another table to chat and snoop, while Noelle was contentedly focusing on her meal. He was a bit confused. "I thought you were close to the big shot upstairs?"

Noelle took a bite of her food and looked up with a slight frown. "How do you expect me to answer that?"

Brian realized Noelle was not wrapped up in the drama and chuckled. "Looks like I'm the one who's too curious for their own good."

"Yeah, seriously. You're a big guy, so why are you so into the rumor mill?" Noelle chuckled, spotting Arya bounding over with a look of sheer excitement. "You guys will never believe what I just heard!"

Arya was practically bouncing with enthusiasm, so Noelle played along. "What's the scoop?"

"That new girl who just showed up on the 27th floor today is Mr. Hoffman's uncle's daughter. But get this-there's no family tie by blood. She's not here to work; she's here on a manhunt!"

Noelle hesitated. "A manhunt?"

She did not know much about Charles's family aside from the two sisters he had mentioned, who were not even in Brookville at the moment. Noelle was aware Charles had an older sister who was married, but as for the rest of his relatives, she was clueless.

Could it be the woman she had seen at the company entrance last time, the one related to Charles's uncle?

"Exactly! And she's not after just any

guy-she's after the big boss himself I mean, talk about a family entanglement! They might not be related by blood, but they're still kin, aren't they?" Arya tsk-tsked.

Noelle's brow furrowed. "She's after Charles?"

"Shh, keep it down! And since when can you just casually drop the boss's name like that?" Arya quickly clamped a hand over Noelle's mouth. "I only heard it through the grapevine."

"Heard it from who? We can't just blab this stuff. If the top brass catches wind, we're screwed!"

The gossip in the dining department was buzzing about a Ms. Baker who breezed in this morning, demanding the head chef whip up something special just for her, ordering off-menu like she owned the place. She strutted around as if she were the First Lady or something. The head chef hustled to cater to her wishes, but then Mr. Hoffman's secretary, Becky, showed up and sent Miss High-and-Mighty upstairs. Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Word on the street was that Becky was not a fan of J Baker. The staff overheard a heated argument, and Becky came out on top. Now everyone was joking that J's big show was a total flop because Charles was not giving her the time of day.

Noelle's lips quirked into a smile, her earlier tension melting away. "Mr. Hoffman isn't the type to blur the lines between his personal and professional life," she said.

Inside, Noelle could not help thinking that Charles obviously had no interest in J. The title of Charles' wife was never going to be J's for the taking, not when Noelle was his one and only.

This thought sent a shiver of surprise through her.

Was she actually... jealous?