The Cherished Wife



Noelle had whipped up tonight's dinner, and Charles, right after stepping into his home office, dove straight into work. Lately, he had been making a point of riding to and from the office with Noelle, a change that had him clocking out on the dot-a stark contrast to his usual late hours. Ronald, who was used to shadowing Charles, could not help but raise an eyebrow at this new routine. However, it was not completely out of the blue for him. After all the time Ronald had spent by Charles's side, he had come to see that Charles's feelings for Noelle were the real deal.

Charles used to practically live at the office, sometimes not even bothering to head home and crashing there instead. His office even had a crash pad, stocked with all the essentials.

Ronald had once thought Charles's workaholic ways were over the top, even a bit out there, but now, seeing Charles settling into something resembling a normal life, he could not help but feel a bit of relief.

Turning on his phone, Charles was greeted by a barrage of missed calls—J, Clarisse, and a couple from his dad, Mateo. He did not need to guess twice; trouble was obviously brewing on J's end.

With a slight hardening of his gaze, Charles brushed aside the missed calls and hit up Ronald instead. "Give me the Mansfield Group files." "Absolutely, Mr. Hoffman!" Ronald did not waste a second as he quickly sent over the Mansfield Group's files to Charles. "Mr. Hoffman, the Mansfield Group is based in Cascade City. Does this mean Colossus Group is looking to branch out there too?"

Charles's brow creased slightly, his long fingers brushing against his lips in thought. "Let's take a look first. What's the situation with the Jabs family?" "Well, the Jabs family's second son, Andy, isn't holding down the fort in Cascade City right now. It's the eldest son, Franklin, who's in charge," Ronald explained, pausing for a moment. "I've looked into Franklin, and he doesn't seem like someone we can work with. What do you think, Mr. Hoffman?" "Mm, got it," Charles murmured, his eyes glinting with a playful curiosity. Andy? That's just Bob Smith in disguise, isn't it? It was a mystery what he was really plotting, considering his own family gave him the cold shoulder, and now he had turned up at the Smiths' in Brookville.

"Oh, and Mr. Hoffman, after you and your wife left today, J swung by your office. She didn't find you there and seemed pretty ticked off. Ended up setting off the security alarm too." Ronald recalled the two guards who had come to him, scared out of their wits, worried they would lose their jobs and be out on the street.

Ronald quickly briefed Charles on the latest. "Mr. Hoffman, what should we do about those two security guards?"

"Give them each a bonus equal to a month's pay, and bump them up the ladder!" Charles rapped on his desk. "And let's beef up our security system from now on!"

Ronald got the message loud and clear. "Absolutely, Mr. Hoffman. I'll get on it right away. We'll make it so tight, not even a fly could sneak in!"

After hanging up, Ronald could not

wait to get in touch with the security system company. Working for a big shot like the Colossus Group meant dealing with top-notch security and there were specific companies that handled just that.

Ronald was determined to nail it this time. If he could make Charles happy, he would be set for life.

Meanwhile, Charles ended the call

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and spent a moment staring at his phone before looking up with a grin, noticing someone at the door "How long have you been there?"

Noelle chuckled, her apron adorned with a cute cartoon character.Têxt © NôvelDrama.Org.

She playfully tweaked the cartoon bunny ears on her apron and said with a smile, "Not long at all. Are you done with work? It's time to eat!"

Charles smiled back and waved Noelle over. "Come here!"