Chapter Eight
Elena
Noah wasn’t in on Thursday. I hadn’t expected him to be. Lilian meant the world to him, and nothing else mattered other than his little girl when he’d received the call yesterday. It was admirable that a single father cared that much for his child instead of letting other people take care of her.
I spent the morning postponing meetings and taking calls for Noah. I wanted to set it all up for him so that he could slip seamlessly back into work after he returned.
After lunch, Doug Thompson sauntered into Noah’s office. He had his hands in his pockets, and he didn’t look like he was there for business at all.
“I’m afraid Noah isn’t in the office today, Mr. Thompson,” I said.
“Call me Doug,” he said, “and I know. I’m here to take care of a couple of things for Noah. He called me and asked.”
I nodded. I was a little disappointed that Noah didn’t think I could handle it by myself, but I was only the secretary. Doug was in Marketing in a much higher position than I was. I may have had that MBA, but it wasn’t what I’d been hired for.
Doug walked around Noah’s desk and sat down in his chair. It irritated me, but I said nothing. He looked at the paperwork on Noah’s desk and shook his head.
“If Noah doesn’t do something about this business, it’s going to tank before the year is out.”
“That’s not true,” I said, defensive even though I knew he was more right than wrong. “He has the new product, and it looks promising.”
Doug smiled at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Sweetheart, you haven’t been around long enough to know what Noah is like. He’s a terrific businessman, but he’s loyal to his customers.”
“That’s a good thing,” I said. I didn’t want Doug sitting in Noah’s chair, talking badly about him.
“It’s not if it’s crippling him. He’s so loyal he doesn’t want to push up the prices we set years ago. Do you know what that means? We’re working at a loss because he’s scared his fans will feel betrayed. He would rather lose money than lose clients and in the long run, that’s bad for business. This company was great when it started off. It was spectacular. But now? It’s a shadow of what it was because Noah is too scared to take that next step.”
I shook my head. “He gets more customers this way.” I didn’t like Doug, and I wasn’t going to let him shoot Noah down.
“He retains customers. You’re right. But he has competitors that beat him hands down because they’re moving onward and upward and adjusting their prices accordingly. They’re leaving him behind.”
I had nothing I could say to that because as much as I hated it, what Doug said made sense. I hadn’t known that Noah wouldn’t push up prices. If that was why he needed the investors so desperately, he wouldn’t get ahead. He would lose their money, too.
“Will you take care of this file for me?” Doug said, holding a manila file out to me. I took it from him and flipped it open. The folder contained forms that needed to be filled in for the new product.
“I’ll get this filled out,” I said, turning to leave the office.
“Work here,” Doug said and pointed at one of the chairs on my side of the desk. I nodded and walked toward the chair, sitting down. I read through the contents, filling in the forms where I could with the information I didn’t have to research.
After a while of working, I felt eyes on me. When I looked up, Doug was looking at me. I only glanced at him before carrying on, but I didn’t like the way he looked at me. When I stood up and moved around the office, I felt Doug’s gaze on me, following me around. I tried not to look at him. Sometimes, men look at women like they’re nothing more than objects of pleasure. Doug’s light blue eyes were filled with desire. I didn’t think he was going to do something, but he was thinking about it.
“I need to make a couple of calls,” I said. “I’m going to my desk.”
Doug nodded, and I left the office, glad to be away from his scrutiny. When I sat behind my desk, I blew out a long breath. It was ironic how uncomfortable I felt around Doug and how comfortable I felt around Noah when they were looking at me the same way. The difference was me. I didn’t want Doug, but I wanted Noah.
I desired Noah.
After work, I collected the information I had gathered for Noah during the day and carried it to my car. Instead of driving home, I headed in the opposite direction. I stopped at the store and picked up soup before arriving at Noah’s neighborhood. The houses were all large, the proof of money everywhere. I stopped in front of Noah’s gate and rang the intercom, looking at the camera lens that would show my face inside.
A moment later, the gate opened and I drove in. The house was breathtaking. A long, winding driveway led me through a luscious garden with a sparkling blue pool and a veranda on the side of the house. The lawn was immaculate, and even though it wasn’t fully dark yet, light shone against the house from between the plants bringing the whole garden to life. It was easy to see there was a lot of money here but Noah had always been very down to earth, and I respected him for that. I parked in front of one of the many garages.
“What a surprise to see you,” Noah said, coming out of the front door when I parked.
“I brought you work,” I said. “And something for Lillian.”
I held up the files and the soup. Noah smiled and that made his dark eyes warm.
“Come in,” Noah said and I followed him into the house. His shoulders were broad in the polo shirt he was wearing, and I forced myself not to look at his ass. I was here for business I told myself.
The house was as beautiful on the inside, tastefully decorated without any clutter. Beautiful paintings adorned the walls and shelves were filled with pictures of who I assumed to be Lillian.
“Do you want me to put that in the kitchen?” I asked, holding up the soup.
“No, let’s take it to her now,” Noah said. “I want to introduce you to her.”
I swallowed. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to meet his daughter, not after what we had done, but maybe I was making a big deal of it when it wasn’t necessary. So, I followed him down the passage and into the first bedroom.
The room was any girl’s dream, white and pink and filled with fairies and frills. In the middle of the room, in a bed that was much too big for her, Lillian was propped up against pillows, coloring. She looked up when I came in with deep blue eyes and dark brown curls that fell over her shoulders. Aside from her eyes, Lillian looked exactly like Noah. She was going to be a stunner one day.
“Lilly, this is a friend from work. Elena, meet Lilly.”
Lilly looked at me with those striking eyes of hers, and I sat down on the bed. The mattress dipped under my weight.
“Your dad told me you weren’t feeling very well,” I said.
Lilly nodded her head. “I went to the hospital,” she said.
“I heard. I brought you some soup to help you feel better.”
Lilly looked at Noah as if she was checking if it was okay before she took the soup from me.
“What flavor is it?” she asked.
“Chicken noodle,” I said. “Whenever I was sick, my mom would get me chicken noodle soup, too.”
“I brought you a spoon, gumdrop,” Noah said, producing a spoon he must have taken from the kitchen before we came to the room. He handed it to Lilly who opened the soup and tentatively took a bite.
“Are their veggies in here?” she asked. “I don’t like veggies, but I like this soup.”
I laughed. “I’m not sure, but if you’re feeling sick, veggies might help you feel better.” I glanced at Noah who pulled up his shoulders. I could imagine the fights over veggies when she had to eat in the evenings. Now that I was in the house, talking to his daughter, I could understand why he wanted to leave work to be home with her. He had a home here even though it was a little broken, and Lilly seemed like a wonderful girl. It made me admire and respect him for doing this alone so much more.
We sat in Lilly’s room a while longer until Lilly started to look drowsy, her eyes drooping.
“We’re going to sit in the living room, Lil,” Noah said. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep?”
Lilly nodded and cuddled down under the covers. Noah pulled the blankets up to her neck and kissed her on the forehead before he turned around, and we left the room. He pulled the door closed until it was slightly ajar before we walked away.
“She’s sicker than she looks,” Noah said leading the way to the living room. “She’ll never go to bed without a fight, especially not this early. I’m worried about her.”
“It’s horrible when kids are sick, but I can see she’s in good hands. You’re doing a great job with her,” I said.
Noah smiled, and we sat down together on the couch in the living room. The room was decorated as beautifully as the rest of the house, with carpets that stretched wall to wall and wood trim and crown molding. A large flat screen television dominated one wall, and Lillian’s toys were scattered everywhere, proof of life.
“It’s a bit of a mess,” Noah said when he noticed me looking.
“Not at all,” I said, shaking my head. “This is how it should be.”
Noah nodded before taking the files I had brought him. He opened the first one and looked at the content.
“How was work in my absence today?” he asked.
“It was all right, between Doug and me we managed to get a lot done,” I said. “I postponed all your meetings, though.”
“That’s great. Thank you. Did you get along with Doug?”
I hesitated, not sure how to answer. “He’s capable. He knows what he’s doing, and I know he’s a good friend of yours.”
“But?” Noah asked, looking at me. He knew there was something I wasn’t saying.
“I don’t feel very comfortable around him. He kept staring at me. I’m sure it’s nothing.” I added the last bit hastily.
Noah’s eyes darkened. “If anything happens, you’ll tell me, won’t you?” He looked irritated or upset. It was almost like he was jealous, but why would he be? It wasn’t like we were exclusively a thing. At least, for him. I wasn’t the type of woman to sleep around. If I was giving it up to one man, he would be the only man.
“It’s nothing like that,” I said. “Maybe I’m overreacting.” I felt silly now. I wasn’t sure I should have brought it up.
Noah leaned forward and put his hand on mine. “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about anything.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Every time I thought I was being silly or reading too much into the situation, my Noah showed me that I was spot on. I wasn’t sure if it was jealousy or professionalism – I hoped for the former – but Noah made me feel like I had a right to my feelings. And him promising that he would take care of it made me feel warm inside.
“You’re a real gentleman,” I said, taking the chance for a compliment.
Noah grinned. “What can I say? You bring out the best in me.”
I was comfortable around Noah, in his home, and we spent a while chatting and flirting. When it was time for me to leave, Noah walked me to the door.
“Thank you for stopping by,” he said. “It means a lot to me, and I know Lillian enjoyed it too.”
“It was my pleasure,” I said. I turned away to walk toward my car, but Noah put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. He kissed me without ceremony, his lips hot against mine, and I melted into his arms. When he let me go, I was dizzy.
“I don’t think I’ll make it to work tomorrow. I’ll let you know.”
I nodded and walked to my car. Iclimbed in, and Noah waved at me before I backed out of the driveway. I turned into the road and pointed my car home. I thought about the kiss and shivered. Noah wasn’t only attractive and assertive in a way thathad me hot and bothered. But he was also a genuinely nice guy and a good father. I felt more for him than friendship, but it confused me. What was I doing? Where could this possibly go? I worked for him for God’s sake. If something like this came out, it wouldn’t be good. And would he date me? I didn’t know if I could say yes to that.
Maybe I was playing with fire.