3 THREE

Noah contemplated his orders for a second. "Call Seth. Tell him to increase our security."

Stefani nodded. "Roger that."

"Whoever that person was he must have a daylight ring in his possession. Nobles are hard to deal with. We have to be ready..."

Stefani nodded in agreement making a mental note inside her head. She'll write it down when she reached her desk. 

"I'll tell Seth to investigate. Oh, by the way. About my resignation letter, did you accept it?"

Noah flinched. It was just a small reaction but Stefani saw it from the corner of her eyes.

"The HR Department is already working on it." He said.

"You liar." She glared at him. "I called Valerie last night and asked, so don't lie to my face."

He sighed. "You still haven't found a replacement for your position yet."

Suddenly offended, Stefani made an inaudible gasp. "Oh, so this is my fault now?"

He sighed. "Stef-"

"Well, excuse me, sir. I had a truckload of possible replacements for my position, but you all rejected them. All of them." She angrily said.

"They were lacking." He corrected her.

"Really? Even the one from MGC?" She asked and Noah stayed silent.

Stefani was so stressed, that she felt like bursting at the moment.

"How about the other one who graduated from Harvard?" She said. "And the other one who has 7 years of professional experience?" Stefani crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Can you still say they were lacking?"

The corner of Noah's lips twitched. It was the only shift in his expression before it became empty again. "They were too qualified."

Stefani wanted to shout, bullshit, but she just closed her eyes, pressing a finger on her temple as she tried to reign in her temper.

"Noah." She said calmly. "I really don't have the time to deal with your antics, right now." She said, looking at him seriously in the eyes. "You are the one being stubborn and unreasonable here. My wedding is in three weeks and I want to leave someone reliable at your side before I'm gone. Someone who can handle your mood swings when I leave."

"You are the perfect secretary for me." He said. "You're the only woman I can trust."

"I know." She sighed. "But we've known each other since we were kids. And you know I won't be the last woman you'll learn to accept in your life." She said making Noah quiet for a while. "When you find your mate. You'll be trusting her more than me."

"That's different, Stef because she's not going to be my secretary..."

Stefani smiled. "I agree. But you have to accept the inevitable. We don't know, maybe your mate becomes your new secretary. Isn't that ironic?"

Stefani raised her eyebrows at him with a knowing smile on her face.

Noah laughed. 

It was indeed an ironic situation but still. "It won't happen."

"What if it does?"

"Still, not going to happen..."

"But, what if it does?" Stefani insisted, making him sigh.

"Stop that."

"Oh c'mon, what if it does happen."

Noah scowled at her. He was no longer amused.

"Steffi..." He called her by her nickname now, and there was a warning in his voice. Noah does that when he's nearing his limit.

"Yep?" Stefani grinned, showing him all of her teeth while blinking her eyes adorably. 

Now, Noah looked very annoyed at her. Did she touch a nerve?

"Shut up, or else I'll deduct your salary this month."

Stefani just scoffed. Not threatened by it anyway. "You always make the funniest threats..."

***

After their lunch break, Lara returned to the finance department. She towed a pouting Rachel behind her, she wouldn't be able to bring her back if she hadn't promised to help her with her workload when she was free.

Rachel, of course, accepted the help from Lara. A little help was better than no help at all.

The whole afternoon, Lara would alternate between her work and helping Rachel. She would leave Rachel for a bit when the other employees called for her and then come back when she was finished. This continued until Lara didn't realize the time. Office hours were almost over and Rachel's workload was almost done for the day. 

"You are an angel, Lara." Rachel took her hand, her eyes tearful and grateful at the same time. "I didn't know if I can finish this without your help."

A bit overwhelmed by her adoration, Lara shyly chuckled. "This is no big deal. I had time to spare, anyway so. I'm just glad I was able to help a friend."

Rachel shook her head. "No. Don't be humble with me, right now." She said seriously. "I will pay you back after this. I promise."

Seeing the determination on her face, Lara sighed. She didn't like having people indebted to her, but Rachel's insistence made her give up on saying no. 

"Okay. I'll hold you to that promise."

"Yes!" Rachel grinned triumphantly. She was persuasive if she wanted to.

"Anyway, let's get this over with so we can go home," Lara said as she stood up.

Rachel nodded in agreement. "Yes, of course."

Lara smiled as she picked up their coffee mugs. "I'll be in the mini-kitchen."

"Okay!" Rachel became busy with saving all the documents they work on her computer while sending the files to their department head since he asked for it to be sent to him a while ago.

Seeing her friend being her cheerful self again, Lara took the mugs back to the mini-kitchen with a smile. She was washing the mugs when somebody suddenly barged inside, shocking her.

Having a good memory, Lara immediately recognized the head of the design department, Michael Larson.

His eyes were searching the mini-kitchen like a hunter, and they gleamed when they saw her. 

"Finally!" he said, praising the heavens. He looked like a big boulder has been lifted off of his chest just by seeing a person there.

Lara wiped her hands dry before greeting him. "Sir Larson, what can-"

"Can I ask you a favour?" He immediately said, cutting her off. 

Lara was about to ask him what can she do to help, but apparently, the man has already decided to ask for it before she could offer it to him.

Lara swallowed. "O-Of course, sir." Helping one of the department heads on her first day was an honour she will never refuse. "What can I do for you?"

Relieved that she agreed, Michael Larson showed her a brown envelope in his hands. 

"Please carry this to the CEO's office." He said, handing her the brown envelope that actually had a confidential stamp behind it.

Lara's eyes widened in shock. Confidential papers? Isn't that too important to be handled by a newbie?

Lara stared at the envelope with a conflicted expression on her face. "S-Sir, I-"

"Don't worry." He gave her a reassuring tap on the shoulder. "Just give this to his secretary, her name is Stefani Anderson, then you're good to go."

Lara froze still. His instructions didn't make her feel better, at all. 

"B-but, sir... I'm just-" She stopped when Michael made a pleading look on his face. 

"Please? It's really urgent. And unfortunately, I can't deliver this document myself coz you see, I have an emergency at home so I really have to go."

Lara swallowed hard. She really wanted to decline. But the pleading look on his face made her feel bad about herself. 

"O-Okay, sir. I will deliver this to the CEO's office."

"That's great! I'm counting on you-" He paused. He didn't know her name so he glance at her ID and then read her name. "Lara Louis." He said, patting her shoulders. "I'm in your debt, Lara Louis. See you tomorrow, okay?" He added, sending her a salute before bolting out of the door. He really was in a hurry.

Lara blinked. Still processing everything that just happened.

***

Lara's hands were sweating bullets when she looked at the floor numbers rising on the elevator monitor. She couldn't stop her heart from hammering continuously inside her chest as she fiddled with the brown envelope in her hand. 

She was uneasy about all this, like seriously. She was a newbie. A baby seedling who hasn't even sprouted yet. Now, she's meeting the CEO's secretary because of a surprise errand from one of the department heads.

When Lara reached her destination, the elevator doors opened with a ping.

Lara took a deep breath and then went out of the elevator. Here we go...

Lara was welcomed by an immaculately white lobby. It was all white like snow including the marble floors. She felt like she just climbed up to heaven. The white walls were so clean with not a speck of dust on them that she wouldn't think of wiping or even touching it.

On the left wall, there was a large painting of a woman looking up to the full moon surrounded by fireflies. It was a beautiful painting. 

There were ornamental plants displayed in every corner of the lobby, and it added colour and life to the already monotonous atmosphere.

Treading the halls, Lara reached the secretary's desk. There was a woman sitting there, typing furiously on the keyboard with an angry look on her face. She was staring at the screen like she wanted to eat it whole, but Lara couldn't help appreciating her beauty. 

She was starstruck.

The CEO's secretary was beautiful. So beautiful that Lara wanted to stare at her face all day long. Her long brown hair hung loosely on her back, while her auburn eyes flashed when she noticed Lara standing in front of her desk.

"Can I help you?" She asked. Her voice was melodious and oh-so-pleasant.

Lara swallowed. "T-The head of the design department wanted me to hand this over to you." She stuttered, handing the envelope to the beautiful secretary and she accepted it gracefully. 

Lara blinked. Even her wrists looked beautiful. Lara cleared her throat. She got distracted there for a bit. "H-He said this was important, and the file has to reach the CEO's desk today." She added still stuttering.

"The head of the design department?" Realisation dawned on the secretary's face. "Ah, you mean Michael?" She said chuckling lightly. "Sorry for being confused. No one calls that guy 'the head of the design department' here. He prefers to be called by his name. He believes it's necessary to form a familial relationship with the staff to improve work performance." 

Lara blinked. She was a bit flustered by the secretary's beautiful smile. She wanted to say more but she couldn't. So, Lara just quietly stood there as Stefani opened the folder and read its contents.

Lara secretly glanced at her ID and read her name. Stefani Anderson. Secretary. Yeah, she's the one Michael wanted her to give the envelope to. That means she did her job right. And wow, she even looks good in her picture.

Stefani felt her staring so she looked up. When she did, Lara blushed at the embarrassment of being caught staring.

Stefani smiled in amusement at her reaction. "Do I have something on my face, Miss Louis?"

"I-I'm sorry, I-..." she stuttered then stopped. "H-How do you know my name?"

The secretary smiled. "When you were looking at my ID, I was looking at yours as well." She said eyeing her ID.

"Oh..." Lara held her ID to her chest. She didn't notice that.

Stefani laughed and gestured for her to calm down. "It's okay... By the way, you look new. Are you one of our new employees this year?"

Lara smiled. "Yes. Thank you so much for accepting me." She said and Stefani laughed again.

"You don't have to thank me for that. Thank the HR department. Also, about you staring. I totally understand since it's natural anyway. And I'm used to it so don't worry."

But Lara shook her head. "No, I should be apologizing, Miss Stef. I know it's rude to stare at someone. No one likes to feel like an ant under a magnifying glass so I'm really sorry for staring at you."

Chuckling softly, Stefani leaned back to her chair and stared at Lara with a contemplating look on her face. "Even though I really don't mind it. Still, thank you. And you're right, I may be used to it but I don't like to be stared at by people. But I already got used to it so..." She smiled. "However, being stared at by you doesn't feel unpleasant at all so you can look at me as much as you want."

Lara's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? I mean- uh, I don't want to be rude."

Stefani laughed. "You're funny... I like you. And like I said, feel free to look at me whenever you like. Since I like you anyway."

Lara blushed. This is the first time she felt admiration for a woman. And she was really amazed by her. The CEO's secretary must be the coolest person on earth.

"Anyway, the CEO is inside and I'm still finishing some work," Stefani said, carefully stuffing the papers back inside the envelope. "Could you please give this to him in my place?"

Lara flinched. "What?"

"Just knock on the door and enter when he gives you permission." Continued the secretary. "Put this on his desk and then you're good to go."

Lara looked apprehensive at her request. "Uhm. Wouldn't the CEO mind if someone like me enters his office?" She asked.

Stefani stared at her. "Someone like you?" She repeated her words and then laughed as if she told her a joke or something. "Miss Louis, what are you talking about? A lot of people come and go to his office. It's not a big deal, really. If he ever asks you who sent you, tell him I did, and then he won't get angry at you. He will let you go unscathed."

Lara's eyes widened at that. 

"So, there's a possibility that the CEO might become angry with me?"

Stefani blinked and laughed. "40%, yes. But only when he's in a bad mood. The CEO is not a big fan of patience, you see." She grinned and handed her the envelope. "Here." 

Lara didn't take it. This was a bad idea. 

"Don't be afraid. If he scares you, just run. I'll cover for you." Stefani said with a wink and placed the envelope in her hands.

"I might get fired for this," Lara murmured and Stefani just chuckled at her. This job just got harder and harder.

"You're cute." Stefani laughingly said, gently tapping Lara's hand with her eyes shining with mirth. "As I said, don't worry. Trust me. Now, man up and get in there."

"Wait-" Lara was not able to stop her when she pushed her to the door and knocked on it in her place. 

Shit.

She heard a baritone voice coming from behind the double doors.

"Come in."

Lara felt her heart jumping out of her chest. 

"Good luck!" Stefani smiled and opened the door for her.

Lara froze. She wasn't ready. She wasn't ready yet. She stayed standing like a statue in front of the opened door making Stefani chuckle again. She nudged Lara inside making her stumble forward even though it wasn't that strong.

Lara turned around. "Wait." Her voice was a whisper. She wanted to escape the situation, but the door closed with a click and she knew, there was no turning back now. 

Lara stood there stiffly, her back facing the CEO. She knew it will be weird and super rude to the CEO if she gets out of there and run. He'll think she's running away from a monster or something. 

She really didn't want the first impression of her boss to see that she was afraid of him. Even when she is indeed afraid. A little bit. Still, she can't run. 

She can't keep her back to him forever either...