The Change Of Strategy

"Nice to meet you," Noah said, extending his hand.

Sarah hesitated for a moment, looking towards the closed door. "Wait a minute," she said, placing her coffee on the table. "I don't want to be rude, Mr. Noah, but all of this doesn't seem like a coincidence."

"What do you mean?" Noah asked, looking puzzled.

"I mean that we always seem to meet in unusual places that I never thought we could. It's starting to feel like you're following me," Sarah's voice was shaky, and she felt a shiver run down her spine. She was beginning to feel like Noah was stalking her.

Noah tilted his head, then smirked. "You must have watched a lot of dramas," he said. He paused, chuckled a bit, then leaned forward. "Let me introduce myself. I am Noah, the new manager here."

"Oh," That was the only sound coming from Sarah's mouth. Her heart beat like a drumroll and she still couldn't set aside the vibe she got from Noah.

The other day, she had completely refused his offer for a marriage deal, and at that time, he had looked calm and had not been pushy. She had thought he was okay, but now that he appeared here as her manager, everything didn't seem right.

"If you're done with your coffee, Miss Sarah, I'd appreciate it if I could have a cup too," Noah's monotone voice snapped Sarah out of her thoughts. She couldn't reply as Noah turned and left the room, his expression cold and changed.

"Did I just make a mistake?" Sarah asked, feeling nervous. She quickly grabbed a cup from the tray and made a coffee as Noah had requested.

As she came out of the pantry, she felt lost. Where should she go? She hadn't asked where the manager's office was earlier. Feeling foolish, she hurried over to Lieta, who was nearby. "Excuse me, could you tell me where the manager's office is?" she asked.

"Sure, it's over there," Lieta pointed in the direction of the office.

"Thank you," Sarah muttered and once again rushed to the manager's office with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Excuse me," Sarah said as she knocked on the door to the manager's room.

"Come in," Noah's voice responded.

Sarah entered the room, feeling nervous. "I brought the coffee as you asked," she said, holding out the cup.

Noah looked at her with cold eyes and pointed to the desk. "Put it there."

Sarah gently put the cup on the desk and waited nervously for his next order. She clutched her hands tightly.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" Noah asked, still looking at the document in front of him.

"I, ah, no sir," Sarah stuttered.

"Then you may go out now," Noah dismissed her without even raising his head. As soon as Sarah closed the door, he cursed silently. He had almost ruined the plan by taking the manager position, despite Matthew's warning that it could backfire since Sarah was not dumb at all.

Sarah frowned and looked at the closed door, feeling flustered. She lightly smacked her lips and cursed under her breath. "Why did I have to say that?"

Feeling weak, she made her way back to her desk and could only wait for her next task.

By 6 pm, all she had done was wait for a job assignment, but Noah had not given her any tasks. He had been holed up in his office all day. Sarah had asked if he wanted her to buy him lunch, but he had dismissed her coldly once again.

Tidying her desk, Sarah walked to Noah's room. All the staff had already left as early as five, which surprised her, but she decided to stay until Noah went back. She was sure he was still there in his room, if she was not mistaken.

"Mr. Noah," she called for him after knocking on the door.

There was no response from inside the room. Sarah frowned, feeling a bit worried. She tried knocking again, but still no response. She wondered if he had already left without her noticing.

Sarah hesitated for a moment, then decided to try the door handle. To her surprise, the door was unlocked. She pushed it open slowly and peeked inside. The room was dark, with only the lamp on the desk providing any light, which made her heart sink.

"Did he leave already?" Sarah mumbled to herself. She closed the door and returned to her desk, taking her phone out and typing a text to Noah.

"Sir, have you already left?" she typed, but then deleted it. She hesitated for a moment, then typed again.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but I just wanted to confirm if you have left because I need to lock the door to your room." She sneered at herself, feeling foolish for coming up with such a lame excuse.

Sarah hesitated for a moment, feeling embarrassed but ultimately hit send on the message. She waited for a few minutes, but there was still no reply from Noah. She sighed and decided to just go back home for the day.

As she pushed the glass door of the main entrance, her phone finally received a notification. Sarah took out her phone right away and read the text: "No."

"No?" Sarah was confused. That was the only reply she got from him. What did he mean by that? She turned her head and looked back at the empty workspace.

Once again, she felt hesitant. Should she go back inside or just continue her plan to go back home?

A few moments passed, and Sarah found herself walking back inside the workspace. She decided to check Noah's room one more time, but as she walked past the pantry, she could hear faint sounds of movement coming from inside. It sent shivers down her spine, but she tried to act brave and called out, "Mr. Noah?"

There was no reply, so she knocked on the door lightly and waited for a response.

After a few seconds, the door opened slowly, revealing Noah standing there with a cup of coffee in his hand. "What are you still doing here?" he asked, his tone slightly gruff.

"Ah, I am just trying to check if everything is fine. Do you still have a lot of things to do sir? If you need my help-"

"No need. If we stay here together, you might once again think that I planned all of this. So you can call it a day and go back home." Noah interrupted Sarah's words and gave her a childish reply.

Sarah nodded, feeling a bit dejected. She forced a smile and said, "Okay sir, I will leave now. Have a good evening."

Noah walked past her and went into his room without looking back.

Sarah sighed, feeling like her job was going to be in hell after this. As she walked out of the workspace, she couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had settled in her stomach. She knew that she was going to have to face the consequences of her words, and she wasn't sure if she was ready for them.