The Cherished Wife by Chweety

The day flew by in a blur of busyness and satisfaction. Noelle liked the atmosphere at Collosus Group. It was no wonder they were a top dog in Brookville. Frotconn could not hold a candle to them. After tidying up the paperwork Brian had handed off, Noelle was ready to head home when her phone buzzed. It was Charles. "Done for the day?"

She was just slipping her stuff into her bag and nodded at the phone. "Yep."

"Meet you in the parking lot!" Charles sounded like he was also wrapping up. "How about dinner out and maybe a movie?"

"Sure thing!" Noelle grinned. "I'll head down and wait for you!" She ended the call just as Arya strolled by, catching the tail end of Noelle's cheerful chat. Curiosity piqued, Arya sidled up. "Was that your boyfriend?" The smile slipped from Noelle's face as she squinted slightly. "Just a friend."

Arya's lips quirked in a half-smile. "You're no fun, Noelle. We're all on the same team here. It's just a little friendly curiosity. No need to be so secretive!"

"Arya, like you said, we're just colleagues. My private life is just that-private. I don't see why I should broadcast my relationship to everyone," Noelle retorted, her patience wearing thin. She had not expected Arya to be such a pest.

get tangled in office politics. Arya seemed to have gotten

so let's leave it at

voice rose. The office was emptying at the end of the day, so their exchange drew the attention of the departing

day, so I'm trying to be nice. I just asked about you and Mr. Wells. It's not like it's top-secret information. You don't have to

in the

spot at Collosus Group due to Ronald's influence. Ronald was Charles' right-hand the golden boy next to

byelme

Ronald were more than just colleagues,

slightly. "I don't owe you an explanation about my relationship with Mr. Wells. Sure, we work together, but that doesn't mean my private life is up

I've got things to do. I can't stick around for this," Noelle said,

clearly unimpressed by Noelle's actions. With the main attraction gone, the onlookers lost interest and scattered. Arya's lips twisted into a self-satisfied smirk, but it faltered when she spun around to find Brian right behind her. His eyes were clouded with annoyance, and it was