The Cherished Wife by Chweety

By the time they got home, it was late. Noelle, having already snoozed at the cinema, was wide awake and decided to use Charles's study to get some work done.

She was new to the company, and Brian had not given her much to do yet, but Noelle knew she had to be on the ball now. Brian wanted her to get involved with the West City project, which was a golden opportunity. She was determined to get up to speed fast and make a smooth transition into her new role.

Charles strolled back into the house and decided to let Noelle have the study to herself. He plopped down in the living room to catch up on the latest stock market drama, while Arnold snuggled close to his feet. Every so often, Arnold would shoot him the most heart- wrenching puppy dog eyes. With a quick side-eye, Charles reminded him. "Mom's busy working, buddy. No going upstairs to bug her, okay?"

Arnold let out a soft "Woof!" and gave Charles a nod that seemed to say he got the message.

Technically, Arnold was Charles's dog, but life got hectic, and Sean ended up being Arnold's primary owner. It got to the point where everyone thought Arnold was Sean's pet. Charles never really planned on reversing the arrangement.

For some reason, Sean had brought Arnold back home not once but twice now. Oddly enough, Arnold seemed to really like Noelle.

furry behind on the floor, staying still as a statue,

rang way past bedtime, and Ronald's voice came through, "Mr. Hoffman, we've got the scoop. One of the ladies at your wife's office got jealous of your wife for being Mr. Parker's new

deal, but when Noelle was involved, it was a whole different story for Charles. Ronald could not shake off the memory of Mr. Hoffman losing his cool over Noelle

a quick nod. He noticed Arnold crawling back over and playfully tapped him on the head, though his thoughts were

mood and hesitated before asking, "Should

"No need. It's a small issue. Nelly's got this," he assured Ronald.

let out a

it wasn't

the small stuff. But he could never guess

said after a moment's thought. "Have someone keep