Chapter 2016 - Secret Audit (5)

Noah was smiling, but Chloe knew that he was serious. Ah, what did she get herself into? And he was close. Too close. No matter where she looked, she saw some part of Noah.

Chloe gulped softly and caved in to tell him what's on her mind... "It's just that… yesterday they were cold and dismissive until you said that I am working on this. I don't feel comfortable with people who treat me differently only because of my position. I would rather not rely on them at all because once I lose my standing, they will end up kicking me to the curb."

Noah observed Chloe and Eve-lens told him that she said the truth. He understood that she was talking from her experience as the miss from the Long family and he wondered what she went through to think this way. Most of the people would bask in additional privileges, yet she avoided them because she knew that it's temporary. The more he knew about Chloe, the more he admired her and he wanted her to trust him.

"Alright…", Noah said after few long seconds. "I will fire them."

Chloe's mind was spinning due to Noah's proximity and what was he saying? Lizzie and Scarlet will be fired because of what she said? Those two Amazonians will hunt her!

"N-no… don't… please…", Chloe stuttered. She gulped softly when she saw that his eyebrows were raised questionably. "Uhm… they are your assistants, right? If you fire them, who will assist you?"

"I can think of a few people."

"You can?" Chloe didn't believe him.

"Mhm…", Noah hummed in confirmation and his smile widened. "How about… you?"

Chloe was flabbergasted. He must be kidding! "Me? Why me? I have no clue about being an assistant."

"It's not a big deal to be an assistant. You will help me out with things where I'm lacking or I'm too busy. I noticed that you are typing fast and good with computers. That makes you an excellent assistant material."

Chloe really hoped that he was joking, and she had to point out… "You are good with computers also and you can use speech to text feature, there is no need for typing."

"You can do more than just typing."

"Like what?"

Noah shrugged. "Make me coffee, fetch water, sweep the floor, kill bugs…"

"Kill bugs?", Chloe asked with a frown.

"Mhm… I hate touching those things so if you can handle them, that would be great."

At first, Chloe was confident that he was messing with her, but now she was not so sure. Is he really expecting her to assist him with those menial tasks? "Director Bennet… I didn't finish four years of business school in order to sweep floors and kill bugs."

"Please, call me Noah.", Noah reminded her. "And… tell me, what would you like to do?"

'Play the piano…', she thought, and she stopped any ideas that sprouted related to Noah and his full lips which were quite close for her to see. "What I'm doing now. Going through the numbers and making sense of them."

"Alright. Then, I will be your assistant.", Noah said and walked to his desk. "You wanted a meeting with the director of HR, right? I will make him free up his afternoon for you…"

Chloe watched Noah with her eyes open wide. He is joking, right? RIGHT? But then she saw him get his phone and dial a number and she heard him say, "Noah Bennet speaking... I want a meeting with director Devaney…"

Less than a minute later, Noah ended the call. "Alright! That is settled. What else can your assistant do for you, Miss Long?"

Chloe saw a notification on the screen that her whole afternoon was booked for a meeting with the director of HR. She turned toward Noah and met his expectant gaze. It seems that he was serious about the assistant thing. She was not sure if she should laugh or cry. How did things turn out this way? "Director Bennet…"

"Miss Long, I told you to call me Noah.", he reminded her.

"Then you should call me Chloe.", she retorted.

Noah smiled. He called her 'miss Long' while pretending to be her assistant, but he will play along. "OK, Chloe. Is there something else I can do for you?"

"No, thank you."

Noah was not pleased with her rejection. He saw this assistant business as a great way for him to get closer to her. Ah, how come he didn't think of that sooner? "Are you sure? I can get you another coffee or fetch some water."

A laugh escaped Chloe's lips. "You forgot to mention tasks like sweeping the floor and killing bugs."

Noah was happy that Chloe let down her façade and he started seeing what is beneath it. She was quick and witty. He liked it. "My floor-sweeping skills are average at best and I dislike bugs, but if you tell me to do it, I will handle those tasks for you."

Chloe felt the heat in her face rising and she hoped that she was not blushing. Did she really say that at loud? She lowered her head. "No need for that… Thank you for setting up the meeting.", Chloe mumbled and buried her face in the papers, while doing her best to focus on work.

Little did Chloe know that this is just the beginning as the more she pushed back, the more Noah was interested to get closer. Of course, Noah was not acting blindly. He saw with Eve-lens that Chloe's heart rate increases whenever he speaks to her and that she holds her breath when their eyes meet. He had a super-cheat and he enjoyed letting her cool down before initiating a small talk only to see a blush adorn her cheeks.

He was aware that she was trying to hide her emotions and he had every intention to break those walls down completely.

It was close to noon when a light knock sounded on the door.

"Come in…", Noah called, surprised that his secretary didn't notify him of someone coming.

Noah bolted to his feet in attention when he saw Sarah and Aiden walk in.

"At ease, Noah…", Sarah said. "You are so tense that it makes me feel you are hiding something."

"Are we interrupting you?", Aiden asked, enjoying Noah's awkwardness and Chloe's confusion. He didn't want to come here, but now there is a good show to watch and he will collect material to use against Noah later.

"No, no…", Chloe responded, and she stood up because Noah was standing as well.

Sarah waved at Chloe to sit down. "Relax. This is not an official visit."

Noah frowned a little. He didn't like that he got surprised by this visit. His secretary didn't say anything, security didn't notify him that Sarah and Aiden entered the building, and even his Eve-lens didn't tell him that they are in the area. Sure, Noah is aware that Sarah and Aiden are the only ones who can override security protocols with ease, but that does not make him any less comfortable.

And instead of being cool in front of Chloe, he ended up embarrassing himself.

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