The Cherished Wife

Grappling with this new insight, Noelle quickly looked away, her cheeks burning as she sneaked a peek at Brian. Sure enough, he was watching her, a wry smile playing on his lips. She shot him a desperate look, silently begging him to keep her secret. Brian tapped the table to catch Arya's attention, his face serious. "We can't just blab about Mr. Hoffman's secrets, can we? Come on, it's getting late. Let's wrap up dinner and get back to work!"

Arya playfully stuck her tongue out at Noelle and dropped the subject. Meanwhile, Noelle could not help but wonder about Janet. Was it possible she actually had a crush on Charles?

That question nagged at Noelle all the way to quitting time. She and Arya had been leaving work together lately. Like clockwork, Charles would call just before they clocked out, telling Noelle to head down early and wait for him. Today was no different. On the call, Charles asked what Noelle was in the mood to eat tonight, a conversation they seemed to have every day after work. It had become such a routine that Noelle felt like they were an old married couple.

As Noelle was about to leave, Arya caught her by the arm. "Hey Noelle, got plans tonight?"

Noelle paused. "What's up?"

it's nothing much. We're colleagues, right? And since you've joined Collosus Group, we've never really hung out

Noelle bit her

promised Charles she would be home for dinner, which meant she still had to hit the grocery store, Glancing at Arya, Noelle felt a twinge of guilt. Arya had never asked her out for dinner before. "Is there any chance we could do this another day? I've already made plans with

just that... Well, you know how it is. I'm not getting any younger, and my parents won't stop nagging me about getting married. And now, my mom's gone and set me up with someone, insisting I

and I'm in no rush. But my mom acts like I'm