The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)
Chapter 556

"You, really!" Charles just shook his head with a smile, grabbed Noelle's hand, and led her to the couch, gently pushing her down. "If I hadn't put it that way, would you have stayed downstairs?"

"Well, yeah, we had a deal, didn't we? At work, it's strictly boss and employee, but at home, we're husband and wife. You know Janet's around the office. If she caught wind of us..." Noelle trailed off, eyeing Charles to gauge his reaction. Seeing his face flicker with emotions, she went on, "It's not like I'm scared of people knowing-we're married, for crying out loud. I'm over hiding it. However, if Janet gets a whiff, we'll never hear the end of it. And with the project kicking off, I don't want any drama to mess things up!" Charles nodded, giving Noelle's shoulder a reassuring pat. "You don't have to explain. I get it." He settled beside her and opened the coffee table's food box. "Lunchtime anyway. Let's dig in!"

Noelle could not help but laugh, a bit exasperated. "So this is your grand plan? Dragging me up here to eat? I told you, I can fend for myself at lunch."

She had a hunch that Charles was not looking for her over some urgent work matter, just like the last few times. "When did you even put this together?"

"Ronald called in a favor at Bamboo Grove House," Charles replied, handing her the cutlery. "Come on, let's eat!"

Noelle gave a resigned shrug. "You should eat too! However, you can't keep doing this, showing up every day at lunch. People will start to notice." She was not exactly worried, but if that kept up, the whole company would soon buzz about her frequent visits to Charles's office, which could spell trouble.

"You've been swamped with work

lately, and you don't even unwind at home. I've had no choice but to make time for us to see each other," Charles grumbled, making Noelle shake her head with amusement and exasperation. "Pretty sure it's not me who can't chill at home!"

Right after Noelle's comment, Charles scooped some food into her bowl. "Ronald mentioned the fish soup today is super fresh. Make sure you have a couple more bowls." "Sure!" Noelle agreed and served some food to Charles in return. "Dig in!"

"Oh, and I overheard Janet talking about heading to HR for some documents, something about the annual meeting. Is Collosus Group's annual meeting kicking off this year? Noelle asked as she tidied up

aftel

their meal, glancing at Charles.

Charles poured two glasses of water, hesitating for a moment when he heard Noelle's question. He recalled the instructions he had given Ronald that morning and nodded. "Yeah, that's happening. Why, you interested?"

"Not at all, those things are exhausting." She remembered how draining the annual meetings at Frotconn were. "I'm just wondering if you're doing this to divert Janet's attention."

"You hit the nail on the head!"

Charles said as he passed the water glass to Noelle. "She can't get near me these days, but she still replaces ways to bug me. With the end of the year rush, the company's swamped, and I just can't deal with her drama."

Noelle nodded, sipping her water. "That's probably for the best. She'll be too busy to bother you. However, don't you think it's a bit unfair to dump her on Becky?"