Chapter 128: Love so dearly

Ivy's words were still reeling in Noah's mind. She was genuinely grateful to him for coming into her sister's life while in fact, it was him who was thankful. It was Aria who had crashed into his life and not the other way round and he was happy that he got to meet such a lovely woman.

Other than being thankful, he was also remorseful. But he had no choice. It was either he chose to disclose the secret about her father who was in his comatose condition and see her heartbroken, or wait until he recovered and then tell her about him. At least that way, his woman would not be dejected though he might end up sabotaging his relationship with her in both the scenarios.

In any case, his choice would always be the second option. He could not make Aria sad at any cost and Ian had promised him that he would develop the medicine for his father-in-law. So, the only option he had was to wait for Ian and to not give up hope.

"Boss, are you alright?" Ronnie had seen his boss being absent-minded since the time he had left Aria's apartment. He was in deep thought, unlike the other times when he would be barking orders for him whenever they were driving towards the office.

"Say, Ronnie what do you think will happen if I tell Aria about her father right now?" Noah cleared his thoughts and voiced the question that was bugging his mind.

"Madam will be devastated. So, it is preferable to keep it a secret until the treatment is completed."

"Hmm. I decided the same thing too. It's best that way. Let me be the bad guy for her." Noah said and smiled faintly in sadness.

Ronnie saw the smile from the rearview mirror. It was neither the creepy smile that Noah gave when he was ready to murder someone nor was it the gentle smile that was only reserved for Aria. It was a smile filled with various emotions: anger, sadness, pain, love. He realized that his boss loved Aria so dearly that he was ready to get hurt for her than to see her hurt.

It was the first time for Ronnie to witness Noah in this state. He had seen his boss with other women previously. However, they were only meant for satisfying his sexual desires. It was never more than that and the woman came willingly to him even after knowing that it would never be anything past a fling. Seeing his boss worry in turn, made Ronnie worry. But he did not know what to do. It was not his matter to deal with in the first case. He could only pray that Aria would understand the situation.

"Boss, the PR Manager has been caught," Ronnie said after some time. He had completely forgotten about the issue after seeing his boss in misery.

"Who?" Noah asked, his eyes fixed on his tablet. He had decided to put matters related to his love life aside for a while. He would see how it would go naturally and make amends based on them.

"The woman who sold our company's information along with her secretary," Ronnie replied. They were almost near their company. So, he slowed down as the traffic was quite heavy in that area. Getting no response from his boss, Ronnie continued, "It is the same woman who insulted Madam at the party in London."

"Oh, that woman. It's great that she got caught."

"What do you want to do with her boss?"

"Hand her to the police, they will take care of her. Let her get a taste of prison life and make sure she never leaves the place." Noah answered calmly. He was not a person who would take betrayals lightly.

"Boss, we are here," Ronnie said as he parked the car in the area reserved exclusively for his boss.

"Hmm." Noah got off the car. Instead of going to the private elevator, as usual, he went to the entrance as Ronnie followed him closely. His private elevator started right from the parking area in the basement to the top floor. He never came from the main entrance except for a few times when he had to entertain some big-shot clients.

This time Noah decided to enter from the main entrance and Ronnie understood that his boss had something in his mind. He could only wish that none of the employees were slacking from their work.

Noah casually sauntered in with his hands in his pockets, his keen eyes roaming around like a hawk.

"Good Morning." The guards and the receptionist greeted him as soon as he entered. He only nodded in return. The lady at the reception looked at him shock, she had never seen him come by this way. She checked her schedule and there were no meetings with any clients either, making her wonder what had actually transpired to make Noah come in via the main gate.

Without giving another glance at the receptionist who was looking at him wide-eyed, he directly went to the marketing department on the first floor. It was as lively as ever. They were busy preparing for the new promotional event for the hotel that was going to be inaugurated in a few weeks. This was the new hotel to be included in the Carter chain of hotels in the world.

Noah silently watched the team giving out ideas for the event, everybody listened to other's opinion silently. The department was as harmonious, everybody was working hard. He gestured Ronnie to come closer and whispered something in his ear.

The next department he visited was the HR department. There were a lot of people who were sitting on the chairs outside the department.

"Who are they?" He asked Ronnie as he secretly watched them.

"They are here for the job interview for various positions in the company."

"Are we recruiting anybody for the top floor?" Noah asked. He knew about the recruitment that was taking place, his secretary had informed him about it. He was also told that they were looking for some potential candidates for their branch offices too. So, the number of employees they wanted was quite huge. He never dealt with the matters of these sorts, it was always the concerned department who took care of it. But he knew about all that was happening in his company.

"Yes sir. We want another capable secretary for you. Shane and Mrs. Markel is finding the workload quite stressful. So, they requested you for another secretary." Ronnie answered honestly. He knew his boss would have forgotten about it. This matter was brought up before he was shot.

"Ahh, yes. I remember now. Anyway, who is Mrs. Markel?" Noah asked as he took another glance at candidates who were nervously waiting in their seats. Ronnie looked at him dumbstruck. How could his boss forget his secretary who had been working with him for two years?

"Sir, Mrs. Markel is your secretary."

"Is it?" Noah glanced at him. He knew who his secretary was, but had no idea what her name was. He was only concerned about her work, not about her.

"Yes, boss."

"Hmm. Come let's go." Noah said with a wicked grin.

"Where boss?"

"To the interview room." Noah started walking towards the room.

"But boss.."

"Is there anything important on my schedule today?" Noah paused suddenly and looked at Ronnie.

"No boss. Your schedule is free until two."

"Great. Come on. Let's roast the new candidates."