Chapter 1997 - Finding Noah (1)

~ Los Angeles, Boyle Heights neighborhood ~

Tuesday, 9:32 PM

Chloe stood across the street from the building that had a big flashing sign "Chaos" above its main entrance. Chaos is the club which dominates the nightlife of the Boyle Heights neighborhood for the last three years.

The club opened at 8 PM, like every evening, and Chloe was standing there for more than fifteen minutes and observing people who were entering the nightclub. She was gathering her courage to cross the street and join them.

How did Chloe find herself here? We need to look a few days into the past.

At Emma's baby shower, Noah told Chloe that she will be getting a call about a job in a company that Sarah owns. Chloe understood that Noah was talking about Blanc. Actually, Sarah owns several businesses, but they all fall under the Blanc umbrella which is famous as a jewelry brand. Of course, many of those 'businesses' are shell companies to cover up transactions done for the Army of Chaos, but people who know about it either belong to the Army of Chaos or don't dare to talk about it.

Since that baby shower, Chloe was expecting a call from the HR department of Blanc. A normal hiring process takes more than a month, and she was eager to start working and get her independence. Chloe was surprised that everything was done within twenty-four hours.

On Sunday, Chloe got a call from the recruiting department of Blanc and they asked her a few questions related to her personality and problem solving. One hour after that, she got another call from Blanc's HR department with a job offer and if she accepted by 4 PM on Sunday, her starting day would be Monday which was the next day. She couldn't believe it!

"Don't you need to test me and see me in person?", Chloe asked the woman who laughed.

"No dear, we have your school transcript, so we know that you are good at taking tests. Since you don't have previous job experience, we can't expect you to show anything beyond what you learned in school which brings us back to your good grades, as for seeing you in person… Director Bennet recommended you so if he believes that you are a good fit for our company, we will not question it."

Chloe was surprised by this easygoing attitude and she had a question: "Director Bennet?"

"Noah Bennet.", the woman responded, and Chloe realized that 'Director Bennet' is Noah, the head of security.

At the baby shower, Chloe understood that Noah is more than just a security guard and she guessed that he might be Sarah's assistant, but now he ended up being a director at Blanc, and that exposed another layer of mystery surrounding Noah which Chloe wished to unravel. She didn't know much about Noah, but those bits she knew were fascinating.

The woman from the HR department started explaining what Chloe will get if she agrees to accept the job. The salary was fair, the benefits were amazing, but the biggest perk was that for a slightly lesser salary, she could get an apartment in the Boyle Heights neighborhood.

Chloe was curious about the apartment, and the woman immediately sent her several floorplan options while telling her that Blanc has a number of buildings in the area for its employees where they could live if they wished, and the rent costs a fraction of what they would pay if they lived anywhere else in the area. Chloe was delighted and the extra perk was that the apartment comes furnished. Her goal was to get her freedom from the Long family with a job in finances and she accepted this job offer right away because it was everything she wanted.

On Monday morning, Chloe attended the new employee orientation and met her manager, a middle-aged man with sharp features who showed Chloe her cubicle and common areas while introducing her to the other people in her department. After the tour of the building, Chloe's manager gave her a few tasks to set up her computer and workstation.

After work, Chloe moved into her new apartment. Since the furniture was not necessary, Chloe had in her car one suitcase and a few boxes with clothes and some personal items.

In the hallway, she met Rosie, a woman who lives down the hallway from Chloe. Rosie helped Chloe carry a few boxes before inviting her for dinner.

When Chloe showed up for dinner, she was surprised that another woman opened the door.

"Hi, you must be Chloe. I am Matilda, Rosie told me you will join us."

Chloe blinked. "Are you Rosie's roommate?"

"Rosie is across the hall.", Matilda said and smiled at Chloe. "Come in and join us, the guys are hungry…"

Chloe found inside Rosie, and she met Chad and Tim. They all confirmed to be Blanc employees who are living in the same building.

Matilda works in the marketing department of Blanc. Rosie, Chad, and Tim all work in the Chaos nightclub. Rosie is a server, Chad is a bouncer and Tim is a bartender.

"What brings you to Blanc, Chloe?", Rosie asked.

"Uhm… Noah." Chloe saw that her answer brought out curious gazes and she had to ask. "Is that unusual?"

"It depends… Noah, like Noah Bennet?", Matilda asked and when Chloe nodded, Matilda leaned closer. "Tell us the details."

Noah is one of the few people who report directly to Sarah and they don't get a chance to interact with him often. Also, Noah does not handle entry-level people, so they were all curious to hear Chloe's story.

Chloe told them how she attended a party and her seniors bullied her and then Noah showed up, shoed them away, and told her that there is a job if she is interested.

"Ah, so you are a Long?", Tim asked like he found out something big.

Chloe shook her head. "It's just a last name that sounds fancy. In my family, no one treats me as more than a token. My family expects me to sacrifice my dreams for a better good, and everyone else wants to use me to get closer to my family. That is why I decided to leave. I don't want to be Chloe Long. I want to be Chloe."

"Well, Chloe, you are at the right place.", Chad said and lifted his beer in a toast. "Welcome to the Blanc family!"

Chloe smiled. She liked this bunch of people. For the rest of the dinner, no one brought up Longs and they chatted about various topics. Everyone was happy to answer Chloe's questions related to the neighborhood and everything that belongs to Blanc.

Based on their behavior, she concluded that Rosie and Tim are very close, maybe a couple, and Matilda and Chad were definitely a couple as they shared an apartment, and they looked at each other tenderly.

After food, Tim, Rosie, and Chad went to get ready for work, leaving Matilda and Chloe behind. Chloe offered to help with dishes.

"Do you meet for dinner often?", Chloe asked Matilda.

"We try to do it at least once a week. There are a few more neighbors who usually join, but tonight they had different plans. You will meet everyone soon. How are you finding your work?"

"People seem nice, and work seems overwhelming. It will take some time to get used to it. I was thinking of waiting until I graduate, but lately, the pressure from my family to meet eligible bachelors increased so I decided to start as soon as possible."

Matilda felt sorry for Chloe. "People here are nice as long as you don't provoke them.", Matilda said cautiously. "If you have questions at work or here, feel free to ask. We are like a big family and people are helpful in general."

"Do you see Noah at work?"

Matilda paused. "Noah? No. He does not visit our administrative side. Your best bet to see him will be the annual company party." Matilda noticed that Chloe's mood fell. "You want to see him?"

Chloe fidgeted while thinking about how to answer. "Because of Noah I got a job and a place to live. I would like to thank him, and I don't know how to reach him."

Tim and Chad are members of the Army of Chaos who work at the Chaos nightclub and they can contact Noah anytime through their superiors, but Matilda didn't want to say that. Considering Chloe's background and that she joined the financing department, it was obvious that she was a civilian who got a job at Blanc so certain things should not be disclosed. But there was one way for Chloe to meet with Noah.

"You can always try your luck at the Chaos nightclub."

"At the nightclub?"

"Mhm…", Matilda hummed in confirmation. "It belongs to Blanc and it's only four blocks from here. Noah is usually there on Tuesdays. Rosie, Chad, and Tim will have more information on that because they work there, but I am confident that Noah is there on Tuesday."

"Is there something special about Tuesday?"

Tuesday is recognized as the day of the week where various organizations are trying to get in touch with the Army of Chaos. Whenever possible, Sarah comes to the Chaos nightclub on Tuesdays, and Noah is there regardless of Sarah's presence.

If Sarah shows up, Noah has the role of her subordinate, and if she is not there, then Noah meets with those people (or rejects seeing them) as Sarah's proxy.

But even Matilda was unclear about the details on why Noah comes to the Chaos nightclub on Tuesdays. That is information only senior members of the Army of Chaos know, so the only thing Matilda could do is to shrug at Chloe's question.

"I don't know.", Matilda said. "If you get a chance, ask Noah about it."

Chloe thanked Matilda for everything, and she couldn't wait for the Tuesday at work to end.

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