The Cherished Wife

Wife 47

Charles had always been the master of his own fate, unshakable and untroubled by others, but as he watched Noelle sleep, he wondered if she might be the one to break his composure.

He had not planned on getting her involved, but now that she was here, he was not about to let her slip away. Time was not on their side, but Charles never sweated the small stuff.

As he glanced down at himself, he was surprised by the effect she still had on him. He fought to keep his cool, though sometimes the body told truths the mind tried to hide. He had been so close to giving in to his desires, but the thought of her waking up scared or full of regret stopped him cold.

Charles was out on the balcony, lost in the night air, until Ronald came back. Only then did he retreat to his study.

“Mr. Hoffman, here’s the surveillance footage from the Shaw place tonight.” Ronald knew Charles like the back of his hand, having been by his side for years. He had already started digging into the Shaw family’s drama on his way back from dropping off Sean.

Charles, cigarette in hand, barely glanced at the papers Ronald handed him. Ronald twitched, sensing something amiss. “Mr. Hoffman?” Had he misread the situation?

A slight smirk crossed Charles’s face. “Double your bonus this month!”

Ronald’s face lit up with delight. “Mr. Smith’s been fishing for info, but I kept silent. You know how he is…

“Let him be,” Charles sald with a dismissive wave. “He can fuss all he wants.”

“Mr. Hoffman, just so you know, Simon and Julian did shake hands on some deal about pumping money into the project, but it’s all talk at this point. Also, Simon’s voice doesn’t carry much weight in the York Group. It’s still Sir York calling the shots, and I bet he’s clueless about this whole thing.” Ronald said, realizing that Charles was not too concerned, which meant Samuel was not a real hurdle. However, Ronald was puzzled, “What’s Julian’s game, anyway? I heard Simon had his eye on Winter.”

Charles’s brow furrowed ever so slightly, a rare shift in his cool demeanor. “Simon’s after Winter? Charles let out a dismissive snort. “You’re not giving him enough credit.”

Ronald was stumped. Everyone knew Simon’s reputation. “So, what’s the play, Mr. Hoffman?”

“Just let it be for now. This isn’t your circus,” Charles said, breezing through the paperwork. “Go check up on how Hellos is doing.”

“Got it!”

“Oh, and another thing,” Charles drummed his fingers on the desk, lost in thought for a moment. “About cutting back on our orders with Frotconn, how’s that coming along?”

“We’re on it, but they’re still in the dark!” Ronald recalled that there had not been a peep from Joseph’s end lately. Joseph was practically a nobody in the grand scheme of things, though.

A few years back, for reasons Charles could not fathom, Sir Hoffman took it upon himself to nudge Charles to keep an eye on a little company called Frotconn. Charles was not one for hassles, and he quickly pegged Frotconn as small fry and did not sweat it. However, two years down the line, he got the vibe that Joseph was playing a crooked game. Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

*Shave off another ten percent. Isn’t there a spot up for grabs soon?” Charles mused, rubbing his chin

while his eagle eyes zeroed in on the project proposal sprawled across his desk. “Step on it!”

D