章 9: As Long as you Try

Noelle continued to stare at him as she waited for his reply. The man still had his hands clamping his mouth.

"Are you going to say something? Or just continue staring at me like this?" She spoke up in a crisp and clear voice. There was a small smile hugging the curve of her rosy pink lips which only seemed to be widening as each second ticked by.

"I came to apologize to you, for earlier." Corey, who had been standing there quietly for sometime, finally spoke up. But there was one thing which he was forgetting about. His palms were still covering his lips.

Seeing the odd look which Noelle was giving him after getting his reply, made him realize what was wrong with it. He drew in a deep breath as he brought his hands down.

"I am sorry. I only came here to apologize to you, but I only made things worse." Corey finally answered her in a composed tone. He was regretting coming up here, but he really wanted to apologize to her. At first, he was thinking of sending something up to her room with an apology letter, but later on decided against it.

'An apology is always better when done in person.' The thought alone had forced him to act bold enough to drag his feet up to her room.

"It's fine. You don't have to feel bad about messing things up. In fact, I am sorry for joking around when you were here to apologize." Noelle could only try to salvage the situation as guilt began to bloom in her heart.

She didn't want to do it when she first saw him standing right outside the threshold of her room, but she couldn't help herself after seeing how flustered he was. She had to do it. It was like every single bone inside her body was screaming at her to mess with him, even if it was just a tad bit.

"No, please. You don't have to say sorry. You did nothing wrong. I should be the only one saying sorry here." He shook his head as he stated. He knew it would only make him feel more bad if she was to apologize to him again.

Noelle pondered over his words as she rested the side of her head on the door. "Fine. I won't apologize to you, but there is one condition." She narrowed her eyes a little as she thought over her own words.

She couldn't pinpoint why, but she was hoping to spend more time with him. She wanted to know more about him. She knew why he had taken her sisters' side, and she didn't really mind it. It made her want to know more about him. She wanted to know if he would have made the same decision if her sisters were not there. She wanted to know the real him. That was the only reason why she had associated her forgiveness with a condition. In reality, he had already earned it the moment she opened the door.

"What condition?" Corey saw something flicker through her eyes, and could only ask about it.

"You are the concierge, right? Why don't you arrange something for me. Of course, I will be paying for it, but you make the final decision." Noelle replied, her lips slowly curling up. "Also, there's a catch. You will personally accompany me on my trip." She added before he could answer her.

The last few words left the man baffled. He was about to agree with her condition when he first heard it, but he was grateful to her for clarifying things to him before he could have given her his word.

"H-how could I do that?" Corey hesitated. "I am nothing but a concierge, and you are a guest here. I can arrange something for you, and make sure that a good tour guide is with you so that you have a good experience. But I can't accompany you." He tried to reason with her, only to hear a no in response.

"Yes, yes, yes. I know that. Your name tag clearly states that. Also, I don't need a guide, I live in this city. I just want you to accompany me to a place where we could work on our apologies." Noelle shook her head.

She wanted to have a proper conversation with him. It had been long since she last exchanged words with someone who didn't live in her house. She had always had these restrictions since she turned sixteen which more or less restricted her movements, confining her to the four walls of her so-called home.

If it wasn't for the fact that she had to accompany her sisters whenever they had to stay out, she wouldn't even be at the hotel. And it was mostly for business purposes, at least it was for her. The same couldn't be said for her sister. They were enjoying it all more than they should.

"Our apologies?" Corey gave her a puzzled look as he stared back at her. He didn't forget to stress over 'our' as it was making him confused.

"Yeah!" She bobbed her head up and down, careful with her movements. She didn't want to bump her head against the door. "I will be apologizing for my little act of mischief just right now, and you can apologize for anything you want." She explained it to him only to see him frowning.

"B-but I…" Corey trailed off, not knowing how to make her understand his worries.

"I can assure that I will accept your apology right away as long as you accept my condition. Also, my apology along with it." Noelle tried her best to persuade him. She could tell that she was going to be successful with striking up a bargain with him from the way his expressions were fluctuating.

"Okay, fine. I can not promise you that I will be able to do that, but I will try my best to get a leave." Corey finally gave into her pleas after thinking it over a couple of times. He owed her that much for being so understanding even after he had bluntly called her dressing sense out before her step sisters.

"As long as you try." She nodded her head, compromising a little with her condition. She knew that she couldn't force him, no matter how badly she wanted to have a proper conversation with him.

"Then I will take my leave now." He added with a slight bow of his head only to get one in return from her.

"I will see you later then, Mr. Corey." Noelle bid him goodbye with a polite smile.

She saw him leaving as she continued to lean against the side of her door.

'Work.' A thought popped up in her head which pulled her out of her daydreaming, making her scold herself. "Damn you, Noelle." While muttering profound curses in her mind, she shut the door and made her way back to the bed where a whole pile of files were waiting for her.