บท 17: Fired!

Fifteen minutes later, Noah arrived at Sarah's place, having deliberately slowed his pace to give her more time to prepare. He knew she would be more nervous if he showed up too early.

Standing outside her door, he rang the bell.

Inside, Sarah let out a relieved sigh as she placed the last dish on the dining table. "Phew, I barely made it," she whispered to herself, wiping her hands on her apron. She hurried to the door, peeked through the peephole, and saw it was Noah.

After a moment to compose herself, she opened the door.

Noah's eyes glanced over her, taking in the apron that suited her so well. He smiled warmly, "Good morning again," he said, his tone light.

"Good morning," she replied softly, still a bit nervous.

"May I come in?" Noah asked with a teasing grin.

Sarah nodded, stepping aside to let him in. As he entered, the aroma of the freshly prepared breakfast immediately hit him, causing his stomach to rumble. "Something smells amazing," he commented, making her blush lightly.

She led him to the table, where an array of beautifully plated dishes awaited. As Noah sat down, he glanced at the spread with a teasing smile. "So, what do we have here, Chef Sarah?"

Trying to hide her shyness, she pointed at each dish. "Greek yogurt parfait for dessert, a savoury protein oatmeal bowl, avocado toast... and I made two jugs of juice—apple and orange."

Noah couldn't help but be impressed. "Wow, thank you, Sarah. This all looks incredible," he said sincerely, which made her blush even deeper.

They began eating, and after every bite, Noah made sure to compliment her cooking. "This oatmeal is delicious. You should open a restaurant!" he said, making her smile shyly.

Then, as they continued, Noah took a spoonful of parfait and, with a playful smile, held it out to Sarah.

She looked startled for a second, her face turning a brighter shade of red, but after a moment of hesitation, she leaned forward and took the bite.

Her embarrassment was obvious, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face.

After finishing the meal, Noah leaned back with a satisfied grin. "From now on, I'm only eating breakfast at your place," he teased, watching as Sarah's cheeks flushed a deep shade of red.

"S-sure," she stammered, avoiding eye contact, "come... whenever you want."

"Really?" Noah asked with a playful smirk.

She nodded shyly, her eyes still fixed on the table.

"Great!" Noah responded happily, "I'll come on the weekends then!"

Without skipping a beat, Noah stood up and began packing up the dishes, carrying them to the kitchen. Sarah quickly tried to stop him. "No, no, you don't have to—"

But Noah waved her off, insisting on helping.

"Too late!" he called over his shoulder, carrying more plates. Sarah, though initially trying to stop him, couldn't help the light smile that spread across her face as she watched him help her.

In the kitchen, Sarah washed the dishes while Noah helped by placing them on the tray where they were stored.

The domesticity of the moment felt surprisingly comfortable for both of them and before long, everything was clean and back in its place.

Afterwards, they made their way to the living room, where Noah relaxed on the couch. Glancing around, he noticed something. "Hey, where's Layla? She didn't come out to eat?"

Sarah's expression turned a bit somber as she sat down. "Layla's been acting strange for the past few days. She mostly stays in her room, and she only comes out for lunch."

Noah nodded, a slight frown forming on his face. He had a pretty good idea of why Layla was acting that way but didn't press further. Instead, he shifted the conversation. "So, what are you working on these days?"

Sarah brightened up a bit. "I own a small company that manages buildings," she said, a bit of pride in her voice.

Noah raised an eyebrow, impressed. "That's awesome! How is it going?"

As Sarah shared her story, her face reflected a tinge of sadness. "We were doing really well for the first six months," she began, her voice soft yet heavy with frustration, "that's when I started the company.

But recently, the construction company we contracted to manage buildings for us has become a problem."

Noah, sitting attentively, noticed the growing tension in her voice. "What happened?"

Sarah sighed. "The area manager I contracted with... he's a scumbag. He gave us an outrageous offer, one that the building owners obviously couldn't accept. But despite that, he keeps contacting me, hinting at doing... 'favours' so he can lower the price."

A deep frown formed on Noah's face as he leaned forward, sensing what she was implying. "You mean..."

She nodded, confirming his suspicions. "Yeah. I ignored him as soon as I realized what he wanted, and I cancelled all our contracts with him. But that decision cost us $20,000, and we lost the commissions from other sites. Now, my company is on the brink of bankruptcy."

Noah's expression darkened. "Which company is this?" he asked, his tone firmer.

"Walls4Us," Sarah replied, her voice trembling slightly.

The moment he heard that Noah's frown slowly transformed into a small, cold smile. He couldn't believe the irony. "What's the name of the guy you're talking about?" he asked, though he already had a good idea.

"Charles," she muttered.

Noah's smile froze, his expression turning icy.

In his mind, he repeated the name, "Charles… you really want me to speed up your death, huh?"

Forcing a more relaxed smile, Noah reassured her. "Don't worry about it, Sarah. I'm sure everything will turn out fine."

Sarah, still uncertain but comforted by his words, nodded. "I hope so too," she whispered, trying to believe in his confidence.

After chatting with Sarah for a while, Noah glanced at his watch and realized it was almost time for his study session with Lily. He stood up, offering Sarah a smile.

"I should get going. I've got a study session coming up."

Sarah smiled back, wishing him well. "Good luck! I'm sure you'll ace it."

Noah nodded and left. As soon as he stepped out the door, his expression changed. He pulled out his phone and decided to make a call.

Meanwhile, inside the Walls4Us headquarters in Birmingham, the atmosphere was tense. The CEO, John, was holding a meeting with his directors. The topic on everyone's mind was the company's recent acquisition by a mysterious new owner.

"I want everyone here to check on their subordinates," John said firmly, glancing around the room. "I don't want any screw-ups. We still haven't heard directly from the new chairman, and I'd prefer we stay out of trouble until we do. So get your house in order."

Just as he finished speaking, John's phone vibrated in his pocket. Normally, he would ignore it during a meeting, but something told him he should check this one. Glancing at the screen, his heart skipped a beat. It was a number he recognized—the new owner's number.

His hand shook slightly as he answered, stuttering. "H-Hello, this is John."

On the other side, Noah's voice was cold and direct. "Is this John?"

"Yes, sir!" John replied, sitting up straighter in his chair.

Noah wasted no time. "You're not doing a very good job as a CEO, are you?"

John felt his spine shiver. He swallowed hard and asked, "What's wrong, sir?"

Noah proceeded to explain the situation regarding Charles and the extortion attempts Sarah had faced. As the details unfolded, John's face flushed red with anger. His eyes darted toward Smith, Charles' uncle, who sat quietly at the table. By the time Noah was done, John's hands were clenched into fists.

"I will handle this immediately, sir," John said, trying to keep his composure. As soon as the call ended, he stood up, fury etched on his face. He turned toward Smith.

"Your nephew," John growled, "has been screwing around with our contracts and threatening a business partner."

Smith's eyes widened in shock. "W-What? No, this must be some misunderstanding—"

John slammed his hand on the table. "Shut it! I'm not losing my job because of you or your nephew. Both of you are done!"

Smith's face paled as the realization sank in. "No, please... it's over for me..." he whispered, sinking to his knees.

The other directors, who had been watching the exchange in stunned silence, quickly agreed with John's decision to fire both Smith and Charles.

The law director was tasked with reviewing all financial records and ensuring that any illegal activity or embezzlement was uncovered.

John gave the order, and the room quickly erupted into action, but the damage had already been done for Smith and Charles.

Their downfall was swift and immediate.

Smith stormed out of the Walls4Us building, tears of frustration and fear welling up in his eyes. The humiliation of being fired, combined with the weight of his own misdeeds, had him shaking.

As he reached the parking lot, he fumbled for his phone and immediately called his nephew, Charles.

When Charles picked up, Smith wasted no time, his voice a furious growl. "You bastard! You got us both fired! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

Charles froze. "W-What? Fired? What are you talking about?"

Smith's words came out in a rage-filled torrent. "That stunt you pulled with the contracts—messing around with that woman's business—caught up with us! The new chairman called, and the CEO found out everything. You and I, we're finished! I told you not to push it too far, didn't I? Now look what's happened!"

Charles, now trembling, replied, "You're lying. There's no way! If they go through the records, we're done for... We're going to jail!"

Smith's breath was ragged as he tried to calm himself down. "I know, I know. But don't panic just yet. The law director, remember? He's been involved with us. If he goes down, he knows we'll take him down too. He won't risk exposing us."

There was a moment of silence on Charles' end before a sigh of relief escaped him.

"Thank God. I thought we were doomed. As long as the law director's on our side, we're safe."

Smith wasn't completely sure, but he kept his tone firm. "Just lay low for now. Don't draw any more attention to yourself. This mess has already cost us our jobs, but at least we're not going to prison."

Charles, though rattled, felt a sense of relief wash over him. "Yeah, yeah. I'll stay quiet. Thanks, Uncle."

But as Smith ended the call, a nagging feeling gnawed at him. While he clung to the hope that the law director wouldn't turn on them, deep down he knew that when things started falling apart, people like him and Charles rarely came out unscathed.

Noah, having made the call, smiled faintly to himself as he walked down the street, heading toward his study session with Lily. The pieces were falling into place.