Adriana walked into the building and she took the elevator to the floor where Noah's office was located.
She had put on a black trench coat to cover her outfit because it didn't exactly fit in with the office worker's vibe. She was in a hurry and the fewer eyes on her the better.
Fortunately, no one questioned anything and continued working.
She walked towards the secretary outside Noah's office and took a deep breath in. She passed her the ID card LABELS had made for her to use during her stay.
"I need to speak to Mr.Preston. Please inform him I'm heading towards his office."
The woman checked the ID and nodded her head. "No worries, he called and is already waiting for you inside." She smiled and led Adriana towards his office.
Adriana sighed when she made it inside.
The secretary closed the door and left her alone with Noah sitting on his desk.
"Where is she?" She asked, almost out of breath.
Noah looked up, and his lips curled into a smile. Yes, he ignored her question and just stared at her.
"Hey!" She placed her hands on his desk and looked down at him.
"Oh, she's still sleeping. In my room." He looked back and Adriana followed his line of sight.
"So she didn't see her?"
"Who?"
"Briana."
"No, why?"
"Nothing." Adriana sighed in relief and she walked towards the adjacent room. She opened the door, and she hurriedly walked towards her daughter's side.
When she saw the bruise on her daughter's face, she kissed her forehead.
"What happened to her?" She asked, turning to Noah, who was standing against the edge of the door calmly.
"Like I said over the phone. She hasn't woken up, and she refused to speak to the teachers. So we don't really know why the fight happened." He answered.
"Don't worry, she's not severely injured and they told me the bruise is there because of her sensitive skin. It should be gone in a few hours, there are also scratch marks on her arms but I already applied ointment so don't worry about it."
"Thank you."
"Let her sleep, I want to discuss something with you."
Adriana narrowed her eyes, and she took a seat in front of his desk.
She looked at the time on her watch and then at Aria from across the room. With a sigh, she crossed her arms and waited for him to speak.
She expected him to get all heart to heart on her, but that was the opposite of what happened.
It would be a lie if she said it was a bit disappointing after all she had determined to ask him something before she left for Paris. Call her decisive or whatever, but now she was thinking against it.
To her Noah, made her go crazy. He would affect her every thought and action. She was definitely not functioning properly these days, and that's all his fault.
And hers for getting so close to him….
Anyway, she observed his serious business expression as he handed her a see-through folder
'Alyssa Threads.'
'Harmon Industries.' Were the headings on the folder.
"This is?"
"The chairman recently bought 15% percent of shares in LABELS. He and his wife will appear in the meeting I scheduled for tomorrow morning. Our collaboration is very important since we have been walking on a thin rope thanks to 'Alyssa Threads."
"Hmm, "Alyssa Threads." I've heard about their masterpieces. It's quite entertaining watching them play with all the big companies. If you ask me, they're really bold. Oh, is this about that one time I scared away one of your designers and caused you to lose to them? Yikes." She smiled, going through the reports inside.
"Right...I'm glad you are enjoying the threat."
"You're the owner of a vast conglomerate, Noah. A small company trying to open its wings can't really threaten you, right?"
"I'm only afraid of what LABELS has become. I have CEOs handling my other companies, but I stuck with LABELS…" He started his explanation.
"Right...LABELS your first baby." She mumbled, it was funny for her because she knew something he didn't about 'Alyssa Threads.'
"This is the small studio isn't it?" She asked with a gentle smile.
"It is."
"In just seven years, this small studio expanded its wings so far...." She mumbled.
"Are you proud?"
"I am, it's difficult not to. You used to go on so many business strips just to get the little company going. Seeing it grow so fast is very um....exciting."
Yes, this was Noah's first step into the business industry.
He was never going to become the head of his family, his older sister was going to do that until she ran off to become an actress and pursue her passion.
When the Prestons saw his individual growth they had no choice but to give up on Kimberly and approach their second son instead.
Noah never had any intention of involving himself with his family, financially or emotionally aside from his Sister and Father.
LABELS was for Adriana and their future family. He wanted to be happy with his own family and he was very determined about it because of all the rumors and the way his mother never truly accepted Adriana.
If she had agreed, he was ready to drop everything and go. It was very unfortunate that she dropped everything first, including him.
Later on, he wanted to be fully distracted from any thoughts of his ex-wife and he took as much work as he could, even if it meant managing more businesses.
Noah stared at her for a few seconds and he parted his lips to speak. He cleared his throat when his words were stuck on his throat.
"I'm planning on leaving my seat as CEO of LABELS, but before that, I want to make you an exclusive designer."
"I'm planning on entering a new industry and I need to make sure everything here is perfect before I go."
"You don't have to tell me this."