Moving On

Noelle came home running in Cole's arms. She is definitely tired of all those filming and her talk with Joe that the only one she wanted to rest was his body. The moment she came inside the door, Cole embraced her waist, and hooked up her thigh to wrap it on either side of his abdomen.

She cocooned her head to his shoulder. He walked towards the sofa and flunked her down, while he is still hovering over her. Noelle didn't mind having dinner because she already has one now—and it is just a breath away.

Noelle asked, "How's work, Mr. CEO? Did it give you enough patience to carry on for this day?"

Cole didn't mind having fun for an hour, but her question reminded her of what happened back in the office. The rankings were released, and accountants had a difficult time managing the payments of the porn stars, that's why he had to cancel the meetings of the board directors in order to mend and repair what happened.

Cole doesn't like how much he had to give his office hours to fix their accounting problem.

"My patience ran out the moment the accountants can't fix their problem. I was so busy reviewing some contents for Saturday, stating to them that they should release it at the right time where the viewers lurked around for new videos."

Noelle was circling her fingers around his hair as she listened. Cole likes it when she's playful and goofy at the same time. Noelle nodded, letting him continue what he's saying. Cole smiled, and said, "But it got resolved fast, you know. There's nothing good than a resolved problem after hours."

He buried his head in the nape of her neck and gave a peck. He's definitely turning her on without any reluctance and asking for permission. Cole wrapped his brusque arms around his back and became a little happy with Noelle's body heating underneath his.

Cuddling for at least minutes, Noelle admitted, "I saw Joe earlier. We had a coffee."

Cole didn't even react or shifted in the slightest bit. He just stayed there, hugging her.

"He saw the rankings, the one displayed in the lobby, and asked me what is it."

That's when the CEO's attention was drawn to Noelle again. He steadied his arms on either side and waited for Noelle to continue. She pursed her lips, saying, "I detailed everything in my job. I don't want to hide the truth about my newest skin, either. I've got a lot in my plate, and I don't want Joe to bombard me with questions."

Definitely, it was worth to clear up any misunderstandings from her ex-boyfriend.

"Have he known that I was the one who hired him?" Cole asked.

"He definitely does," Noelle shrugged. Right after dropping the topic, Cole and Noelle entwined in each other's arms and delved into a kissing war. Hugs, cuddles, and desires, all of it was such a drastic change and an enticing stimulation to have sex.

…

A call in the middle of the night was the worst thing that ever happened to Noelle.

It was on her bedside table, and tonight, there's no one sleeping over the penthouse.

Cole was bothered about the early morning call, so he had to go home after 2 rounds of sex.

Noelle was interrupted in her deep sleep. It was the early 3 in the morning.

Since she was already disrupted, Noelle retrieved her cell phone without even reading who was the one calling. Placing it on her ear, she said a groggy hello. Noelle combed back her hair and rested it on her knees while her eyes are still closed.

"Noelle…"

It was a man's voice. Noelle cleared her throat and peeked in at the caller ID.

She got used to either a woman or Cole for over a month, and the voice doesn't feel familiar at all. When she saw it was Joe, her eyes get rid of the sleepiness and got alarmed by the purpose of his call.

"Joe," Noelle's sleepy state disappeared in a blink.

"Noelle, I…" He's panicking. From the shaky voice and terrible breaths, he's anxious about something. Noelle swept out the thick comforter from her bare legs and put on her pajamas, who were on the floor. She put it on a loudspeaker phone and opened the lamp.

"What is it, Joe? It's 3 in the morning. Did something happen?"

"Yeah, I… I can't explain… it's a long story… it's something of a…"

Noelle grabbed her car keys, her purse, and her hair clip. She retrieved sweatshirt and decent sweatpants from the closet and pull it on while talking to Joe. Noelle asked, "Where are you?"

"What?"

"Where are you, Joe? You're not going to call me in 3am if it isn't bad. So, send me your location and I'll be there in a couple of minutes," she scolded. Joe hitched his breath, became silent, as Noelle grabbed on the shoes from the rack and pull it on. Noelle made sure that her card was inserted in the purse.

"I'm here at A&E, upfront," Joe revealed.

"What are you doing there this early in the morning, eh?" Noelle asked.

Joe didn't answer and just texted her while he's on call. Noelle went out of her penthouse in a rush while assuring Joe that she's coming. She forgot that she just slept around 1 in the morning and had to come at A&E by 8 in the morning.

"I'm coming there, Joe. Just be there, alright?" Noelle asked.

She dropped the call and ran towards the parking lot.

From: Joe

To: Noelle

"I'm sorry for giving you a disturbance and interruption, Noelle. I didn't mean to intrude in your peaceful sleep. I wanted someone else to call, but you're the first one to come to my mind. I'm deeply apologizing for what I have done."

Noelle became overly sympathized to Joe's call. He is indeed having a hard time, and she failed to see it all the time. Noelle was driving with a bothered panic in her face.

What if something happened to his family? To anyone close to him? And the only person Joe can think of was Noelle?

"Poor Joe. What has happened to him after we break up?"

She hurried driving the Mercedes-Benz down the lane and onto the clothing store.

When she reached the A&E, Noelle saw Joe sitting at the front bench. He's in there upfront, pacing back and forth, panicking, like he's been doing phone calls all night.

Noelle climbed down and called his name.

Joe turned around with such huge, teary eyes, and a lost face.