14 Operation Corey (1)

"What is it?"

Noelle pressed him further for a response when she saw him standing like a statue right outside of her room. Corey had his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, though no words came out of his mouth.

"Corey?" She called him out again. "What is it? Is something wrong with my dress?" She eyed herself up and down but couldn't find anything out of place. Everything seemed to be on point. "Is it my face?" Her eyebrows were pushed together in a frown as she touched the sides of her face, slightly tapping it in the process.

"N-no…." Corey replied to her with a shake of his head.

"Corey!" Raising an eyebrow at the anxious man, she warned him.

"It's really nothing, Miss-," Corey immediately caught his words, correcting himself, "Noelle." He paused for a couple of seconds before continuing. "You took me by surprise… that's all."

"I took you by surprise?" Noelle tried to fight the urge to smile at the man's words, but she was already failing miserably. She could feel the corners of her lips twitching to curl upward.

"I didn't expect you to clean up so… nicely." Corey had his eyes jumping around, looking everywhere but at the girl standing right before him.

"Nicely?" Noelle teased him one more time. "Oh, come on! You can do so much better than that." With everything that had conspired since their first meeting, Noelle wasn't oblivious to the fact that Corey had developed a liking of sorts towards her. Especially given how flushed his cheeks would get.

"I-I…"

"You are definitely something, Corey." She shook her head as she finally let her lips loose and smiled brightly.

The man scratched the back of his head and muttered under his breath. "I hope it's something good." Though his voice was loud enough for her to catch on his words, Noelle didn't show it on her face.

"Shall we go now?" He began, "only if you are done and ready to leave."

"I am, Corey…" Noelle gave him a nod in affirmation as she stepped out of her room, not forgetting to make sure she locked the door behind her. The files she had inside were too important for her to leave unattended. It was one of the reasons why house cleaning staff were only allowed to come and do their job with her presence there. Otherwise, they were not to set foot anywhere near the premises of her room even if the order came directly from her not-so-polite stepsisters. Their father had the final say in the matter, and both Priscilla and Porsha knew not to test his patience when it came to his beloved business empire.

"So, what do you want your tour to begin with?" Corey inquired; he was eager to know her preference. What he didn't know was that she was going to have him handle the reigns. Noelle was no stranger to the hotel or the recreational activities offered there. She, rather, wanted to use this time to get to know the man himself. It was the first time that a man had managed to catch her eye.

"You are my guide for the day, Corey. Why don't you decide?" She shrugged.

"I fail to understand why you would want to roam around a place you already are familiar with. More so, what's with the hat?" He pointed towards the straw hat resting on Noelle's head. "I don't mean to sound rude, but if we are only roaming inside, why do you need this?" Corey side-eyed her.

"Oh, this little thing…," Noella tilted her head to the side, "it's for the pap."

"Pap?" Corey frowned in confusion. His response to such a simple statement had Noelle giggle.

"Pap?" She repeated her words in hopes that he might be able to get it this time as the two of them made their way to the elevators.

"I heard it the first time as well." He reached back to scratch the back of his head. "I just don't get what it stands for."

"Paparazzi, Corey." Noelle was having a hard time trying to stifle her laughter. "Don't tell me that someone as smart as you doesn't know what pap stands for." It was such a simple word. Moreover, it was more regularly used.

"The last thing I want is to have my face plastered over some random magazine." She could only imagine how things would go down between her and her sisters if that were to happen. She would prefer to avoid it at all costs. Moreover, Noelle wasn't a fan of being under public scrutiny continuously.

"I am kind of bad with these things." Corey shrugged casually as he reached out to press the call button. Bringing his hand back, he clasped it together with the other one behind his back as he took on a rigid posture.

"Relax, will you?" Noelle huffed out a frustrated breath. It seemed like it was going to take her a lot more effort than she had first thought. That man was wounded too tight.

"I am relaxed, Miss." He replied with a straight face.

"For the umpteenth time, Corey, it's Noelle for you." Being referred to with titles was something she wasn't okay with. She would rather have people use her first name.

"It's going to take me some time to get used to that." He added with all of his honesty. "It is not every day that a rich heiress comes to the hotel and insists on having the staff use her given name."

"You are wrong about one thing here." She shook her head. "I may be rich, but I am no heiress. That would be my sisters."

"But you are the youngest Miss of the Sundseth family." He tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Doesn't that make you the heiress by default?"

With a ding, the elevator announced its arrival. Corey stepped to the side, and allowed her to step inside first as the doors slid open.

"Thank you, but to answer your question. It is kind of more complicated than that." Noelle smiled up at him. Now that the two of them were alone within a closed space, she could pay more attention to him and his features.

Corey was tall. He was for sure a little over six feet given how he had a good couple of inches on Noelle. And she could, in no way, be considered short. As she was taking his side profile without trying to come off as some creepy, obsessed woman, an idea struck her like a lightning bolt.

"How about we skip the hotel and go out instead?" This way she would be able to have him all somewhere out where he would be able to snap out of his work mode. "Don't worry, I will talk to your boss. Why don't you go and change into something more comfortable?"

Right on cue, the elevator doors slid open on the ground floor with a ding.

Corey stepped out first this time as hesitation took over his senses. He was reluctant to go out with her, but at the same time he didn't want to risk saying no to her. He still believed that Noelle was no better than her sisters, or stepsisters for that matter. All he assumed was that the youngest Missus of the Sundseth family was better at dealing with people. Hence, he agreed.

"I will meet you in the lobby in ten minutes." With those words, Corey made a run for his locker, leaving behind a puzzled Noelle.