9. Noah

CHAPTER 9

NOAH

T hey stopped for coffee on their way to the jeweler's. Noah drove and Sophie sat in the passenger seat, holding her coffee with both hands, as if she was scared to spill coffee in his nice car.

"I always thought drinking black coffee was a myth," Sophie teased.

Noah shrugged. "That's the only way I ever drink it. It's healthier that way."

It was true. He had made a commitment to himself that if he was going to start drinking caffeine, he wouldn't try to make it taste good. Noah prided himself on maintaining healthy habits.

"I didn't realize you were so worried about your figure," she said with a smirk.

"Well perhaps I should indulge more often — it seems to be working perfectly fine for you." Noah tensed, realizing halfway through that he shouldn't have said that. Hopefully Sophie didn't mistake the bite in his voice for rudeness.

She didn't show any reaction, her voice neutral as she replied, "Guess you can't miss what you've never had."

Now that they had slept together, maybe not flirting with her would be harder than he thought. He had to be more disciplined.

They were quiet as they pulled into the large shopping mall. Technically, they only had a little under an hour before they had to get back to work. But in reality, they could take as long as they needed; Noah was the boss, after all.

They parked by the nearest entry point, so they were only a few steps away from the store when they entered.

He had brought her to Pearce's, the finest jeweler in Olympus City. The only place with quality worthy of his future bride. Or more accurately, the quality expected of Noah's future bride.

They were greeted upon entry and were directed towards the rings.

Noah looked away as Sophie bent over the counter to observe a ring, pretending to look at another piece.

She had worn a silky gray blouse and a tight, knee-length black skirt, her brown hair in a slick ponytail. Noah didn't want to admit his attraction for her but told himself that it was a good thing; it was expected that he would marry someone as beautiful as Sophie.

"Would you like to take a look?" the jeweler asked.

"Please," Sophie said.

The man behind the counter unlocked the glass case and presented the ring to Sophie. "It's a set, comes with both the engagement and wedding band."

Noah went to her side to view the ring.

The jeweler helped Sophie slide the stackable rings onto her manicured finger.

"What do you think?" he asked.

Sophie held her hand up, examining the sparkling diamond in the light. "I love it."

"A perfect fit, too," the man commented. "As if the set were made for you."

Noah asked the man how much.

When Sophie heard the price she frowned, slipping the rings off and resting them back in their box.

"What are you doing?" Noah asked.

"I can't," she murmured. "It's too much."

"Sophie, if you love these rings, we're getting them. It's not even that much; don't worry about it."

"Noah, that's like a year's worth of my rent. I can't let you spend that kind of money on me!"

"If we're going to do this, we're going to do this right. Seriously, whatever ring you want, it's yours."

"I can't let you—" she protested.

He pushed the box towards the cashier, cutting Sophie off. "We'll get this one."

"Noah!" she said again in a hushed tone.

He ignored her and pushed the box closer to the man. The jeweler smiled and began the process of ringing it up. A few moments later, he handed her the small bag.

Sophie's lips upturned slightly. "Thank you."

Noah grinned. "You're going to be my wife, Sophie. Get used to it."

On Thursday, the signed NDA slid across his desk and he looked up to Sophie's radiant smile.

His lawyer had sent the final draft over to him last night. Now it was official.

Noah placed the ring box on the desk "For my fiancée."

It was the ring they had picked out. Sophie hadn't felt comfortable taking it until they had signed the contract. Still, she only took the engagement ring, telling him to keep the wedding band until they actually got married.

She tucked the ring box into her purse. "Now what?"

"Now, we wait for the party. I already had Ryan invite the team from Nova , so everything is set in that sense. I'll pick you up around six thirty?"

"Great," she smiled.

Nova was a high-end, family-oriented magazine with close ties to Birch Industries. Noah had appeared in many issues when he was a kid, though he hadn't been included in recent years due to his long-standing reputation as a player. These days he tended to be featured in billionaire business magazines and cheap gossip tabloids.

"Are you okay?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah. I was just thinking about Nova . I used to be featured in there sometimes as a child with my family. I mean they still feature our car seats and everything, but it's just odd to think that I'm going to be featured again… as a family man."

"That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

Noah didn't know why he was telling Sophie these things. She didn't need to know about his rocky relationship with his father or his neglectful childhood.

"Yeah definitely. Just an observation," he lied. "How about we meet for lunch next week? I found a few wedding planners that might work, if you want to go through them with me."

"Sure," she replied, pulling her bag over her shoulder.

He watched his fiancée walk out of the office. Today she was sporting a black skirt, similar to the one she'd worn at the jewelers, and pale pink blouse.

Noah huffed in disbelief. He'd never thought he would be able to say those words. Sophie was his fiancée. It didn't feel real.

He was finding it increasingly difficult to be around her at the office. Noah didn't know if it was because of the night they'd shared, but Sophie looked even better lately, more enticing. Her hair, her eyes, and those tight-fitting skirts… it was like she was trying to make her presence difficult for him. Like she was determined to seduce him. It was nearly impossible for Noah not to offer to take her right there in his office.

He hoped these observations would ease with time. He had meant what he said about not wanting things to get messy. They could not sleep together again.

However, it did feel odd knowing that they were now tied to each other and saw so little of each other. Noah didn't see or talk to Sophie outside of work, besides the odd text message relating to their arrangement, such as finding and booking a meeting with the wedding planner.

They had decided to be cautious and wait to meet the planner until after the engagement announcement. Noah needed everything to play out a certain way in order for this arrangement to work. Even if he couldn't wait to begin seeing her outside of work.

Work went by fast, anticipation building inside him. Thankfully, his father hadn't left the city just yet, and Noah had invited him to the end-of-quarter party, saying that he had a surprise for him.

Richard agreed to stop by for an hour. At least he agreed . Normally, every interaction with his father was planned months in advance, to the point of including a set time of arrival and departure.

Noah still had to go home and change into a more formal suit for the night. They were hosting the party at Fairview Hall, a venue favored in the city for high-society parties.

Before he knew it, his car was parked outside Sophie's apartment building. They had agreed to arrive together to put on a more unified front.

Sophie had insisted that he didn't need to come to her door, so instead he waited by the car. The sound of heels pulled him from his phone and he looked up to find Sophie in a long, silky red dress. Her hair was loose and flowing over her shoulders.

Noah tried to sound formally polite with his compliment and held the car door open for her.

He took a calming breath before sliding into the driver's seat.

Her silver ring glimmered as she rested her hand over her dress. He resisted the urge to place his hand on her thigh.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Once they told the world, there wasn't any going back.

"Yes. I'm ready," she confirmed.

Sophie pulled out the ring from her purse and slid it on her finger.

When they arrived at the party, they were directed into a grand room, which looked like it hosted royal balls. No wonder the venue had been so expensive. Noah had been a guest here before but never a host.

They made rounds for the first thirty minutes until they were sure that most of the party had arrived. They wanted to make the announcement early to give time to celebrate. And before anyone noticed the ring on Sophie's finger.

They made their way up onto the stage and waited for the room to quiet before Noah launched into his speech. At first he talked about the company and all the hard work that had been done over the last quarter. Eventually he pivoted to talking about his personal achievements and celebrations, bracing for the crowd's reaction.

He announced that Sophie and him had been dating secretly for some time and were now officially engaged. Noah wrapped his hand around Sophie's waist and pulled her close to him, waiting for the response.

He hadn't expected to feel so nervous. Despite their engagement being real, it felt like they were lying to everyone. His heart pounded inside his chest.

Confused looks were exchanged for a moment, the guests caught off guard by the announcement, before the room exploded into enthusiastic applause. Relief poured over Noah.

A few camera flashes went off and he and Sophie smiled at each other, doing their best to look in love. Sophie held up her ring in excitement.

As they stepped off the small stage, Noah locked eyes with his father across the room.

"I'll be back in a moment," he told Sophie. He made his way through the small crowd; coworkers patted him on the back and he stopped to accept congratulations where necessary.

Finally, Noah reached his father, who led him into the hallway. Noah couldn't tell how his father was feeling so he stayed silent, unsure what to say.

"I'm proud of you, Noah," his father told him.

Noah beamed. "Thank you."

"I was surprised to hear that you took my advice… and so quickly." The suspicion in Richard's voice was palpable.

"Yes well, you told me I needed to settle down and I did. I wanted you to see how serious I am about the CEO position."

It wouldn't matter to Noah if his father knew of his ruse but some part of him didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to admit that he was like him, that he had followed in his father's footsteps. That he had done the exact thing he promised himself he would never do.

Richard's tone remained stern. "Getting engaged is one thing, Noah, but you have to actually follow through on marrying her, especially now that it will be in the press."

"I wouldn't have proposed to her otherwise," Noah bit out. Did his father not think him capable of commitment?

"Good. Then I guess I will see you at the wedding. I'm heading down south next week. Once I see that you're fully committed to the family image, we can discuss your promotion."

Noah felt sick to his stomach. Committed to the image, not to Sophie.

"Do you want to meet her?" he asked.

"She will be at the wedding, will she not? I'll meet her then." Richard left without another word.

Noah grimaced. Was he truly no better than his father? Only moments ago, everything he'd ever wanted had seemed in reach, but what about Sophie? Was he taking advantage of the fact that she wanted children?

Noah went back out to the party. It was an effort to appear happy now.

His eyes snagged on Sophie from across the room, laughing at something that Olivia said to her. Olivia grabbed her hand, admiring the ring that shined from across the room.

Sophie blushed, and even though Noah couldn't hear what they were saying, he knew that she was creating some romantic story about them.

As he neared their voices were audible, Olivia gushing about how lucky Sophie was, how beautiful the ring was, and how shocked she had been by their relationship. Sophie smiled widely but Noah could tell that some part of it didn't meet her eyes.

It had all happened so fast, and he'd thought that their deal was perfect. But was he taking away her chance to be truly happy? To find someone to love and cherish her like she deserved? Was the arrangement selfish? Was Sophie truly benefiting from this?

The similarities between him and his father crept in again. Creating the perfect fake family, just so he could be the same business-obsessed man his father was.

But there was no going back now. The prenup was signed and they were engaged in all ways that truly mattered.

"You okay?" Bradley asked, appearing before him.

Bradley didn't work at the company but Noah had asked his friend to come tonight in order to meet Sophie.

"Yeah," he answered.

He knew that Bradley would tell him ‘I told you so' if he disclosed his feelings of doubt, so he didn't bother.

"I can't believe you managed to do it," Bradley laughed.

"I know," Noah confirmed his disbelief.

"So, can I meet her?"

Noah nodded, leading the way. "Yeah, of course."