Chapter 4

My parents FaceTimed me on the way to work the following morning, wanting to know how my first day had gone. I was due to have dinner with them Friday night so for now, I fudged the details, only telling them about the shock of redundancies at Turn the Pages and having to work under a new boss. I left out the part that my new boss was my ex-boyfriend.

The thing was, Liv had never met Noah. She hadn't known us together – I wasn't friends with her back then – but my parents had. Like me, they remembered it all. They knew how much happiness meeting Noah had brought me and how I'd been heartbroken when he moved away. They wouldn't be so quick to support me going back to work under him as Liv had been, I knew, so for now I lied by omission and decided I'd wait to speak to them about it face-to-face at the end of the week.

If I could keep my nerve and stay at my new job until then.

At least today I was prepared for what I was going to face. I walked in through the doors to the open-plan office and took in the atmosphere. People who hadn't lost their jobs yesterday had evidentially decided that coming in early was the best plan, so everyone was at their desks and the room resembled a tomb. Nothing like the office had been when I came for my interview – it had been buzzy and seemed fun then.

It was clear that Noah still had the power to put a pin in happiness.

I went to the coffee station and made myself a strong one, taking a long gulp before I marched through the office towards Noah's closed office door, not giving myself a chance to chicken out of this. Eyes followed my walk and I knew everyone was wondering what I was doing.

When I knocked on his door, I heard a muffled ‘enter' so I went in and saw Noah was sat behind his desk. The woman I'd met yesterday, Gita, was standing by the door.

Noah's eyes moved to me then back to her. His face remained expressionless so I set my mouth in a hard line, determined to be as emotionless at seeing him as he was with me. He was wearing a suit and tie today and it looked good on him. I was pleased I'd put on my pleated dress and my favourite headband for extra confidence.

Noah continued talking to Gita as if I wasn't there though, which was annoying.

‘I understand that everyone feels unsettled but I need people to get on board. We don't have time to keep going over what happened yesterday. I want everyone at a staff meeting in the boardroom now, and I want no complaints. We have a job to get on with,' he told her. ‘Thank you,' he added in a dismissive tone.

Gita's eyes slid to me. ‘I'll tell everyone,' she said, her voice making it clear she'd rather do anything but. She mouthed ‘Jesus' to me as she slipped out and closed the door, a little bit more firmly than was needed. I didn't blame her.

I stared in disbelief as Noah typed something on his laptop, clearly feeling like I could wait until he was ready. He was certainly living up to his The Shark reputation. A reputation completely at odds with the man I had fallen in love with.

‘Are you serious?' I burst out after thirty seconds of him ignoring me.

Noah finally looked up and raised an eyebrow. ‘Excuse me?'

‘You're just going to act like I'm not here?'

‘I have a lot going on…'

‘I don't care,' I snapped. ‘You don't have to be this rude to everyone. We all had a big shock yesterday and people lost their jobs. A little bit of empathy wouldn't go amiss, would it?' I folded my arms across my chest. ‘I'm staying. This is my dream job and I'm not going to let you ruin it for me. But I'm also not going to stay silent when you're acting like a…' I trailed off, my bravado faltering at the hard stare he was giving me.

‘Oh, don't stop now, Stevie. Tell me what I'm acting like. I'm all ears,' he said, his dark eyes behind those glasses boring into mine. Even his voice sounded different. He had been born in London but I knew his mother was American, and living and working in New York these past few years had given him a slight New York lilt to his accent. His tone sounded deeper and harsher too.

I looked back at him defiantly. I didn't enjoy confrontation but I had longed for the chance to tell Noah Anderson exactly what I thought of him.

‘A dick,' I replied.

Noah spluttered a little bit.

‘I'll see you in the meeting,' I said as haughtily as I could manage, and with a nod I walked out, shutting the door behind me, Noah's shocked face the last thing I saw. I couldn't help but feel a bit pleased at wrong-footing him like that. I knew that I'd planned to act like he meant nothing to me but really, was there a need to treat everyone so badly? Nope. I was probably skating on thin ice now but I wasn't sorry I had told him what I thought.

Gita was waiting for me. ‘Have you ever met someone both so gorgeous and so unbelievably grumpy?'

There was no way on earth I was going to admit to even knowing Noah, let alone having been in a relationship with him. No one here would want to be friends with me once they knew that. I wasn't sure I would have any respect for me either based on how he was acting now.

‘It's very unfair,' I agreed. ‘So, where do I sit?'

‘There's a free spot behind me,' she said, pulling me along with her. Then she told everyone about the boardroom meeting. There were murmurs of dissent but they all got up and followed her.

My new desk was by the window, which cheered me up a bit. After leaving my things on my chair, I trailed after the others as we walked towards the boardroom, all of us pretty fearful of what the new boss was going to say.

I walked in to find the twenty-five members of staff left were either sitting around the long table or lined up around the walls. I joined a group against the wall.

‘Why does this feel like I'm back at school?' a woman with gorgeous red hair leaned over to ask.

‘Like we've been called to see the headmaster,' a man next to me agreed.

I wasn't really able to relate as I had never been in trouble at school but I knew what they meant. The energy in the room was like we were about to be told off. I leaned against the wall and hoped we could escape soon.

Noah swept in then. All conversations ceased as he walked to the front of the room by the only empty chair left. He didn't sit down, but looked around at us. He'd taken off his jacket and pushed back his sleeves once again, like he always used to. I hated that the fact he did that showed he hadn't completely changed from the man I had known. I'd rather believed he had.

‘Thank you for coming,' Noah said, clearing his throat. ‘I understand that it has come as a shock to you – the takeover and me becoming CEO,' he said, his voice clear and strong in the silent room. ‘But this is a crucial time. We have to prove ourselves. I know there are a lot of rumours and I can confirm this company was in trouble before Matthews Wood Publishing bought it. The board of directors are keen to turn this into a successful arm of the business, and I am determined that we can do that. I hope you feel the same way. If not, then you should leave.'

There were mutterings at that but Noah ignored them and continued.

‘I'm not trying to be harsh or mean or act like a dick,' he continued, his eyes finding mine. His gaze sent a jolt of electricity through me, which I did not want. I looked away quickly. ‘But all our jobs are on the line. I'm not someone who sugar-coats anything. What's the point? We have six months to show enough improvement or we will be shut down.'