Noelle was overthinking what happened the previous day. Pushing Luca West so much was not her intention. She had every excuse to do so, but it was true; she didn't know him, and she didn't know what he was hiding that could be so dangerous. So scary.
Lexi was sent for some errands, and so she spent the whole morning in solitude, facing the Ice King, who stared intently at his screen. The data she had collected the previous day seemed the perfect company.
She thought the exercise would be easy. She had the total annual revenues. The new data isolated the two main activities; singing and acting. In theory, these two figures would sum up to an amount close to the total. She ran the comparison to validate the increasing impact on his revenues by starting acting.
She confirmed that last assumption. The comparative increase was significant. But she quickly realized that there was an anomaly. There was a huge discrepancy between the subtotal of these two categories, and the total revenue.
Noelle couldn't avoid checking the other revenue streams. Chloe was right; there was heavy data mining required. She had to look up the earnings from commercials, endorsements, appearances, and hosting gigs.
Great! I need detailed data!
She generated a full report. There were around ten revenue categories, each containing multiple subcategories.
Time to drill down!
Commercials and promotional activities definitely filled the gap. There were so many things he was involved with. How could his team manage all these at once? She was impressed by Chloe's capabilities.
However, promotion was much larger than commercials. She had expected the opposite. What were the categories? Brand Endorsements, Media Appearances & Interviews - a good amount of money -, Event Attendance & VIP Hosting - he is not cheap! -, Fan Engagement & Social Media - peanuts compared to the previous lines -, Special Promotion Partnership... what?
The last line caught her attention. What kind of promotion was considered a 'special partnership' and why was it generating double the revenue of his TV appearances and VIP events?
"Noelle! Can you come for a moment?"
It was Chloe's voice inviting her to her office. She snapped out of her trance and made a mental note to look into those data as soon as possible.
Noelle sat in front of Chloe.
"I want you to help Noah in a meeting," Chloe said.
"Ok. Should I book a meeting room, make copies, order beverages..." Noelle asked in order to prepare her task list.
"No need for that. You see, I want you to join him in an external meeting."
Her jaw dropped.
"I see you're surprised, but I don't expect any actions from you. I need you there as an observer."
Now I'm even more confused…
"What should I observe?"
"Everything that Noah might miss."
He didn't look like a guy who was missing details.
"Mrs Brown, please help me out. I'm not sure what you mean."
"Ok, I'll give you the full picture. Our sources informed us that a foreign production company is visiting Nova Bay to hire an independent casting director for a film they want to make here. We have confirmed that they are about to close a deal with him. We know him well. We are working with him closely. So, Noah will be dropping by later today, to make some... connections," Chloe explained.
"And I will observe his connections?" Noelle asked, puzzled.
Chloe smiled amused.
"Can you guess where these guys are from?"
Noelle's eyes darted around the room. Still a faint chill on the back of her neck prepared her for the answer Chloe would provide.
"It's France! We're dealing with a French production company that will film in Nova Bay. And the female lead will be..."
No, please no! Not her!
She stared at Chloe hoping not to hear that name.
"Alice de Laval!"
Chloe pronounced the name with decent accuracy. She only faced a small difficulty with 'de'.
Still. That name grated on her ears like subway brakes.
Back home, Alice was a national obsession. A shining phenomenon. Noelle never understood the excitement surrounding her. That girl was a glitch to her analytical mind. She just couldn't identify the reasons for her success. No obvious talent, no clear strategy, just... luck?
"Oh. She is popular," Noelle replied blankly.
"The mere thought of their collaboration makes me ecstatic. It could provide a major push to his recognition as a quality actor. Not just commercial. I guess this is something that you could explore in theory in your thesis," Chloe said, giving her a teaser to overcome her lack of excitement. Could her distaste be so obvious?
"Yes, I could add something like this in the proposed actions for further development." She took the bait.
"Then will you go?"
Like I could say no…
"Of course! Glad I can help!" she finally said.
"Thank you! You will accompany Noah as his trainee assistant. Despite the fact that the incident with Isabella was dreadful, it gave me an idea. Don't let them know you're French," Chloe advised.
Noelle got back to her office. She was expected to leave at three, and follow Noah around, smiling and nodding. She had that strange feeling. Heartbeat slightly raised, breathing deep and heavy.
Yeah, I am angry! I know I shouldn't be, but I am!
What bothered her the most was a possibility. What if this internship wasn't about her skills? What if Chloe simply needed someone for this project? A Francophone in the team was very convenient. The timing, the secrecy, the unnecessary conflict with Luca – it all lined up a little too well. It wasn't impossible. And it hurt more than she expected.
Her eyes blurred. Noelle thought her only problem was Luca rejecting her. Now, that seemed the least of her concerns. Maybe she wasn't special. Maybe she was just a tool to be exploited to the fullest. She pressed her cool finger against her eyes, trying to cool down. She was about to play a role that she never expected to – whatever!
____________________________
About an hour later, Noelle left with Noah. As expected from the Ice King, he remained silent the whole way to the garage. When they arrived at the exit door, Noelle tried to open it, but it seemed locked.
"What on earth...?" she muttered.
"Bummer. Let's call the security," he said, dialing a number on his phone.
"Is there another exit?" Noelle asked.
"We'd have to take the elevator back up and walk all the way around. Let's wait a second here. My car is just behind these doors."
After giving directions to the people on the phone, he leaned back against the wall next to her. "They won't be long."
Look who's talkative all of a sudden!
Noah took a deep breath and looked up. "These days have been busy. You should have listened."
Oh no.
He was being too open! "Listened to what?"
"Don't play dumb. I warned you, and you chose to ignore me."
He cut right to the chase... That was one direct guy. "I can't exactly trust the words of Mr. West's best friend, can I?" she replied, matching his directness.
Noah now turned to face her with a slow, deliberate, yet elegant shift of his upper body. "You've got wit. But I'm not doing his bidding. I have to protect his ass, and you need to keep your distance so he can stay calm."
"I'm just doing my job."
"We could work together. I'll tell Chloe to reassign you. Learning some PR wouldn't hurt."
What a proposal! She stared, jaw dropped. "I'm not interested in PR," she managed when the shock subsided.
Noah indifferently raised his shoulders. "We could just... hang, then. I'll do my thing, and you can observe. Grab a coffee or maybe lunch. A PR perk."
He leaned in, coming awfully close. Noelle felt his warmth and smelled his fresh cologne. She got goosebumps. It was unsettling.
"It could be our secret..." he whispered. His voice a soft, low hum, nothing like the man who usually offered her nothing but silence.
He backed up as if nothing happened. Noelle felt the part of her face he had approached on fire. No! Wait! Her whole face was on fire. "I'm not looking for... friends."
"Then... are you looking for something else?" Noah asked, raising an eyebrow.
It was like a heatwave crashed over her. Hearing such words from that guy would have an effect on any girl. But to her, it all felt wrong. Calculated even.
It's a trap. Another trap...
"The only thing I'm looking for is to write my thesis." Her voice was so calm it surprised her.
"So serious... Or maybe you have other targets. Maybe Luca has gotten to you."
Her whole body froze. "You know what happened between us. I can't deny I kind of hate him," she said, her voice slightly trembling.
"Hate... We've all hated Luca at some point. Yet, nobody can resist him in the end. Maybe in another life, you were a fangirl."
That last word... Please! "Me? A fangirl?"
"Relax. Don't be offended... Fangirls are devoted. It's not a crime."
"It might not be a crime, but it doesn't fit me. Do you miss your own fangirls all of a sudden?"
"I've never run out of them. If you want to join my fan club, let me know."
Her heart was still racing like the fastest train on earth.
No, he's talking about actual fangirls, nothing cringey here!
She'd checked. There was still a small, but strong community dedicated to Noah Griffin. "I'll join the 'Noah Come Back' group if you like..."
He only smirked.
"Here is the security. We'll be off soon," Noah said.
Indeed, the crew unlocked the door and they went into the underground parking. Noah opened the passenger door for her. Noelle politely thanked him and got in.
It was the chilliest drive she had ever had.
____________________
"Please tell me! What did you learn at the meeting with Noah?" Lexi was all over her, the moment they returned. As expected from the most curious member of the team.
"Nothing, really! I've already told Chloe. They were polite enough to only speak English in front of us."
"You must have overheard something."
Noelle hesitated for a moment. Yeah… it wasn't that important anyway. "Ok. In the hallway, they were talking loudly, and I heard that if Noah were an actor, he would be perfect for the role."
Lexi's petrified face was pure serotonin for her miserable day.
"Luca should never hear this… " Lexi whispered eventually.
Thank you Lexi. You just gave me a gift. A weapon for our next battle.