Don't Judge Me

BRUGH!!!

"AH!!!"

Noreen covered her mouth in horror. Her eyes widened and her face paled.

"Noreen! Why did you push me?" Thiery snapped, glaring. He held his arm, which was throbbing from hitting the car door.

"S-sorry," Noreen squeaked nervously. "You wanted to kiss me again, b-but we're almost there and I don't have any tissues or lipstick!"

Thiery was stunned. He'd never been rejected just because of tissues and lipstick.

"You refused to let me kiss you because you didn't have any lipstick?" Thiery growled. "That's ridiculous!"

Noreen lifted her chin and straightened. "Why? You want people to know you and I kissed in the car on the way to an important meeting? I should at least wipe off the smudged lipstick and reapply it before getting out, right?"

Thiery could hear Dash shaking his head and whistling in admiration in his head at Noreen's words.

"You're amazing!"  Thiery muttered.

"Besides, boss, the employment agreement doesn't say I have to serve my boss when he's dying for a kiss," Noreen said sharply. "If you insist, I'll consider it harassment!"

Thiery didn't answer, just gritted his teeth and sat straight, staring straight ahead.

Noreen grinned and continued reading, though her heart was still pounding from Thiery's kiss, which had nearly crushed her lips. Luckily, she still had the strength to push him away.

When she arrived at the client meeting, Noreen did her best to fulfill her duties as Thiery's escort. She didn't want to be belittled and considered merely a kissable object.

Who would have thought that her one-night stand would be her own boss? And damn, he looked even more handsome and sexy when she saw him sober.

As she was thinking about that, goosebumps suddenly rose up on Noreen's neck. She remembered Jonathan and swallowed hard, realizing how much her son resembled Thiery.

Don't let that man meet Jonathan! Noreen would do everything in her power to prevent that from happening.

She had always worried that if Jonathan's biological father ever found him, he might want him for himself.

Oh, that was impossible. She wouldn't give her son to anyone, not even his biological father.

"Miss, your face is pale," whispered a man sitting next to Noreen. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Noreen turned her head and saw a handsome man with glasses staring at her with a smile.

Noreen gasped. "Andrew! Andrew Collin!"

The man with glasses smiled broadly and put his index finger to his lips, making Noreen realize she had been too loud. She covered her mouth and glanced to the side, finding Thiery staring at her with a frown.

Noreen muttered an apology and tried to refocus on the people explaining something to her in front of the forum.

She glanced at the man named Andrew Collin and smiled at him, handing him a small piece of paper with her phone number and the word "call me" written underneath.

Thiery saw what Noreen did and grumbled inwardly.  This woman was reckless and fearless.

"She's perfect for Luna," said Dash, who suddenly appeared. "Decisive, bold, and humorous."

"Reckless and reckless, that's exactly it!" Thiery argued. "I'm surprised at the discrepancy between her absurd behavior and the designs she creates. They're like two different people."

"Don't be so quick to judge," Dash said. "Your own grades aren't necessarily good in her eyes. What kind of boss constantly wants to kiss his expert staff?"

Thierry clenched his fists at Dash's chuckle. He cursed himself for losing control in front of Noreen.

"Boss, are you bored?" Noreen whispered suddenly, leaning toward Thiery.

"Why do you ask that?" Thiery asked. "Are you bored?"

"No," Noreen said. She touched Thiery's fist with the tip of her index finger. "You're clenching your fist like you're trying to fight sleep. I like doing that too."

Thiery's eyebrows rose and he stared at Noreen, trying to study her, trying to find the woman who had slept with him and then made him endure dozens of torturous full moons.

"Here," Noreen handed him something. "I always carry a supply, just in case I get sleepy or bored."

Thiery looked at the candy Noreen had given him and sighed, but he put it in his pocket and turned around again, seeing Noreen busy typing on her phone with a smile.

When the meeting ended and a man invited Thiery to talk about some work, Noreen gently touched his arm.

"Sir, I'm going to go talk to my friend over there for a moment," Noreen said. "Can I go? It won't take long, and I'll go straight to the car after we're done."

Thiery wanted to say something to stop Noreen from leaving, but another man came over and greeted him, distracting him.

Noreen quickly left and met Andrew Collin, her old friend from junior high, who had greeted her earlier.

It was a pleasant little reunion. They had been quite close in school, but had drifted apart when Andrew moved away with his family in high school.

Their conversation was so lively that Noreen didn't notice Thiery had finished speaking and was walking out of the meeting room.

After they finished chatting, Noreen quickly returned to the car. She hurriedly opened the door and was shocked to see Thiery already inside, sitting upright with his arms folded across his chest.

"Uh, excuse me, sir," Noreen said nervously. "I guess I got too caught up in the conversation and lost track of time. Have you been waiting long?"

Thiery turned and glared at Noreen. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she felt a chill slowly spread from her feet up her body.

Thiery's gaze was unnerving, and Noreen remembered seeing that stare before, and the familiar feeling it evoked was a sense of déjà vu.

"Where have you been?" Thiery hissed sharply.

"Uh, I was just talking to my friend," Noreen replied. "We haven't seen each other in a while and—"

"Where have you been for the past four years, since that night?" Thiery asked again. "Why did you just leave?"

Noreen swallowed, realizing that Thiery's question had nothing to do with her being late in getting into the car.

"Going home, of course," Noreen replied. "I came with my friend and she asked me to go home."

Thierry snorted sarcastically. "So you're used to it? Going to clubs, flirting with any guys and sleeping with them, and then just leaving?"

Noreen gasped at Thiery's words, and anger immediately boiled within her when she saw him smirk sarcastically.

"Mr. Thiery Bradley, I didn't expect you to be such a judgmental person," Noreen said. Her tone was calm but cold.  "Who are you? We don't even know each other, and if I work for you now, you can't judge me as you please. We haven't even been together a day, and you've already kissed me twice! Are you the kind of boss who likes to harass his female staff?"

Thierry was stunned. "I don't—"

"Even if my lifestyle is as you said, so what? You chose me to be your special staff member based on my design, right? That has nothing to do with my habit of sleeping with strange men I meet at clubs!" Noreen said firmly. "If you have a problem with that, fire me now!"

Noreen almost snapped, but then she gasped when she saw Thiery hunched over, clutching his chest, his face bright red.

"Sir, what's wrong with you?" Noreen asked, confused. "D-Did I hurt you? I didn't mean to—"

"Shut up!" Thiery hissed. He clutched his chest and closed his eyes. "Beta Sanders, it's time. Pick me up now!"

Noreen was confused. Who was Thiery talking to? There were only the two of them here, and there wasn't even anyone in the driver's seat.

"Who's Beta Sanders, sir? You told me to call the driver? But where is he?" Noreen asked, confused, looking around.

Thiery didn't answer, only growling softly, as if in pain, making Noreen even more panicked.

Noreen opened the car door. "I'll get help, sir. You should—"

"I'll take care of Mr. Thiery," a tall, burly man suddenly stood beside the car door Noreen had opened.  "Your driver will take you back to the office with another car."

Noreen looked up and shuddered, seeing the tall, burly man. "Who are you? And how—"

The man opened the car door wider. "Please move to that car, miss."

As if hypnotized, Noreen got out of the car and walked toward the black Ferrari. She still managed to hear Thiery's words, half growling.

"Call Ava!"