Real King

"It's been like this since it was built, about 200 years ago," Thiery said. "Nothing has been added, except for repairs here and there, minor additions and changes made little by little."

"I've never seen a centuries-old palace in its original form in my life," Noreen said. "Look at that, the stones are real natural stone, aren't they?"

"This isn't a palace," Thiery said. "It's just been called the Golden Moonlight Mansion from the beginning. Palaces are supposed to be bigger than this."

"But this mansion even has a tower like in the story of Rapunzel," Noreen muttered. " How many people live here?"

"Just me, Sander, three other Betas, 18 servants, six cooks, 12 groundskeepers, and about 30 security guards. My two nephews, a few cousins, and my father come over occasionally," Thiery replied. He unfolded a heavy dining chair. "Sit down."

"Oh my," Noreen muttered.  "Boss, you really are a king from a fairy tale, aren't you? This is modern times, and there are still people living like you."

Thiery's eyebrows furrowed. "Is that a compliment or an insult?"

Noreen grinned. "Nothing, boss, I'm just surprised. It's like I'm in another world, with everything I see and hear here."

"After I took over Golden Moonlight, I started getting used to living here, but as you know, I have my own rooms in several hotels and apartments," Thiery said. "My father took a vacation home in the Bahamas and lives there most of the time now, or sometimes he goes to Greece or Honolulu. He also built his own beach house there."

Four waiters entered the dining room, bringing lunch for Thiery and Noreen.

As Thiery had requested, the waiters brought four types of pasta, two types of salad, pudding, juice, steak, and spaghetti.

Noreen's eyes widened.  "Sir, is there anyone else eating with us?"

"No," Thiery shook his head. "The Betas are working, and the staff have their own dining room in the back. Why?"

"Then why are your waiters serving so much food?" Noreen pointed to all the plates on the dining table. "Who's going to finish it?"

"Us?" Thiery said.

"Oh my, sir, do you think my stomach is made of elastic to accommodate it all?"

"No need to finish it, just taste it all and you can take whatever you want. My Italian chef is very good, so I'm sure you'll be hooked. Oh, and he'll also make pizza for—"

"That's wasteful," Noreen said. "Unless you want to give me all the leftovers to take home."

Thiery gave Noreen a puzzled look.  "You want to take these leftovers home? But why? If you want to eat them again at home, I can ask the chef to make a new meal for you; no need to bring leftovers."

"Look," Noreen said cautiously. "I recently discovered a small orphanage not far north of the apartment. The caretaker is a kind, middle-aged woman who takes care of 16 orphans, most of whom are still young. Sometimes I bring them milk or bread on my way to work, but they've probably never tasted food like this before."

Thiery looked at Noreen, and suddenly, his heart beat faster.

"Just a moment," Thiery said, getting up from his chair and leaving the dining room for another part of the mansion.

Five minutes later, he returned. "Let's eat, we have to go back to the office after this, right?"

Noreen ate quietly, as did Thiery. The conversation over lunch was light and mostly centered around office matters.

Noreen felt a little awkward because Thiery suddenly seemed distant. She wondered if he was upset by her remark about the food.

Shouldn't she have pointed out that all this food would be a waste if she hadn't asked for it?

Thiery was surely used to such a lavish and lavish menu and wouldn't feel it was a waste, even if there were a lot of leftovers.

Hey, Thiery had wealth beyond measure. Just look at this palace of his, which he stubbornly called a mansion.

This was a combination of ten mansions, situated on land three times the size of an international-standard football field.

This was just his family's palace, not to mention all the luxurious rooms in every hotel and apartment under his company's name.

As Noreen was finishing her small bowl of mango pudding, a burly man entered the dining room and bowed to Thiery.

"Alp—oh, I mean, Mr. Bradley, I've got the car ready, and everything you requested is loaded, ready to be delivered," the man said.

Thierry nodded and turned to Noreen. "Noreen, could you give Jared the address of the orphanage you mentioned earlier? He'll deliver the food there."

Noreen was surprised by Thiery's words. "F-food?"

"Yes," Thiery nodded.  "Is 20 boxes of pizza, 20 plates of pasta, 20 plates of spaghetti, 20 plates of salad, and 30 glasses of juice enough? Oh, I also had the chef make sweets and gelato. The children will love that kind of food, right?"

"Oh my gosh, sir, are you going to feed the whole company?" Noreen asked, confused. "Why so much?"

"Don't children usually eat a lot?" Thiery asked back. "I even asked the chef to prepare more, just in case there's not enough."

"No, no, it's definitely more than enough," Noreen said quickly. She approached Jared, who was waiting, and showed him the address on her phone. "If you don't mind, sir, could you split the food in half and send the other half to another orphanage, but to an address a little further away?"

"Of course, madam, I will do that," Jared said respectfully.

"Let's go too," Thiery said, after Jared had left.  "There's one place I want to go before we go back to the office."

"Sir," Noreen touched Thiery's hand.

"Yes?" Thiery looked at Noreen with a raised eyebrow. "Do you need anything else?"

"No," Noreen said awkwardly. "I just wanted to say thank you for what you're doing for the orphanage and... Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude and bother you with all that food you sent. I was just sorry that there would be so much food—"

Cup!!!

Noreen froze and covered her mouth.

Thierry had just kissed her on the lips.

"You talk too much, baby," Thiery said with a wink. "Let's go."

Noreen's face flushed to her cheeks. "You shouldn't do that carelessly, sir. That's an invasion of privacy. You should have asked permission first."

"Would you let me kiss you if I ask?" Thiery asked.

Noreen didn't answer, just grumbled under her breath and followed Thiery out the door.

She bumped into Thiery's back, who suddenly stopped walking when they were almost at the door.

Noreen groaned. "Sir, why did you stop so suddenly? Your back—"

"Ava? Why did you come?"

Thiery's question cut Noreen off. She stood on tiptoe and peered through Thiery's wide back.

Her eyes met a woman, piercing and cold. The woman looked at Noreen, then asked Thiery in a tone sharper than her gaze.

"Alpha? Who is she?"