Xenia’s smile cracked. They weren’t there for her; it was all about Noelle. “That bitch,” she muttered under her breath. Forcing a smile, she said, “She left right after work.”

“Didn’t you invite her?” Lucas asked.

“I did! But she didn’t want dinner, and she’s not exactly popular with the staff,” Xenia pouted. “I tried!”

Lucas softened slightly. “I know Noelle has a temper, but I didn’t expect her to actually go to the branch office. I thought she’d quit.”

Frank sighed, a bitter smile twisting his lips. “I convinced her to go. Nobody else can fix the firewall.”

“Frank, she’s doing this on purpose! Why send her? We can just scrap the project!” Xenia protested.

“We’ve invested too much to abandon it now. This is business, not a game. Your livestream is losing money too. Explain that to Donovan after the finals.” Frank spun on his heel, his disappointment palpable. No Noelle, no dinner.

Xenia’s face darkened. Noelle was more important than she’d realized.

Lucas muttered, frustrated, “Frank’s getting awfully biased towards Noelle.”

“Of course he is,” Xenia gritted her teeth. “She’s his sister.”

“Even so, she can’t just do whatever she wants! I don’t believe she can solve this problem.” Lucas remained skeptical. He figured Frank just gave her the title for show. Xenia, however, basked in the attention as she took him out to dinner with the staff.

Later, Frank pulled out his phone. “How was your first day? Tell me if anyone bullies you,” he texted Noelle.

Noelle, back in her apartment, glanced at the message, feeling nothing. She didn’t reply. After dinner, she lay on her bed, then impulsively opened Cedric’s chat window. “Dr. Greene, what are you doing?” she typed, then stared nervously at her phone. She felt…strange.

She still hadn’t received a reply after showering. A sigh escaped her lips. Too obvious? She regretted sending it.

Noelle slept poorly, waking with dark circles under her eyes. Still no reply from Cedric. Feeling deflated, she dressed and went to the branch office.

At her computer, she started coding. She’d tested the software yesterday, had a grasp of the problem. Even though she’d solved it before, it had been a while; she needed to retest.

“Newbie, early bird, huh? Regretting skipping dinner, wanting to show off?” Isaac sneered.

Noelle ignored him.

Isaac slammed his fist on the desk. “Hey! I’m talking to you! What’s with the attitude?”

“I’ll match whatever attitude you bring. Dinner wasn’t mandatory.” Her voice was firm.

The office, overhearing, gave Noelle a collective thumbs-up.

Humiliated, Isaac snapped, “Stop acting tough! Did you finish those documents?”