Falling in Love : I love you, Today and Forever

Noah occupied the seat solely meant for him while Max sat on his right. Ronnie locked the door to the conference room before he took the chair in front of Max. There was complete silence in the room, with everyone looking at the powerful man in front of them. 

"Let me introduce myself first. I am Noah Allen Carter." Noah's domineering voice boomed across the room, making everyone stiffen in their seats. Even Max, who was already well acquainted with Noah for he had met him before, could not help but be intimidated by him. Noah sure had such a formidable yet dignified aura that compelled people to listen to him.

'How did Noah and Joshua become friends?' He wondered. 'They are completely different from each other. Jo is all warm and energetic and completely shameless.' Max sighed when he recalled the man's brazen actions. Though he was not that close to Joshua, he could not forget how mischievous the man was.

'And, Mr. Carter is...' Max did not dare call him cold even in his thoughts. It just sent him chills to see his reticent face, and every time, he glanced at him, he had a feeling that his Boss could read what was running in his mind. Though Noah's face hid his thoughts, his wise eyes said it all, and Max was not a fool to ignore it. 

'Mr. Carter is aloof and...' Max secretly peeked at him again only to meet Noah in the eye. 'Scary.' His word switched from composed to scary the moment he met his intimidating gaze. Max averted his eyes at once, focusing them on Ronnie who too was looking at him and to his horror, Ronnie's eyes too scared the shit out of him.  Albeit it was not as severe as Noah's, Max felt Ronnie suppressing him for a reason he did not know.

Max had the sudden urge to cry. 'Where am I stuck?' He wondered. While the man beside him was menacing even though he had done nothing to him, the man in front of him resembled a psychopath, although he was far from it. Both of them terrified him, and neither of them had an idea about it.

Unable to tolerate the torture any longer, Max looked at his colleagues and his heart was relieved sightly to think he was not the only one who was frightened. His colleagues too shared the same sentiment as him, and Max was just about to sigh in relief when his gaze finally landed on Ivy, who was sitting beside him, calmly.

To his shock, Ivy was neither scared nor was she worried. She had a huge smile on her face, and he could even see her watching Noah playfully as though she was teasing him silently. She was the only one who was unaffected by the two men who resembled nothing less than the King of the Underworld and his trusted man.

'Wait a minute! Why is Ivy looking at Noah that way?' He wondered. 'Why does it feel like she knows him and she is teasing him?' He peeked at Noah again only to find him speaking to Ronnie and go through the file in his hand. At first, Max could not comprehend the look on Ivy's face. But slowly, his mind started to work and his eyes widened in disbelief.

'What the heck! Does Ivy have a secret crush on Noah?' His thoughts ran wild, reaching the line of utter impossible. 'No, no, no, it can't be. How can Ivy have a crush on him?' Max shook his head, trying to convince himself. But he knew it was in vain. 'Ivy sure looks like...' His thoughts broke when Noah's continued speaking again. 

"I have already met some of you while this is the first time, I am meeting the others."

Max could only cry to himself and curse his bad luck for being surrounded by such crazy people before she focused his attention on Noah.

Ivy had no idea about the conflict Max was going through. She was more interested in teasing the man who had spent his birthday and the next day with her sister. Ivy wanted to tease him but the man ignored her completely, and she just pushed her thoughts away from her mind for the time being. They had other important matters to attend to.

"Though this is the first time I am meeting some of you, I know everything about you." Noah tapped on the file in front of him to emphasize his words. "Don't worry. This file contains details regarding your work experience and your work ethic which Mr. Maximus had submitted to me. I am not immoral to look into people's private lives."

Noah assured them even before anyone could raise objections. Though they had not been articulate about it, he could read their expressions clearly. Those who were silently complaining in their minds sighed in relief. They now understood why their Boss had taken a break after introducing himself. He was going through their profile to familiarize himself with them.

"Since you all are already in this team, I trust you to keep this matter honest and showcase it as it is to the society and the public," Noah warned, his eyes threatening them directly, and for a second, even Ivy trembled in fear. "We need to send the man behind the crimes to the execution chair, not help him escape from the punishment he deserves."

Everybody understood what Noah was trying to convey. It was not a hidden fact that shady dealings happened at all places, and it happened more at places that people usually trusted. It was not a hidden fact that there had been cases where people manipulated the news just for their benefit, feeding lies to the public. Any news had to be reliable and trustworthy, and Noah was putting his trust in the people around him to make it trustworthy.

"After today's broadcast, we might be attacked by the man behind this, behind this game of crimes. But I will trust you to uphold the integrity of your work and do it diligently. You might have to face dangerous situations as the man we are dealing with is not just a petty criminal, he is a monster."

Other than Ivy and Ronnie, nobody else knew the depth of his words. They did not have any details of the crimes Jared had committed, not even the fact that it was Jared himself who was behind all these barbaric acts.

"This is an important factor and I do not want the criminal to get away. This is one of the reasons why I have not handed over the proofs to the police or the Intelligence. We cannot allow him to escape his punishment, and what could be more effective than revealing his ugly to the public?"

Everybody nodded at his suggestion. Noah sure had it all planned. He just needed people to execute it without making any mistakes, and even if they did, he could always come up with a counter plan.

"Since I have trusted you with the news," Since nobody had asked him the source of the news, Noah too did not say a word about it, not that he would have revealed it if anybody had queried about it. "I trust you to be honest and in return, I will guarantee your safety."

Noah finally addressed the issue that was harping everyone and the moment his words left his lips, everyone's expression changed drastically, including Ivy's.