No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

After smashing the cake into Donovan's face, Noelle stared at his stunned

expression and said flatly, "The person who asked you to order that was Xenia, not me."

Donovan was livid. "Are you out of your mind? Even if I got it wrong, how could you just slap it into my face?"

He angrily grabbed the tissues his assistant had handed him and wiped at the

mess.

Noelle, still smiling, replied, "Well, now you'll remember, won't you? Xenia's the one who likes that cake, not me. Honestly, you should be thanking me."

As a cab pulled up beside them, Noelle casually bent down and got in. Donovan yelled after her, "Noelle! Get out of the car-I still have questions! Did you call Mia to L Bistro on purpose that day?"

From the backseat, Noelle looked out the window at him. "You really kept that whole 'you're actually Mia's roommate' thing quiet, huh?"

Donovan's tone faltered. "That wasn't intentional! I didn't know Mia hadn't told you who she was. But you should've told me you invited her to dinner."

If she had warned him in advance, he never would have let things spiral the way they did that night.

Noelle raised an eyebrow, sarcasm in her voice. "If I warned you ahead of time, then I wouldn't have gotten to witness that little drama unfold, would I?

"I should really thank Xenia, too. She had the nerve to wear someone else's dress

like it was hers—made it look like you two had something going on."

Donovan snapped, "Wait, are you the one who told Mia I had something with Xenia?"

It finally made sense why Mia had been so cold to him lately. With the Al project at a critical investment stage, he could not afford to lose support from the Cantrells.

Donovan's tone turned sharp. "I'm warning you-keep your mouth shut. Don't start rumors you can't control."

"And I'm warning you-stop being a live-in son-in-law. You're clearly not cut out for it."

The second Donovan heard those words, especially live-in son-in-law, he lunged forward to yank her out of the cab. However, the driver hit the gas, and the car sped off.

Noelle burst into laughter as she watched him shrink in the rearview mirror, red- faced and furious. Right on cue, her phone buzzed in her bag. She did not need to look to know who it was.

She declined the call without hesitation.

When the cab dropped her off outside Maple Enterprise, she walked straight inside and headed up to the IT department. The Al project had hit a few technical hurdles and needed more testing, and she was there to help solve it.

As soon as she stepped into the lab, Isaac looked up with a grin. "Long time no see. I heard your team made it through the qualifiers-congrats!"

"Thanks," Noelle said with a polite nod. Everyone here knew she streamed and competed professionally.

She sat down at the computer and began testing the latest data files. Isaac leaned closer and whispered, "Word is the Liddell Corporation's working on their own Al initiative. They're trying to match what we're building here."

Noelle paused. "Didn't they lose the last bid?"

Lucas

Vel

Back then, Lucas's team disbanded, and Blake's scandal exploded. She had dropped the lawsuit in order t investigate the car accident. Nonetheless, the damage had already been done, and Donovan had lost a lot of money in the fallout.

Would they even have enough capital to invest in the Al project?

"Yeah, but rumor is they just secured new funding. They're even partnering with a

firm overseas to launch a joint Al project," Isaac explained.

Noelle's thoughts drifted. This was already different from her last life. In the past, Frank had poured everything into one project, and she had helped him. They had won the bid and successfully brought the product to market.

But now, Maple Enterprise still held the upper hand. Someone walked by and said, "The boss wants to see you in his office. He'll brief everyone in the conference room in ten minutes."

Noelle glanced down at the test results and could already tell where the issue was. She printed out the data report, grabbed it, and headed to the executive office. But when she opened the door, she froze.

Cedric was the one sitting at the desk, not Alfred. Her pupils contracted slightly, startled. He was wearing a sharp, tailored suit, buttoned all the way up, giving off a cold and unapproachable vibe.

Noelle could not deny it-Cedric looked very good in a suit.noveldrama

He glanced up, his deep eyes locking onto hers. "Why are you just standing there? Afraid I'll bite? Come in."

She stepped inside, deliberately leaving the door open behind her since only the two of them were in the office.

Noelle walked over and placed the report on his desk. "Here's the recent data and some suggestions for optimization."

Cedric reached for the folder, and her gaze landed on his hand-long fingers, smooth movements. But instead of opening the file, he just let his hand rest on it, his fingertips slowly dragging across the surface.

Noelle frowned slightly, confused. She thought, "What the hell is he doing?" When their eyes met, Cedric's gaze suddenly shifted downward, landing on her legs. She had worn a short skirt today, and her legs-long and slender-were impossible to ignore.