[This chapter is dedicated to Nesta_Benno! Thank you for choosing this book.]

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"Luke sit on the backseat," she said while she was angrily typing on her phone.

Oliver glanced at Luke with a look of bafflement on his face, but Luke just shrugged his good shoulder. He was so used to Jess's tantrum flare, he no longer asked when she wanted something, especially when she had a piss-off expression on her face.

"Oliver drive," she snarled at the poor guy, throwing the car keys at him which he caught with no problem.

He followed what Luke did and just did what he was told. And also because he does not have a choice. Luke was already sitting comfortably in the backseat of the SUV, while Jess yanked the passenger door and sat down with her eyes still glued on her phone. Her fingers were like dancing with the way she typing angrily to whoever she was sending a lengthy message to.

He walked to the driver's side of the SUV while playing catch with the car keys. He was thinking that women were truly a strange breed. He thought he understood women because he has a sister, and then, somehow he got tangled up with Jess, he realized she was twice as crazy as his sister.

It's not like he doesn't want to drive Jess' car, it's just that her way of barking order would put you off.

He got in behind the driver's seat and started the car without a word. Maneuvering out of the parking lot, he met Luke's eyes on the rearview mirror and he offered him an apologetic smile.

"Little Miss Jessie, who are you texting? Or was it still texting or you have already written an email to whoever that you were messaging?"

"It's nobody," she said sternly.

"Oh, I see. It's Noah." He nodded knowingly and leaned back on the comfortable leather seat of the car.

Jess, hearing Noah's name, twisted her body and leaned to the backseat, "I was not texting Noah!" she said vehemently.

"Uh, yeah sure. We hear you."

Luke drew his attention outside the window, whistling, which made Jess scrunched her face in annoyance.

"Tch," she crossed her arms over her chest. "He was so infuriating! I would love to punch his smug face!"

Oliver, listening to Jess mumbling, threw his head back laughing.

"That's a very strong emotion right there, Jess," he said, shaking his head in amusement. Another thing he learned about Jess today was that she has a short temper and looks quite lovely when she's sulking.

***

Noah bent over at the back seat of his car, dying in laughter. He looked at his phone once again, and still finds Jess' lengthy message so hilarious. Tears pooled at the corner of his eyes from laughing so hard.

Antonio has been giving him a disappointed look on top of his discreet frustration that he was supposed to peruse some documents while they were on the way to their next meeting, but instead, he was laughing his ass off reading Jess' messages.

"Sir, the meeting with Shiv Mittal of the Shivavi Pharmaceutical will discuss the —"

"Antonio, chill down. One of the reasons why I think you are a good secretary was because you are very thorough. But, sometimes in business, you need to be flexible. It is a matter of showing the other party what you can deliver — or in this meeting what they are going to lose if they turn down our proposition."

"Yes sir. I understand sir. So, if you could have a look at these documents I prepared." He handed Noah a thick folder containing all the information he gathered about the Shivavi Pharmaceutical.

Noah has the brilliant idea of acquiring other already established businesses in expanding their company instead of starting from the ground just like what they did with their branch company here in California.

It took a lot of resources and manpower to be able to establish, but Noah was able to show the main office, his grandfather, and the shareholders of the company that he has the grit and the wit to put up a company from the ground.

Their branch company in the US was a great show of power in terms of flexing what the company can do. It was also Noah's idea for their company to put up sub-companies that do not just focus on pharmaceuticals but also on medical supplies.

Currently, they have two factories in China. And this acquisition of another company in India is Noah's move to focus on the research for India has a huge potential when it comes to pharmaceutical companies since they are the largest provider of generic medicines globally.

Noah doesn't want just a simple partnership of buying shares. He wanted total control among other things. He has a vision for the company and he has the brain to make it happen, hence, his father was forced to give up the CEO position earlier to have Noah take over the position as the Old Tiefenbacher and half of the shareholders of ANAT Pharma and Co wants.

And this business deal with Shivavi Pharmaceutical is going to solidify Noah's rise to power. They were expecting that at the next year's annual shareholder meeting, Noah will get the vote of the majority of the shareholders.

That's the goal. But Noah, his enigmatic boss, ruthless when it comes to business, is currently giggling like a teenager over a text message from a girl.

Antonio swallowed the worries in his heart. He wanted his boss to succeed in power. He took an oath to Noah that he would stand behind him all the way to the top when he chose him personally as his secretary despite the fact that he was a greenhorn among the hundreds of applicants who vied for the position of Noah's Executive Secretary.

And he believes that he is doing a good job. Though challenging, he is able to handle it. Well, except when his boss acts crazy over Little Miss Jessie, as young miss calls her.

"Stop giving me a murderous glare, Antonio," he told him as he flipped the documents that he presented him. And just like always, he has everything covered.

They had been working on this business with Shivavi Pharmaceutical for months. He knew the deal inside out because of Antonio's thorough job. And these documents in his hands are another proof that Antonio never takes the job for granted.

Looking at how he operates, he did not regret picking him for this job. He is one of the best choices he had, work-wise.

He believes that to be successful you have to have the right people working for you. For it doesn't matter how good you are if you can't trust the people that are working around you.

He learned the hard way. That's why, this time, he will only trust his instinct when it comes to people. And his instinct has not failed him yet.

And right now, his guts were telling him that this deal with the Shivavi Pharmaceutical is already in the bag, however, he is also a cautious man. He makes sure to prepare for unexpected turns of events, hence, Antonio is a great asset to his team.

Antonio is good at anticipating all the possible things that could go wrong. Making sure that he has enough contingency plans to work on if one move falls apart. He has all the scenarios covered in his head and he is ready to act on every one of them.

He put his phone in the inside pocket of his coat, so he could feel it vibrate if his minx would send another message.

A satisfied smile has been plastered on his lips ever since he left the cafeteria of their laboratory building.

He never expected to see Jess today. He checked something in one of the laboratories and had a glimpse of Jess's group being toured around, thus he followed them to the cafeteria.

His plan was just to say hi, and at least see her face for he has missed her too much. However, the moment he sat next to her, his urge to stay longer with her overruled. And to have a longer interaction with her, there is only one way to do so.

And that was to piss her off! He chuckled softly that got another look from Antonio.

He ignored the look from Antonio, grinning because he felt his phone vibrate once again. He fished his phone from his coat pocket with the anticipation of another message from Jess.

However, the smile that was plastered on his face was replaced with a frown and a string of curses escaped his mouth.

Antonio flinched and straightened his back. He looked at his watch and they are almost at the hotel where they will have their meeting.

"Sir?" he asked his boss.

"Antonio, how far have you gone with your research?" He asked with an icy tone.

Antonio felt frost covering the backseat of the car with the murderous glint in Noah's blue eyes.