154: Migraine

Migraine

It had been a long, tiring day for Noah. He had to attend meetings back to back after he had returned to his office from Ian's office and he was having a killer headache. His eyes twitched every few minutes, making it impossible for him to concentrate. However, it was the last meeting for the day and he had to pull through it somehow. Then, he could go home and have a good sleep.1

The managers from each department were giving their month-end report and he had been listening to it for the last two hours. Shane could sense that his boss was irked and he did not know for what reasons. He thought of stopping the meeting in between. But Noah gave him a knowing look as if he had read his mind, stopping him in his seat.

The meeting went for another half an hour and finally, when all the managers had presented their reports and had put forth their suggestions and ideas for the next month, Noah finally dismissed them. Even the managers looked tired. But they did not complain as their boss was very generous. It was only some days in a year when they were asked to work overtime and every three months they would be granted bonuses. So, everybody had no problems with him. Only when they did not meet the deadline, Noah would show them his fierce side, scaring the shit out of them.

Everybody left the meeting room one by one leaving Shane and Noah behind. Noah rubbed his forehead to reduce the pain. Shane observed him for a second. "Boss, are you alright? Do you want something?"

"No. I am fine Shane. You may leave."

"But Boss, what about you?"

"I'll leave after a few minutes. Don't worry. I have Ronnie with me." Noah assured him and saw him leave the room reluctantly. He took out his phone and called Ronnie to get the car ready. He then saw a voice note from Ivy. He had not touched his phone the entire day. So, he had no idea when the message was delivered.

The next moment, he played the voice note and he could clearly hear Ivy and Aria's voice. Though at first Aria's voice was muffled, he could still make out that it was her. 'Was she eating when Ivy recorded this?' He thought and then concentrated on hearing what it was. It started with Ivy praising Noah.

Ivy: My brother-in-law is amazing.

Aria: Amazing.

Ivy: Aria, how do you describe him in one word? Though the word 'him' was said softly, he could still hear it. It was as though she was whispering it.

Aria: Appetizing.

The voice note ended at this and Noah sat stunned. He had only one thing in mind. 'Does Aria find me appetizing?'

Minutes passed when Noah finally came out of his reverie. He smirked thinking about Aria. He couldn't believe what he had just heard although he had the proof right in front of him. Ronnie entered right at this moment and saw his weird smile. He was momentarily scared looking at him. 'Which great species just annoyed the great devil that he is smiling sinisterly. Whose end is near? I hope it's not me.'

Ronnie had been waiting for his boss in the car and when Noah did not exit the company even after a long time, he had come to see what the matter was. But to his horror, he had entered to see his all-time famous devilish smile. 

"Boss, are we leaving yet?" He asked, trying not to anger the beast any further. He did not want to incur the wrath on himself.

"Yes, let's go." Noah got up and walked out as if nothing had happened inside the room. Ronnie had to run to catch up with him.

"Boss, is everything alright?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" Noah gave him a small glance before he looked ahead.

"Boss, did anybody annoy you?"

"Why do you ask?" Noah halted suddenly, making Ronnie to stop walking too.

"Boss, you were smiling looking at your phone. So, I thought maybe you found your new prey."

"New prey you say. Hmm. Somebody finds me appetizing." He answered and started walking again.

'Appetizing. Who the hell found boss to be appetizing? I need to applaud him for his guts. By the way how dare they think about boss this way?' Ronnie thought to himself. He clenched his fists in anger. But he knew that more than him, his boss was annoyed with the matter and he would take care of it himself. However, he couldn't stop being curious on who might be brave enough to call Noah appetizing.

Ronnie and Noah went to the car silently. Ronnie wanted to ask him who the person was, but he couldn't get a word out of his mouth. They started driving silently. After a long time, when Ronnie could not take it any longer, he voiced his question. "Boss, who was the person who called you appetizing."

He had not expected Noah to give him any answer and when he did, he was surprised. What was more shocking was the name of the person. 'Aria. Of course. Who would be daring enough other than Madam to do such things? I must be an idiot to think something else. So, what I saw was not a devilish smile but a doting smile? But why does that smile look more terrifying?' Ronnie unknowingly shivered and concentrated on driving the car.

In the back seat, Noah contemplated whether to call Aria or not. She had already informed him that she was working the night. So, he did not want to disturb her. But he was unable to control himself too. Faced with the dilemma, he chose what his heart wanted. He immediately placed the call and waited for Aria to pick up the phone.

Nobody picked up. When he had called her, Aria at that moment was in the children's ward trying to persuade the kids to sleep. He tried again, only to meet the same result. Assuming her to be busy, he decided not to disturb her. His head started to throb again. Though he had had migraines some times whenever he was overstressed, it was never this severe. A good sleep was what he needed and that is what he did as soon as he went home. 

As soon as he placed his head on the pillow, he fell into a sleep so deep that he did not even hear his phone ring. He completely missed the call from Aria for the first time.

pqdm.com