Falling in Love : I love you, Today and Forever

Ivy glared at the annoying man. She even scolded him, cussed him, kicked and smacked his face against the wall and even killed him brutally without blinking an eye. But it was all in her mind. They were in the presence of an audience and she could not get violent with him even if she wanted to. She wanted to wipe off the cheeky grin of his handsome face. Yet she did nothing. She walked away with her head held high, making Joshua to chuckle lightly. He was amused with the way her expression changed in seconds from surprise to anger and then to a blank face. She ignored him completely.

Ivy's colleagues were clueless about the short exchange between the two. They waited for Noah to speak wondering what Joshua was doing here. Seeing the group, Noah ordered Ronnie to lead them to the small conference beside his cabin and Ronnie followed his orders diligently. Before leaving, Ivy did not forget to glare at Joshua once more.

Noah sensed their weird behavior and he raised his eyebrows in question. "What is happening between you two? I thought you guys had made up and were fine. Why is Ivy angry with you now?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong with us. It is just a bet we made. I need to win it at all costs."

"Bet?" Noah asked. His face scrunched up hearing something so childish.

"Don't give that expression alright. It might sound childish, but if you listen to what the winning prize is you will be amazed too. I am thinking about the future. So, I don't care even if I make weird bets."

Noah folded his hands and stared down at his friend who was casually leaning on his chair with a playful smile on his face. He was treating Noah's office as his house with the way he was behaving casually. "What does the winner get in return?"

"The loser has to do all that winner says for a day."

Noah's was pleasantly surprised hearing Joshua's words. The bet did sound feasible and good. If his friend won, he could use it to advantage any time he wanted. Seeing his friend's relaxed expression, Noah could guess that his friend had prepared for his victory. All that remained was for Ivy to fall for it. Also, he could make out what he would want from Ivy if he won it.

He chuckled lightly and Joshua blinked at him wondering what he had in mind. "We are definitely friends as we think alike and Aria and Ivy definitely sisters to fall into similar traps."

"Why do you say so?"

"I have a gift due from Aria and if you win this bet, you have something against Ivy. So, in the future when everything becomes clear and the truth comes out, we could use this to our advantage. Am I right?"

"You too, Brutus?" Joshua exclaimed dramatically making Noah sneer. "You are right. I have no problem obeying Ivy for a day, but I have my intentions as you clearly explained."

"Do you want help?"

"No. I have everything under control."

"If you say so. Now, let's go. The poor guys must be waiting for us. Let's not scare them than they already are."

"Sure thing."

Joshua and Noah entered the conference room together and each took the end seats while the five members were sitting in between them. To Ivy's horror, Joshua took the seat right beside her and she tried to avoid his burning gaze. 'Why did he have to sit beside me? Can't he take any other seats?' She cried inwardly though she maintained a poker face.

Seeing Joshua follow Noah, the other four members were worried. They were astounded to find him here and Noah's next words spooked them more.

"This is Joshua Martin. He will be joining us in this meeting today and will give us inputs and suggestions, if he deems necessary. Also, he will be my partner in this company, though he will just be behind the scenes. So, whenever I am not in town and if you guys encounter any problems in your work, you can approach him." Noah stopped, taking a look at all the people around him. When he was sure that he had their complete attention, he spoke once again. "Let's start the meeting. Before that, I have some good news for you guys. We have successfully obtained the news agency. Now we can make changes as we deem fit."

Noah's statement brought a huge smile on everybody's face other than Ivy's. She was in a dilemma due to Joshua and her concentrate was fixed on him. She had no idea what Noah was speaking. 

As soon as Joshua sat down, he had fixed his gaze in Ivy and she could feel him drilling holes on her head. Her cheeks burned and she was feeling hot even though the room was cool. She did not dare to see him lest she should lose control. Her eyes were on Noah while her mind was on Joshua.

"That's good news, sir. We can start work sooner than we had planned. When can we visit the agency?" Max was the first one question while everybody else waited for Noah to answer.

"I am yet to receive the transfer papers. I'll inform you when everything is finalized."

"Fair enough," Max replied while everybody else nodded.

"Shall we start the meeting?" 

"Yes sir." Max and Kira stood up and they started presenting their draft.

"Sir, since there are employees already working in the agency, we cannot fire them without reasons and that would be unfair too. We could hire new people and train them." Max started and Noah listened to him intently. Occasionally, his eyes would drift towards the couple who were sitting at the farther end of the table and an enigmatic smile would adorn his face. He could see that his friend as trying his best to irritate Ivy and she was just short of snapping at him. She was trying her best to keep herself in check. 

Though his eyes were observing everyone, his ears were fixed on the presentation. Noah was quite impressed with their plan. It almost overlapped with his, except a few extra ideas they had incorporated. He could see the potential in each of them while Max and Kira presented before him without stumbling over their words or stuttering. They knew what they were doing and they did it with utmost confidence. He liked confident people. In this world where everyone was fighting to gain power and earn money, only confident and bold people would progress in life. The meek and cowards only hid in the shadows and admired the successful ones.

He was impressed that in the short amount of period, they had come up with a full-proof plan. All that remained was for Noah to give this draft to his father-in-law for his opinion. He was sure that Oliver would approve it too and give his own suggestions and ideas. His experience was what Noah needed the most.

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