One week went by before Mr. Ridley called a mandatory company-wide meeting. Hwan, Sarah, and all the other managers sat at the large meeting room table while everyone else stood against the mahogany panelled walls. The sun was bright that day, its rays shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows on the exterior wall, which blinded Alissa when she first stepped into the room.

She decided to stand behind Hwan and Sarah who were sitting next to each other near the back of the room. Perry trailed behind her and stood in between her and the three men on Sarah's team. At least he's good for something, Alissa thought.

Mr. Ridley walked in and sat at the head of the table at the front of the room. Liberty stood behind him with a smile. Alissa made eye contact with her, hoping she'd give her a hint as to what was happening, but Liberty just kept on smiling as everyone anticipated the reason for why Mr. Ridley called this meeting.

"As I'm sure you're all aware," Mr. Ridley paused to look over the room, "Mr. Walker is no longer with the firm. After much consideration, I have hired someone I know will be of great value to the firm. He has already accomplished so much for his age and I know that success will follow him to the firm. I'd like for you all to meet Mr. Noah Wilmington."

Mr. Ridley looked towards the meeting room door where a man was waiting, standing in the doorframe. People stepped out of the way as he strolled to the front of the room next to Mr. Ridley.

Alissa couldn't see his face as his back was turned to her, but he had thick ash brown hair and wore a dark blue tight suit that framed his tall, athletic form well. When he turned around, Alissa gasped. His thick, dark eyebrows brooded over his honey brown eyes. He did not smile as he looked over every person in the room. He couldn't be more than thirty, Alissa thought.

When he made eye contact with Alissa, the corner of his lip slightly turned up, but then dropped as he moved on to Perry. Alissa held back the urge to squirm where she stood. Why did he look at her that way, she thought. She started to feel a bit nauseous so early in the morning.

"It's a pleasure to join Elixir and meet you all," Mr. Wilmington said in a smooth, tenor pitch.

He turned towards Liberty who pressed a button on the remote she was holding and a projector screen started to unravel down from the ceiling behind them. The projector hanging over the center of the meeting table turned on and a bright blue presentation slide appeared on the screen. On the screen was a logo with the name 'Stoned Tech.'

"With the rise of recreational cannabis comes Stoned Tech, there for all your customer relations needs. This is a start-up with great potential to take off. We," Mr. Wilmington gestured to the whole room, "can help them get there. I need an innovative team to strategize a campaign that will grab the attention of Stoned Tech's most critical stakeholders. I'd like each team to come up with a proposal by the end of the day. The one I like the best will work with me personally on this project."

"You heard him," Mr. Ridley said. "Dismissed."

The room started filling out as Mr. Ridley and Mr. Wilmington murmured to each other. Liberty turned the projector off and, with the click of the remote, the screen rose back up into the ceiling.

Hwan turned around in his swivel black leather chair. "Well," he said rubbing his hands together, "let's get to work."

Perry had already headed towards the exit, so Alissa followed with Hwan.

When they made it back to their team cubicle, Perry sighed, "What are we going to do? I know nothing of the cannabis industry."

"Not to worry," Hwan grinned, "I know plenty."

Alissa chuckled, "Oh, I'm sure you do."

Hwan stuck his tongue out as he sat down at his desk. Perry and Alissa pulled their chairs over to his desk and began brainstorming.

~~~

Hwan, Alissa, and Perry worked tirelessly through lunch to finish their proposal for Mr. Wilmington before five o'clock rang out. When they had completed the fifteen-page proposal, Alissa slouched in her desk chair so far down, her ass was practically hanging off. Perry rested his head on his keyboard while Hwan dropped their hard work off at Mr. Wilmington's office.

When Hwan returned, he plopped down in his desk chair. "I need a drink."

Alissa groaned in response.

Perry kept silent.

She looked over at him and saw his eyes closed. She looked at her watch. The minute hand was two lines away from twelve. She leaned her head back against the chair and stared at the ceiling. She wondered if Mr. Wilmington would like their proposal. Just thinking about him again with his thick eyebrows and his honey eyes, and that quick smile to her, made her uneasy. Was it really a smile, though, she thought.

A dark head of hair leaned over her. "Let's go," Hwan said.

Alissa lifted her wrist and saw that it was two minutes past five. With a newfound energy, she stood up.

"Let's get that drink," she said.

Hwan nodded, heading over to Sarah's cubicle.

~~~

The following morning, Mr. Wilmington had called Alissa's team to his office. Hwan swore it was because he was giving the project to them. All Perry did was rub his chin, questioning if their was great enough to impress Mr. Wilmington. Alissa kept quiet as her whole body felt tense and stiff making their way over to his office.

Mr. Wilmington's office didn't change much from how Gerald had kept it. The large L-shaped mahogany desk was pushed in the far left corner against the wall of windows with two leather chairs in front. Mahogany bookcases lined the length of the right wall. Not all the shelves were filled, but there were a few framed awards and a least twenty thick business books on display. A leather couch sat to the left of the office door with a mahogany coffee table. Mr. Wilmington sat at his desk, looking up from a pile of papers.

"Good morning, Mr. Wilmington," Hwan said.

Alissa wondered if Hwan felt as squirmish as her around Mr. Wilmington. It didn't seem that way with how tall Hwan stood, making direct eye contact with Mr. Wilmington. Perry, on the other hand, kept his eyes to the gray carpeted floor with his hands in his pockets.

Alissa crossed her arms over her chest and looked out the window behind Mr. Wilmington. It was another sunny day in Denver. Spring must really be on its way, she thought.

"Good morning. Please, call me Noah. Have a seat," he gestured to the chairs in front of his desk.

Hwan and Perry began walking closer and took the two seats.

Noah frowned as Alissa slowly made her way towards them.

"I have called you in this morning because your proposal impressed me."

"Really?" Perry asked.

Hwan rolled his eyes at Perry then faced Noah again, "Thank you."

Noah squished his eyebrows together at Perry with a frown. "Yes, well, the client will be coming in on Friday to hear our proposal. There are a few things in your proposal I think we could really expand on. Perry, take notes, if you would."

Noah looked up at Alissa, "Why don't you have a seat in my chair. I like to pace as I think, plus you look cold and it's warm from the sun."

Alissa looked down at her bare legs in her dark gray pencil skirt and her arms crossed over her chest, but under her boobs, which protruded her cleavage from her navy blue blouse. Her limbs were covered in goose bumps.

Her face flushed as Noah stood up and walked around the desk. He began pacing up and down along the wall of bookcases.

"So," he started as Alissa tentatively sat down in his seat.

It was warm, but she thought more so from him sitting there than from the sun that was behind her now.

"You identified Medicine Man as Stoned Tech's most critical stakeholder. Smart. It's the largest dispensary in Denver. Now, the question is, how are we going to target them?" Noah turned around and stared directly into Alissa's eyes.

Alissa gulped. Goose bumps spread to the rest of her body as she looked into his honey brown eyes.

~~~

A/N: Thank you so much for your patience! I just had a bit of writer's block with this chapter. Like I knew what I wanted to happen, but I wanted it to be perfect when you all met Noah for the first time. Being a perfectionist is a curse, I tell 'ya!

So, there it is! Mr. Noah Wilmington. Mr. Can't-take-a-hint. Oh man, his brooding eyebrows get me every time! *melts* ;D lol