No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric) novel Chapter 409

Donovan's voice was laced with cold amusement. "Looks like it's your turn to beg me now."

He vividly remembered what'd happened at Maple Enterprise and how Noelle had forced him to plead with her. That incident had left him fuming, and now he could finally say the same words to her. He'd wondered how long she could hold out.

Yet, Noelle coldly replied, "No. You're the one who still needs to beg me."

Donovan scoffed. "I've tolerated you again and again for Mom and Dad's sake. But if you still don't know your place, get out of the office before they find out and feel heartbroken."

Noelle glanced around the office. She quickly spotted the framed writing their father had written. "Nothing Worth Having Was Ever Achieved Without Effort."

She remained where she was and said, "Actually, you're the one who called me here."

"Called you here? Don't be ridiculous; why would I ever call you?

"Leave now. I have work to do. I found someone else to rewrite the code for the firewall system even without your help." His tone was full of mockery as he added, "No one is irreplaceable."

"You're right, but I'm the person you found on the black market," Noelle calmly stated.

"That's impossible." Donovan denied it almost immediately. "I sought out someone with a strong reputation on the black market. How could a kid like you be famous out there?"

Noelle's voice remained steady. "I took the job as a freelance gig to earn some money. Designing firewall systems isn't new to me, after all.

"I'm familiar with the process. But when I realized it was you after seeing the company address, I turned it down."

Her calm gaze locked onto Donovan, whose expression turned ugly. The expert he'd contacted indeed turned down the offer after seeing the company address. He lowered his gaze to the documents on his desk and was momentarily at a loss for words.

Noelle continued, "The first time I registered on the black market was when Frank's tech company ran into trouble. I wanted to teach myself programming so I could help.

"Later, Frank found out and forbade me from getting involved with the black market again."