Page 5 of Conquered

“I-No. My mom brought me to America when I was 2 years old and I have not been back since.”

“That sucks,” he muttered.

“Yeah. Tell me about it,” Noelle muttered back, remembering the dilemma regarding the working permit and her immigration status.

“You own this place?”

Noelle sighed deeply and answered, “Yes.”

“Married? Single?” Hunter asked curiously.

“I swore off on marriage years ago. But I do have a son, Nikko. So, yes. Single.”

Noelle realized his questions bordered on the personal but admittedly, she felt no qualms about sharing that aspect of her life.

He gave her a quizzical look.

“How can someone as beautiful as you elude marriage?”

He was staring at her candidly. She hoped there were no more flour smudges on her face. Then she realized he was waiting for a reply.

"Marriage is not all that it's hyped to be. First, you need to have a boyfriend. And if that boyfriend turns out to be an asshole, you just thank your lucky stars you didn't make that walk down the aisle.”

“You’re a wise woman Noelle Mancini.”

She looked at him and raised her brows, “So I assume you’re single too?”

Hunter inhaled deeply and replied, “Yes I am.”

Her heart wanted to burst into a jubilant rendition of the “Hallelujah Song…”

“And I plan to stay that way.”

… and then plummeted down to the floor.

“ Why’s that?” asked Noelle.

“I have come to realize that my value as a person is in tandem with my bank account. I’ll need both my finger and toes to count the number of times an attractive woman “ran into me by accident only to discover she’s actually done extensive research where I normally hang out, what my favorite food is, who my friends are. You get the picture?”

“ Not all women are the same, Hunter. You have just been unlucky ” Noelle added with an assuring smile. “Take your time. It’s not like women will go out of style anytime soon. You don’t have to rush into marriage.” Noelle advised innocently.

“Not if some people had their way," Hunter muttered darkly.

Noelle thought that was a strange remark but decided not to question further as she noticed Hunter looking away.

“You work around here?” Noelle veered the subject wisely

“Yes, I work over at the Blackwell Building on 5thAvenue,” Hunter replied.

Noelle was familiar with the address. It was an impressive 60-storey structure of steel and glass with an iconic courtyard that housed some of the finest culinary dining experiences in the entire city. The inhabitants of that building were technocrats, bankers, engineers and accountants dressed in three-piece suits and expensive leather shoes. He wasn’t dressed that way at all.

Noelle’s curiosity stirred. Did he work in one of the restaurants and heard about her secret recipes? In her little world, Noelle was famous for substituting herb and spice with exotic seasonings that made her sandwiches unique. She had labored long and hard for those recipes. Next to her son Nikko, the recipes were her treasured possession.

Mr. Brain had every intention to prove he had dominance over Mrs. Heart. Maybe he was spying on her. That could explain the reason he asked that she chose the food to serve him.

“What exactly do you there?” She asked suspiciously.

Hunter looked at her and shook his head.