Chapter 12 You Live Here Too

To Whitney's surprise, it was Noel. She hadn't expected the person waiting outside the elevator who guided her through the ordeal to be him. No wonder he had called her by name. But how did he know she was trapped in the elevator? "Thank you, Mr. Howard." "It's nothing." The property management staff thanked Noel and then asked Whitney if she felt unwell and needed to go to the hospital. Whitney shook her head, saying there was no need. She was just a bit shaken, nothing more. Once the staff left, she turned to thank Noel. "Thank you. You saved me again." This was the second time he had come to her rescue. As much as she tried to avoid any entanglement with him, fate seemed intent on making her owe him. But she was genuinely thankful. Hearing his voice in the elevator had truly calmed her nerves. Noel lowered his gaze. His deep eyes lingered on her for a moment behind his silver-framed glasses. Then, picking up the umbrella against the wall, he said coolly, "Don't play hard to get over and over again. Men will get tired of it." "What?" Whitney looked at him, confused. The comment was so out of the blue that she had no idea what he meant. Noel shook off the rain from his umbrella. "Move back home. At least you won't have to worry about getting stuck in the elevator again." Whitney frowned at his words. She tried to put his words together, and finally, she understood what he meant. Her gratitude turned to anger at once. "You think I'm doing this on purpose to get Damian's attention?" "Aren't you?" Noel asked with a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Do you really plan on breaking up with him?" Whitney fell silent at once. She wanted to end things, but reality made it hard to simply walk away. And after all, it was eight years of devotion. It wasn't easy to let go. "Thank you for saving me again, but my relationship with Damian is my business. I don't need you worrying about it." After saying that, she pressed her lips into a line and moved past Noel without a second glance. Even though the elevator was fixed, she didn't know if it would break down again. So, she took the stairs home instead. Frustrated, Whitney found herself moving quickly up the stairs. By the time she reached the eighth floor, she was out of breath and had to slow down. As she did, she heard footsteps below. Whitney peered down to see Noel following her at a steady pace. What now? Had he not given her enough advice and was now coming to lecture her more? "What are you doing following me?" she snapped. "Are you thinking of going to my place to continue mocking me?" When Noel reached the landing between the seventh and eighth floors, his breathing was still steady, showing no sign of fatigue. "I'm going home," he replied coldly. As he ascended, he added, "If you keep a steady pace, you won't feel out of breath." Whitney stopped, dumbfounded. "You live here too?" By then, Noel had already passed her. His voice floated down from above. "Is that a problem?" Upon hearing his reply, Whitney decided to drop the conversation. Taking his advice, she climbed more slowly. There were only a few steps between them. Whitney noticed that he hadn't stopped even after a long time. She wondered which floor he actually lived on. They both finally stopped on the 16th floor. Noel went to the door across from hers and unlocked it. "You live across from me?" Whitney was astonished. The same neighborhood, the same building, and even the same floor? In the few days since she moved in, she hadn't seen anyone or heard a sound from across the hall, so she had assumed the place was empty. "I moved in yesterday." Noel looked at her. "Anything else you'd like to ask?" Whitney shut her mouth. Where he chose to live was his own business. Judging by Noel's attitude, he probably didn't even know she lived across from him, let alone harbor any intention of clinging to her over that night. "Nope," she replied and turned to unlock her own door. Noel waited until she was inside, then closed his own door and dialed Thomas' number. "What happened earlier? Why did you hang up halfway?" Thomas asked on the other end. Earlier, Noel had been on the phone with Thomas when he overheard a property management staff member mention that a Ms. Spencer from H-16-1 was stuck in the elevator. He immediately hung up and rushed to Building H. When he saw that the elevator was stuck on the fifth floor, he sprinted up the stairs. "My phone died." … The next morning, Whitney was ready to leave for work. Just as she was about to turn the doorknob, her hand paused. She looked out through the peephole. The hallway was quiet, and the door across from hers was still closed. Satisfied, she quickly left. She had hoped they wouldn't cross paths often, but it turned out they lived in the same building and were directly across the hall from each other. Great. Now, they'd be bumping into each other all the time. This would only make things awkward. Sighing, Whitney made her way to the office. While organizing the meeting minutes, she noticed something was missing, so she asked Sophie, "Didn't Mr. Howard have a video conference last night? Did you forget to print the minutes?" Sophie looked at her in surprise. "He had a video conference last night?"