by Jayci Lee
“My God,” she whispered in a raspy, awe-filled voice. “That was brilliant.”
“Anytime, sweetheart,” he replied, his voice muffled, his shoulders shaking with laughter against her. After a moment, he raised his head to look into her face. “It was my absolute pleasure.”
That was the most amazing, mind-blowing sex she’d ever had, but he managed to make her want him again with just a crooked smile and a few husky words. She wanted this after-sex warmth to last, but realized they would soon have to untangle their limbs and get off the couch. Then what? Would he expect her to leave right away? No, he wouldn’t be that callous; he’d said he wanted this to be a real relationship, at least while it lasted.
So, putting aside her trepidation, she simply asked, “Do you want to watch a movie?”
“Absolutely,” he said as he shifted his weight off her.
“Perfect.” Jihae must’ve sighed in relief because a knowing grin spread across Colin’s face. “I mean, good. I’m glad.”
“Here.” He handed her the remote control, then began picking his clothes up off the floor. “You choose the movie and I’ll pop the popcorn after I clean up.”
Colin was sweet and considerate, and she sighed dreamily. She wasn’t going to hope for an unattainable future, but would enjoy the here and now to the fullest. Because the here and now was pretty fantastic.
* * *
Colin had been wearing a stupid grin on his face all day. He and Jihae were dating. It was a secret, and it belonged only to them. Hell. He was a grown-ass man, acting like a giddy high-schooler. If he hadn’t been buried in work, he would’ve been drawing heart curlicues on his notepad. Fortunately, the sheer size of his workload prevented him from making an even bigger fool of himself.
To be discreet, they hadn’t appeared in public together more than once a week, and they were even more careful about spending time at each other’s places. They took advantage of as many chances as possible to see each other in their business capacity, but it was a far cry from spending time alone with her. The curtailed opportunities for privacy were frustrating, but it made each meeting all the more precious.
The script was close to being finalized—it was even better than his highest expectations—and the auditions were scheduled to commence in the next month or so. Other than relaying the author’s suggestions to the director, he and Jihae would be relatively hands-off in the initial creative process. They trusted Cora, and the casting director she brought on board, to do an amazing job.
But they definitely wanted to be present when the candidates for the female and male leads did their readings. In a romantic comedy, the hero and heroine’s chemistry was crucial to whether the movie worked or not. They wanted sparks coming off the lead actors when they were together on screen. Cora had some strong favorites she wanted to work with. He and Jihae also saw great potential in her choices, but they wouldn’t know for certain until they saw the candidates read together in person.
He leaned back in his chair and stretched out his stiff neck and shoulders. The clock on his monitor told him it was already past seven thirty in the evening. Damn. He’d wanted to mix business with pleasure with Jihae tonight, but she might already have had dinner. He sat upright and texted her, his pulse picking up speed.
Hungry?
Her response was almost immediate. I’m starving, baby.
He choked on a laugh even as his shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He loved her sexy sass.
I could fix that. What about for food?
Hungry for that, too.
Then allow me to fix that, as well. Where should we meet?
Somewhere that serves cheesy, decadent pizza.
He gave her the name of the perfect place for her craving. She was a bit closer to the restaurant than he, so he only had time to write one more email before he closed shop. That minuscule act of discipline made him feel a bit more in control of himself, and he was able to stop himself from running to his car.
Despite his attempts to slow down, he arrived early at the restaurant. He always came before Jihae. Not that she had a habit of running late, but he simply enjoyed the anticipation of waiting for her arrival, with his heart pumping a little faster each passing minute.
When she finally walked into the restaurant, his stomach clenched in a visceral reaction to her presence. She was wearing a white pantsuit with a pale, off-white blouse. Her patent-leather, nude stilettos completed her signature look. She exuded aloof sophistication and ice-cold detachment. He couldn’t believe how well she carried off her public image when he knew how contrary it was to her true personality.
“You look lovely,” he said softly into her ear while pulling out her chair.
“Thank you.” Her expression remained carefully neutral but a splash of pink stained her cheeks.
“This place has the best New York-style pizza you’ll find on the West Coast.” He took his seat across from her and opened up his menu.
“Yum. I’m starving.”
“So you’ve said,” he drawled, staring pointedly at her perfect red lips.
“Now behave.” She arched an eyebrow at him. The subtle twitch at the corner of her lips betrayed that she was holding back a smile.
“When have I not?” Other than tugging her into a stairwell the last time they’d met to kiss the hell out of her only to find the door locked behind them. They’d had to climb five stories to find an open door. And that other time... Now that he thought of it, he’d misbehaved quite a lot.
Jihae gave him the subtlest eye roll in the world. Actually, he only recognized it as an eye roll from spending so much time with her. Her every emotion and expression was subdued to the point of stoicism in public, but he soaked up her barely there smiles and the teasing twinkle in her eyes that were meant only for him.
As dinner progressed, however, Jihae’s subtle smiles and gentle teasing grew dim, and her eyes took on a distracted, faraway look every time there was a slight pause in their conversation.
“Hey,” Colin said, reaching across the table to touch her hand. But he hastily withdrew as soon as he realized what he was doing. PDA was not a risk they wanted to take. “Is everything all right? You’re hiding it well, but you seem distraught. We could talk about it in private later, if you’d like.”
“No, everything is fine. I’m fine. I’m just knackered.” She looked down at her pizza and pulled off a pepperoni to pop in her mouth. “I had a three-hour meeting with the Korean production team on one of our celebrity reality shows. They’re a well-oiled machine but it was a lot to catch up on.”
“That must’ve been draining.” She was hiding something from him, and nausea rose in his throat. Was it about her meeting with Yami Corporation’s CFO? He hadn’t heard back from Garrett about the PI’s progress, and it’d been weeks. “Once you finish your pizza, we’ll get out of here. Okay?”
“That’ll be nice. Thank you.” But again, her smile fell short of reaching her eyes.
“Should we go to your place, so you don’t have to go out again?”
“No,” she said in a rush. “I mean... I’d like to go to your place tonight.”
“Sure. We’ll do that.”
They were quiet on the drive to his condo, each of them lost in their own thoughts. What was she hiding from him? More than ever, he believed her innocence. Throughout the film production, Jihae was always the first to ensure that everything was aboveboard. If there was ever the slightest doubt, she would err on the side of being shortchanged rather than injure the other party. The Jihae he knew would never involve herself in any unethical behavior, much less corporate espionage. But something had happened today and he wanted to find out what. Was it about Yami Corp.?
Once they were inside, he helped Jihae out of her jacket and hung it in the entryway. She stepped out of her heels with a sigh and plopped herself down on the sofa like a limp doll. He
couldn’t fight the smile that pulled at his lips. He loved it. He loved how she just let go and relaxed when she was alone with him.
He followed her to the sofa, pulled up her legs onto his lap and gently massaged the ball of her foot.
“Mmm. You’re good at that,” she said, her eyelids fluttering shut.
“I’m good at a lot of things,” he joked, moving on to the arch.
“And ever so humble.”
He tickled her for that response and nearly got kicked in the jaw. “Whoa, watch it. You could’ve broken something.”
“Sorry. I seriously could have,” she said, breathless from laughter. “I’m really, really ticklish.”
“That doesn’t sound right.” He ran his hand up the back of her legs. “I’ve touched you everywhere and you haven’t reacted like this before.”
“Just on my feet. I’m only ticklish there.”
“Thank goodness. Otherwise, I’ll get a good beating every time we make love.”
“Aw, poor Colin. Did I scare you? We could take a break tonight if you want.”
“Not on your life,” he growled, pouncing on her. “I already don’t get to have you often enough. I wouldn’t stay away from you even if you were covered in sharp needles.”
She giggled and pretended to push him off her, but he made quick work of trapping her arms above her head. “Can we at least go to your bedroom tonight? I feel like we rarely make it that far before we rip each other’s clothes off.”
“As you wish.”
He stood from the couch, lifted her into his arms and carried her into his room. After laying her down on the bed, he unbuttoned and shrugged out of his shirt as Jihae watched with rapt attention. As he unclasped his belt, a familiar ringtone sounded from his back pocket. Garrett. And all his trepidation from earlier in the evening rushed back to him.
“God, I’m sorry,” he said, pulling out his phone. “I need to take this.”
“Go right ahead. I’m not going anywhere.”
Colin left the bedroom and walked into his study, making sure to close the door behind him.
“Garrett.”
“Hey, little cousin. What are you up to? You sound a bit out of breath. Did I interrupt your workout?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes. So, what’s going on? Any news on the lead?” Colin deliberately exhaled when he noticed that he was holding his breath.
“As a matter of fact, there is, but I thought we might exchange some social niceties like normal people first.”
“Since when do the Songs engage in small talk over the phone?”
“I guess you have a point.” Garrett chuckled on the other end.
“So tell me. Was there any movement from Yami Corporation?”
“Yes. Yami’s CFO, Sylvia Taylor, finally met with Jihae Park at a coffee shop this afternoon.”
Colin’s heart drummed against his ribs. “Did we have ears on them?”
“Our PI had someone planted a couple tables away.”
“What—what did they talk about?” he asked, both eager and afraid to hear the answer.
“The conversation was convoluted and brief. Taylor asked Jihae Park about how her father was doing and whether Rotelle was running smoothly. Park effectively shut her down and asked for the reason she wanted an introduction to NAM.”
“Then what?”
“Taylor said her father owed her, and Park should just do as she was told.”
Colin almost laughed. Jihae would not have liked that. “What happened next?”
“She told Taylor in no uncertain terms that there will be no introductions to the talent agency unless there were legitimate reasons for it.”
Atta girl. “So, did Taylor succumb and tell her everything?”
“Basically, but nothing of use to us. She wanted Park to pressure executives at NAM to have their big-name stars endorse Yami Corporation’s apparel. Be seen wearing it and share how much they love it on social media. All for free.”
“That’s ridiculous. Jihae would never ask for something like that from NAM. She values them as colleagues.”
“I guess Taylor thought NAM would rather do Park’s bidding than lose Rotelle Entertainment’s goodwill.”
“That may very well be true, but Taylor wanted to take advantage of NAM. It’s far from a fair deal. Jihae would never stand for that.”
There was a short pause. “You sound pretty confident about that.”
“I am.” Colin clenched his fists, ready to defend Jihae if his cousin questioned her integrity.
But all Garrett said was “Huh.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means huh. Why does it have to mean anything?” There was a smile in his cousin’s voice. Was Colin that obvious about his feelings for Jihae? “Anyway, the only information that we gleaned from their meeting was that Sylvia Taylor believes Chairman Park owes her. Just more circumstantial evidence.”
“So how did the meeting end?”
“Park told Taylor to go pound sand, and Taylor left in a huff, threatening that her father won’t be happy about this. Maybe Taylor has something on Chairman Park and is pressuring him for favors. But could she be so foolish as to anger the chairman? If she was, then she was playing with fire. The bastard might humor her for now, but he will bury her for daring to pressure him.” Garrett’s sigh communicated his frustration across the line. “But again, it’s all speculation and conjecture. We got nothing, which means we’re back to square one.”
“We did get something. This meeting proves that Jihae Park is innocent. She obviously doesn’t know what Rotelle Corporation’s connection to Yami is about. She was forced to play the middleman, but she walked away.”
“Again, it’s all just conjecture at this point, and it isn’t Park’s innocence that we’re trying to prove but Rotelle’s guilt.”
But it wasn’t conjecture. Jihae could’ve inadvertently been pulled into the espionage scheme, but she’d distanced herself from the situation. She was innocent but the situation reeked of her father’s guilt.
“So what’s next?” Colin dragged his fingers through his hair, pacing his office.
“We need to continue keeping an eye on Sylvia Taylor and Jihae Park.”
“On Jihae? She’s not a part of this.”
“We don’t know that for sure. She may even be the key to solving this case.”
Colin blew out a frustrated breath, not liking the idea of Jihae being watched. It could also reveal their relationship, but he would deal with that later. He needed to protect Jihae from being under the PI’s surveillance.
“Look, Garrett. I’m sure Grandmother has relayed to you that I’m working with Rotelle Entertainment while keeping an eye on Jihae Park. From everything I’ve seen so far, I believe her innocence. But if she ever diverges from that, I’ll be there to see it. Jihae is already under casual surveillance by her father’s people. Following her would only risk the PI’s cover and expose our investigation.”
“I see your point. Then we’ll leave Jihae Park up to you and focus on Taylor.” There was a slight pause on the line. “Colin, I appreciate you doing this for the family, but be careful. You don’t need to risk your dream for us or Hansol. If things get too hot, I want you to stop and focus on producing your film. Is that a deal?”
“Deal.” A small smile quirked Colin’s lips. Garrett was like an older brother to him, and he appreciated how he always looked out for him. “Thanks for the advice, hyung.”
The weight on his shoulders feeling significantly lighter, Colin walked back to his bedroom. Jihae was asleep exactly where he’d left her. She slept with her hand tucked under her chin like a child. He could imagine touching her skin and finding it hard and cold as porcelain, she was so perfect in her sleep. Then her pouty lips blew out a soft breath that sounded like puuuu.
&n
bsp; He wasn’t quick enough to cover up his snort but managed to hold back his laughter with his hand over his mouth. He loved that sound. It was so adorable. She always did that—blew out puffs of air like she was trying to extinguish a row of birthday candles—when she was especially tired.
Still laughing softly, he tiptoed to the dresser and searched for a blanket, since she was sleeping over the duvet. He pulled out a soft knit throw and laid it gently over Jihae’s sleeping form. He badly wanted to climb into bed with her and hold her as she slept, but no alarm would wake him if he got that cozy. Frustratingly, sleepovers weren’t allowed in their secrecy pact, so he would need to wake her up in a couple of hours to send her home.
Colin walked to the kitchen and got some coffee going. He would stay awake and catch up on some work. Then he would provide Jihae with the most erotic and satisfying wake-up service she’d ever had.
Ten
“Sylvia Taylor is trying to leech off NAM and their clients. I’m not a brainless pawn you can push around,” she said in a commanding tone she’d never used with her father. “I know I haven’t been a perfect daughter to you, but if you see me as an intelligent human being, you have to let me make my own decisions.”
“You have always been too soft. And stubborn. If you are aware that you’ve disappointed your mother and me, you should obey me without question.”
It didn’t come as a surprise that her father would take a hard line with her. But that didn’t mean she was going to take it lying down.
“Why are you so set on helping Ms. Taylor?”
“Who says I’m set on helping her? You don’t need to know anything other than the fact that I want you to do this favor for Taylor. I am keeping you in the dark for your own good.”
“No. I refuse to do it.” Jihae’s heart pounded so loudly she was afraid she wouldn’t hear her father’s response. She had never outright defied her father except for her rebellion after college.
“Then I will remove you from your position at Rotelle Entertainment effective immediately.” It wasn’t an idle threat. He wouldn’t hesitate to take away what was most important to her. Unless it wasn’t in his best interest.