AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s a lot of food.” She sounded more delighted than worried.
Without further delay, they dug in. Damn. It was heavenly.
“So? What do you think?” Colin waited expectantly for her response.
But she’d just taken an enormous bite—her cheeks expanded like a chipmunk’s—and could only nod enthusiastically. After swallowing, Jihae grinned dreamily at him. “Oh, my goodness. The last twenty-seven years of my life have been a total waste. What was I doing when there was food like this to inhale?”
She continued to surprise and enchant him. She took another bite of her loaded hot dog, leaving behind a dollop of sour cream on the corner of her lips. Without thinking, Colin reached across the table and grasped her chin. To his great pleasure, her lips parted on a soft sigh as he gently brushed the pad of his thumb at the corner of her mouth, and her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings. He quickly withdrew his hand and leaned back in his seat as though he’d touched fire.
“Sour cream,” he choked out.
“Oh.” Jihae flushed a bright pink as she grabbed her napkin and scrubbed at her lips. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” he said with forced nonchalance.
Jihae recovered from her brief embarrassment, and he managed to drive out his lusty thoughts. Barely. They ate in amicable silence, and quickly cleaned off their plates. She ate like she meant it. He liked that.
“Best Placed Bets is going to be amazing. I can feel it,” she said as soon as they’d cleared the table.
“Charity is going to do an incredible job with Jeannie’s beautiful story.”
“I know.” Jihae sighed happily, then asked in a slightly hushed voice, “Who do you think should play our heroine? I think Sandy Lim is a good candidate.”
“Sandy’s great, but I think finding someone new and fresh might be the way to go.”
“I hear what you’re saying, but there are some risks involved there.”
“There are risks to everything,” he countered with a shrug. He was grinning broadly because he even enjoyed disagreeing with her. The slight tension and the anticipation of how she would respond made adrenaline rush through his veins.
“Of course there are, and taking the right kind of risks is essential to good filmmaking.” She smiled back at him, seeming to enjoy herself as much as he was. “But maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Our future director might have something to say about the matter, too.”
“True, and I want us to be closely involved in the location scouting,” he said. “There are some scenes in my head that I see so clearly that anything different will feel off.”
“I hope our visions are aligned because I have several scenes that are dear to my heart, as well.”
They grew silent as they gazed at each other, and their smiles waned. She felt it, too. The electricity hummed between them. This was merely the start of their partnership, and they were going to spend much more time together. They couldn’t let every lull in their conversation become charged with desire. But how do you stop something this instinctive and fierce?
He coughed into his hand and broke the silence. “We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
“Yes,” she said emphatically, her business face back in place. “Why don’t we call it a night? We’re going to need all our energy to get this project off to a proper start.”
And they were going to spend half that energy just to resist each other. Colin prayed fervently that their attraction was a fleeting thing...not believing for a moment that it was.
Five
With an impatient sigh, Jihae scrolled through her never-ending emails. It was close to six o’clock, the new close-of-business she’d promised June. She had cheated a bit by starting her day at seven, but her friend didn’t need to know that.
She pushed away her mouse and leaned back in her chair, drumming her fingers on her thighs. There was no use trying to concentrate with only five minutes left until quitting time. She logged off and stood from her desk. Unsure of what to do next, she paced her office in an agitated to-and-fro. She couldn’t understand her peculiar mood. It wasn’t only her disquiet at how much of a distraction Colin Song was promising to be, but for the first time, work hadn’t been enough to fill her day.
Jihae was discontented and restless. That was why she felt so off. She’d gotten a taste of freedom through her “business meetings” with Colin, and remembered how much she used to long for it—to lead a normal life outside the range of her parents’ censuring eyes.
She would indulge in just one more adventure to get the restlessness out of her system. What was something she’d never done before? There were so many things she’d missed out on... What could she do? Then one bright idea lit up in her head.
“June.” Jihae peeked out of her office, and motioned for June to come inside. “Psst, psst.”
“Quiet. You’re making a ruckus,” June said, deadpan, not looking up from her computer. Her friend didn’t stand from her desk until she’d typed a quick succession of words on her keyboard. Then, and only then, did she stride into Jihae’s office. “Now, tell me. Why are you flagging me down like a crazy woman?”
She burst out laughing. June loved teasing her about her reserved manner at work. But her friend would be surprised to know that Jihae felt far from reserved right now. She was craving fun and excitement.
