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Well, two could play at this game. If Colin wanted to pretend that nothing happened between them, then she would happily oblige. Maybe not happily, but still. Her willpower had proven to be shamefully weak when it came to Colin Song. It wasn’t that she had forgotten why she couldn’t be with him, but when she was with him, it all seemed so distant and...trivial.
What harm could a brief fling do? She knew how to be discreet in her affairs. No one had to find out. Then what was holding her back? You’re afraid of wanting more. That’s what. Colin Song’s pull on her was something she’d never felt with anyone else. And the spirit she’d hidden deep inside her to appease her parents flared back to life in response. Wanting him, having him, could mean the unraveling of the precarious balance she had forced on her life.
And she didn’t think she wanted to lose that balance. She was...content with the little bit of freedom she found in the United States, and working on Best Placed Bets was a longtime dream finally coming true. She just needed to get lost in her work. That was her safe place. She was confident when she worked and was damn good at what she did. She never had to doubt or second-guess her business instincts. Jihae could not let a man make her falter.
She had been summoned to do her father’s bidding—through the impersonal email of his executive assistant—for yet another affiliate. The brain-numbing job of smiling and reassuring Rotelle Chemical that Chairman Park was pleased with their work and dining on tiny, expensive meals should keep her busy for the day. Then it was on to two other facilities for the opening of their factories. Spending a week away from LA, and Colin, would do her good. It would slow down her libido from hyperdrive. And when she returned, she would focus 100 percent on her job.
Jihae returned to LA after a week away, but focusing 100 percent on her job was turning out to be a pipe dream. She’d missed the darn man during her entire trip, and now that she was back, their kiss refused to leave her head.
“You’re doing it again,” June said, barely glancing up from the TV.
It was their weekly movie-bingeing night. It really was part of Jihae’s job, but watching the movies with June made it a lot more fun. But then again, her best friend was being massively irritating at the moment.
“No, I’m not,” Jihae insisted, making sure she wasn’t wearing the slightest smile or frown on her face. In other words, she slid on her Princess Jihae face.
“Remember, your ice-princess mask doesn’t work on me, dummy.”
“Will you just stop it?” She took a huge bite of her pizza.
“I’m just saying.” June shrugged and munched on her own slice. “That kiss wasn’t just a lapse in good judgment, like you insist. You get that sparkling Disney princess face every time you daydream about it. Then, you turn all red and blotchy, and get psychopath-eyed.”
“Shut up. Please.” It was true, so Jihae didn’t want to hear it.
“He still hasn’t called you?”
“No,” she said, sliding her plate away from her. Her ravenous appetite had vanished like magic. Instead, she reached for her red wine and took a healthy gulp. “Kimberly is lining up the interviews. She’s been keeping you posted, right?”
“Right. So you’re avoiding direct contact with him, as well?” June rolled her eyes. “You guys are so juvenile.”
The week spent away from LA and Rotelle Entertainment, and pretending that nothing had happened between her and Colin, had not made Jihae forget the kiss they’d shared in the dark, glowing hallways of the aquarium. His taste, his warmth, his smell. Her body heated up by several degrees every time she remembered their kiss. It wasn’t just the physical pleasure of the encounter, but the connection she’d felt with him. He’d made her feel safe and cherished, like she’d never felt before. And more than anything, she wanted to feel that again despite all logic dictating against a repeat of their kiss.
But then, he’d just up and left. Acted as though nothing had happened between them. And as June pointed out, he hadn’t said a word to her since he’d dropped her off at her car that day. She felt bewildered and indignant...and she just wanted to hear his voice. So much.
This foreign need inside her to yearn so desperately for someone both frightened her and made her feel more alive. When it came to business, she never hesitated to reach for what she wanted. Why did this have to be any different? Certainly, there were risks and obstacles, but weren’t risks and obstacles present in everything worth having in life?
She tried to convince herself that it was her lady parts doing the thinking. That if she’d wanted a chance to be with Colin Song, she shouldn’t have partnered Rotelle Entertainment with CS Productions. But it was no good. She wanted the partnership and Colin.
It was a relief to finally admit to herself that she wanted Colin Song. And she was going to win him over. No man had ever made her feel the way he did, and maybe no other man ever would. She needed to take this chance to explore her attraction to him.
But would a personal relationship with him impact their working relationship? She and Colin were mature adults and professionals. They would be able to keep their personal life separate from their work. Besides, how different could it be from their current situation? She already thought of him constantly and discreetly ogled him when he was around. She just had to remember not to make her infatuation obvious to everyone around them.
She was a smart woman. She knew how to be careful and neutralize risks. Even her father had never found out about her other lovers. Well, there were only two of them, but she had chosen men who hadn’t come from money, men her father wouldn’t have approved of. Men she respected. If her father had known, he wouldn’t have looked the other way. There was no reason she couldn’t keep her personal interactions with Colin a secret. But what if you want something lasting with him? Something real?
The thought came unbidden, and she had no answers. As far as she knew, he didn’t come from a well-known, wealthy family. Her father would frown on such “lack of pedigree.” Was she willing to oppose her father to be with a man her family wouldn’t accept? Would she be willing to give up Rotelle Entertainment for Colin? Never mind all that. She would cross that road if she ever got to it.
“I wasn’t allowed to be juvenile even when I was a child. I’m not going to start acting like a child as a grown woman,” Jihae announced to a startled June, who thought she’d had the last word.
“Okay, then. Are you going to call him?”
“Nope.”
“For God’s sake—”
Jihae cut her off before she could resume her nagging. “I’m going to see him in person.”
“Right on,” June said, raising her palm in the air.
She high-fived her friend and stood up. “Right now.”
