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“Okay. See you tomorrow, friend.”
When the door clicked shut, Jihae had the sudden urge to run after everyone. What happened to cool professionalism, Princess? She was in an odd mood and blamed it on Colin Song. Jihae wouldn’t be feeling so lonely if she’d never known how warm and cherished she felt in his arms. She tsked impatiently. Stop being unreasonable. Pushing Colin from her thoughts, she turned her attention to her inbox.
Confidential: Top Priority jumped out at her from the top of her unread emails. It was from her father, which startled her. He usually left emails and such to his executive assistant. With trepidation, Jihae clicked open the email, and what she found inside befuddled her.
Introduce Yami Corporation’s CFO to one of your contacts at NAM.
That was it. The terseness was expected but the content made no sense to her. She’d never heard of Yami Corporation. If she had to guess, they were an apparel company. She might’ve seen a bus-bench ad featuring a model wearing their jeans.
She wasn’t directly involved with Rotelle Corporation’s businesses, but she had some knowledge of which companies they did business with. Yami wasn’t one of them. Besides, fashion was one of the few industries that Rotelle didn’t dabble in. Why would Father want her to introduce Yami Corporation’s CFO to a talent agency?
None of it made sense. She checked the time and calculated that her father might be awake. He was something of an insomniac.
“Father,” she said when he picked up after a few rings as expected.
“What is it?”
“Your email. It doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s not your job to understand but to do as I instructed you,” he said dismissively.
She forged on despite his tone. “Since when did Rotelle do business with Yami Corporation? Isn’t that an apparel company? We don’t do apparel.”
“You don’t know everything. Far from it.”
“I don’t want to know everything. I just need to know why Yami’s CFO wants an introduction to NAM.”
“How the hell should I know? Just do as you’re told and stop wasting my time with incessant questions.” His terse tone warned her that she didn’t have much time.
“My connection to the talent agency is important for my job. For Rotelle Entertainment. I can’t jeopardize it by pushing a stranger on them for reasons unknown.”
There was a brief pause as he considered her words, and Jihae’s grip on her phone tightened.
“You can deal with the details of the introduction directly with Yami’s CFO. If she tries to ask you questions relating to Rotelle Corporation, tell her you don’t know anything. Which is the truth. You’re merely my representative.” He sighed quietly. “I need someone I can trust to handle this.”
Her father sounded so weary that her heart constricted. “I understand, Father. I’ll take care of it.”
“Good.”
“Father...” She hesitated, wanting to ask him if he was okay. The line went dead before she could say another word.
While she doubted there was any information, Jihae searched the internet for any connection between Rotelle and Yami. Not surprisingly, she found nothing. What she did find left a bad taste in her mouth. Yami Corporation had competed against Hansol for a partnership with Vivotex. The mention of Hansol still brought with it a twinge of humiliation even though she had cheered on Garrett Song in her head. He had been brave to marry the woman he loved rather than marry the woman chosen for him by his family. She closed the browser window resolutely. She didn’t care what Yami had to do with Hansol.
The office was empty but the door was unlocked, so there was someone still there. Colin hoped that someone would be Jihae. He’d assiduously avoided her since the director interviews—he had Ethan and Kim deal with anything that required direct contact—but he knew that this cowardly tactic couldn’t last forever. He and Jihae were partners. They needed to work fluidly together without a middleman.
No matter how much her presence tempted him, he had to keep his attraction to her separate from CS Productions business. With the director selected and the casting underway, it was past time to discuss their future direction and to prioritize what had to get done. He told himself that was why he’d rushed to her office after hours, as he stood in front of her door.
Just as he was about to knock, he heard the murmur of her voice. He turned away thinking she was in a meeting or on the phone. But her next words froze him to the spot.
“Since when did Rotelle do business with Yami Corporation? Isn’t that an apparel company? We don’t do apparel.”
After a moment’s pause, she continued, “I don’t want to know everything. I just need to know why Yami’s CFO wants an introduction to NAM.”
Colin couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, which meant she was on the phone. His heart pounded against his chest, and sweat sprung out across his hairline. Yami Corporation wanted an introduction to NAM? And Jihae was supposed to do the honors? Why?
“My connection to the talent agency is important for my job. For Rotelle Entertainment. I can’t jeopardize it by pushing a stranger on them for reasons unknown,” she said.
For reasons unknown. The sudden elation caught him off guard. Blood pounded in his ears, and his chest rose up and down as he fought for his breath. Jihae knew nothing. His gut instinct hadn’t steered him wrong. She hadn’t been involved in the espionage. Colin had been worried that his judgment was compromised by his desire for her, but now he had proof of her innocence. The relief made him lightheaded.
