Page 17 of Falling for the Grumpy Bad Boy

“Yeah, just work stuff. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay, caro. Be safe.”

I slipped the phone back into my jacket pocket and followed the sound around the corner to where a small bench sat tucked against the building. It was clearly meant for employee breaks. There was a small ashtray bolted to the wall next to the bench.

Clementine sat on the bench, her face buried in her hands, shoulders shaking with quiet sobs.

Fuck.

I didn’t like crying women. Technically, I didn’t like crying anyone. Other people’s emotions were a giant minefield. She hadn’t seen me. I could walk away and leave her to her tears.

But something about the young woman pulled at my heartstrings. That was a good sign. It meant I wasn’t completely dead inside.

So, I went for it.

She looked up when she heard my footsteps. I watched her try to compose herself, wiping at her eyes and straightening her spine. Even crying, she was beautiful. The thought irritated me. It was not the time or place for my inconvenient attraction.

“Hey,” I said, keeping my voice gentle, which wasn’t my natural tone. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, forcing a watery smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s nothing. It’s dumb.”

“Most things are.” I moved closer but didn’t sit down, not wanting to crowd her when she was already upset.

For a moment, I thought she was going to brush me off, give me some polite lie about being tired or overwhelmed. But then her composure cracked again, and the words came spilling out.

“I thought Hwan was taking an interest in me because he genuinely saw some talent,” she said. “I’ve been working so hard, trying to learn everything I can about this business. When he offered to give me some advice, I thought… God, I’m so naive.”

My jaw tightened. I had a feeling I knew where this was going, and I already didn’t like it.

“What happened?” I asked, though part of me didn’t want to hear the answer. I sat down on the bench, making sure I didn’t touch her.

“As soon as he got me alone, out of my dad’s sight, he put the moves on me.” The words came out bitter and hurt. “Told me I was sexy, gave me his hotel room key. Said if I wanted his advice about the industry, he would be happy to go over everything thoroughly in his room… alone.”

Adrenaline flooded my system like I had been physically threatened. Fight or flight, but flight had never been in my vocabulary. The anger was cold and calculating, the kind that made me dangerous when I needed to be.

And I could be a very dangerous man.

Hwan was supposed to be a professional. He was a respected chef with a reputation built over decades, and he was using that position to prey on a young woman who was just trying to learn the business. The fact that she was Desman’s daughter made it worse. I knew the guy was supposed to be a family friend. Hwan was someone who could be trusted.

“Did he touch you?” I asked, my voice carefully controlled.

“No,” she said quickly. “No, nothing like that. But the way he looked at me, the things he said. I felt so stupid. I actually thought he was interested in mentoring me.”

I wanted to put my hand on her shoulder, to offer some kind of physical comfort, but I kept my hands to myself. The last thing she needed right now was another man invading her personal space, even with good intentions.

And definitely not a man like me.

“You’re not stupid,” I said. “He’s a predator using his position to manipulate younger women. This isn’t your fault.”

Hwan was a powerful figure in the culinary world, with connections and influence that could make or break careers. Going up against him would be risky, especially for someone just starting out like Clem. But letting him get away with it meant he’d just do it to someone else. And I had a feeling he was going to remind her tattling on him would destroy her.

She looked up at me with those teary eyes and it was more than I could handle. I was a world-class prick but making a woman cry was not okay.

“The motherfucker is an asshole,” I hissed.

I jumped to my feet. I was not going to sit out here and watch her cry.

That fucker needed to learn a lesson.

And lucky for him, I was a great teacher.