09
Jason scowled at the paparazzi swarming the Brightstar entrance plaza as Seong Hyeon drove them by. The ones camped outside his front gate had been bad enough, their relentless presence a constant reminder of his lack of privacy. They were technically trespassing. The plaza was private property. But Jason didn’t need the hassle of trying to have them removed, so he instructed Seong Hyeon to take them to the underground garage. He’d just use the private elevator instead.
It was Andre’s day off, so Carlos joined Seong Hyeon to escort Jason to the top floor. Despite his rosy brown cheeks and the friendly sparkle in his eye, his buzz cut was enough to say straight off base. He even wore his expensive suit like a military uniform. At one point, Jason would’ve wondered if Carlos was bothered by him being gay. But those days were gone. He’d moved up in the world and could afford to pay security guards enough that it didn’t matter.
Justice, Naomi’s new assistant, a handsome young Black man impeccably dressed in a slim-cut, navy blue suit, greeted Jason with a nod. In the past, Jason might have stopped to flirt with him. But those days were gone, too.
Pushing open the doors to Naomi’s office, the transformation hit him immediately. Gerald Park’s imposing desk still dominated the space. It probably wouldn’t even fit through the door if they tried to move it. But everything else screamed Naomi. Gone were the bland impressionist paintings, replaced with an explosion of wild, stylish prints and paintings that reflected her hip, Boho vibes. Lush greenery softened the stark, modern minimalism, and a new conference table near the windows offered a more welcoming place to meet instead of her desk.
“Good morning, Jason.” Naomi sat in her new lime green, high-backed executive chair, her posture radiating newfound confidence. But a hint of nervousness showed in her eyes as she waited for Jason’s verdict on her changes to his father’s old office.
Jason made a small production of taking in the new decor and grinned. “I love it.”
Naomi laughed with genuine relief. “Thank goodness! I know I’m messing with tradition, but–”
“Hey, we’re both rebels here.” Jason winked, gesturing towards one of the matching chairs facing her desk. “Mind if I join you?”
Naomi’s smile widened. “Please. Coffee?”
Jason eagerly nodded as he crossed to the chair and sank into it. Justice entered a moment later at Naomi’s silent summons. “Yes, Ms. Bell?”
“Two Americanos, please,” Naomi requested.
“Right away, Ms. Bell.”
Jason waited until Justice was gone before continuing. “I like him.”
“Then please don’t fuck him,” Naomi deadpanned.
Jason barked a sharp laugh. “Those days are well behind me, Ms. Bell. What happened to Lily?”
“She’s still with Big Hammer,” Naomi replied. “Frankly, neither of us thought she was Brightstar material.”
“Probably not. Seong Hyeon keeps nagging me about getting an assistant.”
“You really should.” Naomi tilted her head and shrugged. “Are you still running Big Hammer?”
Jason frowned, the question catching him by surprise. He hadn’t given it much thought since before the funeral. “Yeah,” he finally said. “I guess so.”
Naomi grinned. “Then you already have one.”
Jason snorted. Maybe Lily wouldn’t mind returning to being his assistant now that he was more than just a cranky actor. “I’ll call her after this. Anyway,” he continued, hoping to change the subject, “I thought you’d be happy to hear that Tae Hyun’s first Tokyo show was a smash. Two encores! And his music streams in Japan tripled overnight.”
Naomi beamed. “That’s amazing. I’m so happy for him!”
“You basically made that happen, Naomi. You know how much we both appreciate that, right?”
Naomi pointedly tapped her new desk, a mischievous gleam in her eye. “Oh, I think I do.”
“Good.” Jason held his thought when Justice returned to deliver two perfectly made Americanos. “So, enough about me,” he continued, sipping his coffee. “How are you settling in here? Everything going alright?”
Naomi enthusiastically nodded. “Couldn’t be better. I’ve learned enough about Brightstar in the last two days to almost feel like an expert.”
Jason chuckled. He didn’t doubt it for a second. He knew that should’ve made him feel insecure. After all, she was talking about his family business. But he was mostly relieved. And proud. “Great. So, what’s the verdict?”
“Your father was a busy man,” Naomi mused, her tone subtly shifting to something like awe. “Had his hands in a lot of different pies.”
Jason nodded. “Yeah, he sure did.” Gerald Park had built the Brightstar Group on a foundation of cheaply made Korean imports and hefty markups. But his reach eventually extended far beyond that into a complex network of subsidiaries and holdings that Jason barely understood. “It was his way.”
“You’ll get a closer look at some of it today,” Naomi continued. “I’ve been reviewing some of the more recent contracts and pulled a handful I’d like to discuss with David.”
Jason automatically frowned at the mention of David’s name but quickly covered it. “Okay.”
Naomi wasn’t fooled. She knew Jason too well. “What was that look for? Is there something about David I should know?”
Jason had debated sharing what he’d learned from Seong Woo. But it was all just gossip. And Gerald Park had undoubtedly been ruthless in building his business. Why wouldn’t the Sohs be the same way? Ultimately, he decided he didn’t want to burden Naomi with any unfounded accusations until he had something more concrete. “Nah. You know how I feel about lawyers.”
Naomi snorted. “Do I ever. Bernie’s still grumbling about how you kept dodging him at the funeral reception.”
Jason casually shrugged, happy to have deflected the question. “I am who I am.”
Naomi pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Are you, though?” She gestured towards his chest. “You’ve worn more ties in the last few weeks than in all the years I’ve known you.”
“I’m a businessman now. Gotta look the part.”
Naomi nodded in that motherly way she always used when she humored him. “You’re drinking coffee in the morning instead of bourbon. You’re on time for our meetings. You haven’t been in an unprovoked fight since you were filming with BigCloud.”
Jason nervously fidgeted, suddenly self-conscious under her piercing scrutiny. “What’s all this about, Ms. Bell? Can’t I grow and mature like everyone else?”
Naomi’s bright laughter softened the edge of her critique. “If you’d asked me that a year ago, I would’ve said no.” Then her expression warmed. “But I’m not trying to make you feel self-conscious. I’m genuinely impressed.”
“If you’re not trying to make me self-conscious, you’re absolutely failing,” Jason grumbled.
Naomi nodded, her eyes narrowing further. “Do you miss him?”
Him, meaning Tae Hyun. Jason should’ve seen that one coming, but Naomi had a way of disarming him. “Of course, I miss him,” he admitted, hoping that would be enough. But her unwavering gaze demanded more honesty. “Okay, I really fucking miss him. I thought I’d be okay being apart for a little while. I mean, I’ve been alone my whole damn life. But, no.” He dramatically sighed. “It’s been way fucking harder than I thought it would be, and it’s only been days.”
Naomi frowned in a way Jason had always wished his mother would have. “I know, sweetie. You fell hard and fast for that boy. Sure, it’s hard to be separated like this. But you know what they say about absence, right?”
Jason scoffed. “My heart’s already as fond as it’s gonna get. ”
Naomi nodded, her eyes heavy with understanding. “Can I share something personal?”
Jason furrowed his brow, intrigued. “Always.”
Naomi nodded, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. “I think what you two have is incredibly special. And I’m jealous because it will never happen for me.”
“What?” Jason shook his head in disbelief. “You’re absolutely–”
“Don’t,” Naomi interrupted, holding up a hand. “Let me finish. Years ago, I decided to prioritize my career over my love life. At least until I reached a certain level of success. It’s already hard enough being a Black woman in a white man’s world without having a relationship to hold me back. And I’ve been fine with that.” She sighed. “But, when you offered me this position, I knew I was at the point of no return.”
Jason frowned. “I don’t get it.”
“Of course not, sweetie.” Naomi’s smile was bittersweet. “You’re a handsome, talented, extremely wealthy man. You’ve never had to fight for things the way I have.”
Jason wanted to protest, to claim he knew all about discrimination, being Asian and gay. But his arguments would’ve rang hollow. Those experiences, however painful, didn’t erase his privilege. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Naomi shook her head. “Don’t be. I’m not blaming you for anything.” She surprised him with a genuine smile. “You gave me the chance of a lifetime here, Jason. Even if I only stay here for a year, I’ll never have to worry about money again. And I’m doing a job I absolutely love. So, I can live with my jealousy and still be happy for you.”
Jason quietly huffed, fighting the urge to let Naomi’s words fully sink in. “I may have that bourbon, after all. ”
Naomi shrugged. “You’ll have to get it somewhere else. Nobody can find the key to Gerald’s liquor cabinet.”
Jason chuckled, his gaze landing on the gold fountain pen still sitting where his father had left it. He reached for it, mischievously grinning as he lifted the base and let the hidden key clatter onto the desk. “Challenge completed.”
Naomi burst out laughing. “Damn. I knew I should’ve asked you before calling a locksmith.”
The intercom’s airy chime cut through their laughter. “Ms. Bell? David Soh is here to see you.”
Naomi hit her intercom button. “Please send him in.”
The office doors whooshed open, revealing David, a broad smile plastered on his face. His conservative navy pinstripe three-piece suit sharply contrasted with Jason’s lightweight but impeccably tailored beige linen-cotton blend summer weight suit. “Good morning, Ms. Bell. Mr. Park.”
Naomi returned his greeting with a curt nod. “Just Naomi, please.”
David politely frowned. “Sorry. Old habits die hard.” He crossed to the desk and took the seat beside Jason. “My assistant said you wanted me to review some additional contracts. Honestly, you should know there’s a whole legal team dedicated to that.”
“Ah.” Naomi’s smile was tight and controlled. “Your assistant must’ve misunderstood.” She reached for a stack of folders on the desk beside her. “I’ve been reviewing some recent Brightstar deals, and a few seem incomplete.” She pulled the first file and flipped it open. “This one, for instance. A contract with a Mexican electronics distributor, executed in March of last year–”
“Yes,” David cut in, confidently nodding. “That was part of our market expansion into the southern Mexican states.”
Naomi pursed her lips, a shadow of annoyance crossing her face before she regained her composure. Jason was impressed. He was already itching to throw a punch. David’s arrogance was infuriating.
“As I was saying,” Naomi continued, putting a little more ice in her tone, “this contract refers to an addendum that’s not attached.” She flipped through the contract until she came to a page with a sticky note attached. “Specifically, Addendum 3B.”
David frowned, his earlier confidence starting to waver. “Are you sure?”
Naomi’s nod was deliberate, her lips a thin line. Only the subtle twitching at the corner of her mouth betrayed her simmering annoyance. Jason doubted David even noticed. “Here. See for yourself.” She slid the folder across the desk.
David scanned the page with the sticky note, then flipped through the file, his brow furrowed. “Oh, you’re right,” he admitted. “It does seem to be missing from this copy. I’m sure you’ll find it in the official legal archives.”
“This is the copy from the official legal archives.” Naomi pulled another folder from the stack, sliding it across to David. “This is the copy from Gerald Park’s files. It’s also missing the addendum.” She allowed herself a faint smile. “Any idea why that would be? Or, more importantly, what it might say?”
David studied the contract again, his earlier confidence gone. “I’m afraid not, Ms.–uh, Naomi.”
Naomi nodded, her expression carefully neutral. “You signed that contract on Brightstar’s behalf, yes?”
Jason held back a smirk. He could already smell the trap Naomi was laying .
David flipped to the signature page. “It seems I did.”
“But you don’t remember signing it?”
David shook his head. “Not specifically. I’ve signed many contracts for Brightstar. Surely, you don’t expect me to remember each of them.”
Naomi ignored the comment, sliding the entire stack of files into the center of the desk. “You signed each of these contracts over the past year. All of them have missing addenda.”
David’s expression remained carefully blank, but his foot rhythmically tapped beneath the desk, a telltale sign of his nerves. “As I said, I’ve signed many contracts for Brightstar. A few paperwork irregularities are hardly cause for alarm.”
Naomi raised a single, skeptical eyebrow. “Irregularities? This isn’t a matter of a missing comma, David.”
David’s practiced smile slipped into place, barely concealing his unease. Jason almost felt sorry for him. Almost. “I can assure you, Naomi, that I personally review every contract deal I’m involved with before I sign off on it. The last thing I’d want is to put Brightstar into a tenuous legal position.”
“Excellent. Then, I’m sure you won’t mind conducting a full audit of your contracts since starting this position. Please provide me with a detailed report on any irregularities you discover.”
David’s smile finally faltered. Jason recognized the mix of panic and defeat on his face. David had assumed he could outsmart Naomi. He was wrong. And he couldn’t outright refuse this request from his company president–not after assuring her that everything was fine. “Of course, Naomi,” he finally agreed. “I’ll get my office on it right away. I should have something for you by the end of the week.”
“Actually, David, I need it by the end of the day. ”
David’s eyebrows shot up in unconcealed shock. “Today?”
Naomi’s smile was razor-sharp. “Yes. Maybe you could use that dedicated legal team of yours.”
David’s practiced smile disappeared, replaced by a blank, stone-faced expression. “Yes, Naomi.” Despite losing his first confrontation with his boss, his demeanor was remarkably calm. “Of course. I’ll do my best to get it to you by the end of the day.”
Jason watched the subtle shifts in David’s expression, the obvious signs of his desperation. He’d underestimated Naomi, and now he was paying the price. Jason had to admit a twisted part of him enjoyed the spectacle. He’d been outmaneuvered and had no choice but to play along.
David smoothly rose from his chair. “If you’ll both excuse me, I should get to work.”
Jason waited until the doors swished shut behind David before finally letting out a low whistle. “Damn, girl. That was brutal.”
Naomi finally allowed herself to break character. Her earlier confidence evaporated as her shoulders dropped. She grabbed the key to Gerald’s liquor cabinet from the desk. “I feel like I could use a bourbon now, too.” She glanced at the key, then tossed it into a drawer. “But, no. I need to keep a clear head. David won’t take that thrashing lying down. He’ll regroup and come back at me somehow.”
Jason frowned. “I don’t know about that. I mean, you’re not making any friends today. But I can guarantee you that my father was ten times the asshole to him that you just were.”
A cloud of doubt passed over Naomi’s face. “So I didn’t fuck up just now?”
“Absolutely not.” Jason grinned, hoping to lighten the mood. “ You’ve always been an asshole to me, and I’m still here.”
Naomi snorted, a hint of a smile on her lips. “I was never an asshole to you.”
“What did you call me that one time?”
Naomi smiled. “A simple, predictable, alcohol-infused man-child.”
Jason laughed. “See? There you go. Call me when you start saying that shit to all your C-suite execs. Maybe then I’ll tell you to back off.” He sat up in his chair. “Are we good for now? I’ve been itching to check out the executive washroom.”
Naomi gestured toward the door. “Be my guest. But no cruising.”
Jason chuckled all the way to the door. “New man, remember?”
Justice pointed Jason to the executive facilities, just up the hall from Naomi’s office. He knew Naomi had a private restroom attached to her office but had too much respect for her to ask to use it. He also suspected she didn’t know about it and wanted her to find out for herself.
The executive washroom exuded a sleek, masculine vibe, all chrome fixtures and gleaming black porcelain. Even the urinals were black. Jason hated how much he liked it. He was already unzipped and relieving himself when the door opened again.
“Oh,” David said, his voice flat. “You’re here.”
Jason snorted at David’s complete lack of enthusiasm. “What’s the matter? Pee shy?”
“Ha ha.” David took the adjacent urinal, nonchalantly unzipping beside him. “You were awfully quiet in that meeting.”
Jason finished up, shaking off the last drops before zipping his fly. “Yeah, I know better than to talk back to Naomi.” He turned to the polished, black marble sink, washing his hands and studying his reflection in the mirror. “Hopefully, you do, too, now.”
“I worked for your father, remember? I can handle it.” David stepped back, activating the automatic flush. “Could I ask you something?”
Jason nodded, patting a stray hair into place. “Sure.”
“You don’t remember meeting me before, right? That’s how it feels, at least.”
Jason looked up and made eye contact with David in the mirror. “Of course I do. I saw you at the funeral. It wasn’t that long ago.”
David pursed his lips as he shook his head. “No, not then. I mean the first time we met.”
Jason frowned. It was true. Despite a nagging feeling of familiarity, he had no memory of ever meeting him before the funeral. But he made an effort anyway, thinking about any time his father had introduced him to his employees and coming up blank. “No, I don’t. When did we meet before?”
“When we were teenagers,” David smoothly replied. “It was the summer before you became an actor. My father brought me to a party at your house. I guess your father suggested we might be friends since we’re close to the same age.”
A vague memory surfaced of a faceless boy Jason had met at one of his parents’ functions. That had been a few weeks after his family had returned from their summer in Seoul. A few weeks after he lost Joo Won. “That wasn’t a good time to meet me. I’m sorry if I was an asshole to you.”
David stepped up to the other sink to wash his hands. “No, you weren’t an asshole. It felt more like you weren’t even there.”
“Yeah,” Jason admitted. “I was kinda on autopilot back then. Like I said, it wasn’t a good time for me.”
David slowly nodded, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. “Ah, okay. It probably wouldn’t have worked out anyway. Not with your movie career and all.”
Was that an insult? If so, Jason couldn’t piece together how. He shrugged it off, giving David a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Yeah, you really dodged a bullet there.” He went for the door, turning back before he stepped out. “But you can still avoid the one Naomi’s got aimed at you. Just don’t try railroading her again.”
David nodded, watching Jason in the mirror with a grin that was wide enough to be unsettling. “I appreciate the advice,” he replied. “But I survived working for your father, remember? I’m sure Naomi and I will get along just fine.”
Jason stepped out to the hall before the chill that settled on him would show on his face. What had Seong Woo said about him? Ambitious, cutthroat, would sell his own mother to the devil . It seemed like David Soh, the younger, hadn’t changed much since college. He considered warning Naomi about their exchange, then thought better of it. If anyone in the world could best someone like David Soh Jr., it would be Naomi Bell. He’d just watched her do it without breaking a sweat. No, Naomi would be just fine.