Chapter 8
Dae
She was pissed, I think, as I recall how Kennedy and I ended things two nights ago. The fire in her eyes, the indignation in her voice, and the resolve in how she held her body as she walked away from me.
All of them made my dick hard.
It’s the one reason I didn’t go after her. It’s too early for her to know how she makes me feel with a few simple touches and words.
But I spent the rest of that night watching her from the view of my living room. She perched herself in her reading nook with what appeared to be her laptop. No doubt she was looking for answers that can’t be found online. But Kennedy is persistent. I know she won’t give up on her quest for answers about Blackmon.
And that concerns me.
“Mr. Kim,” Jake, the owner of the aquarium company, calls as he enters my downstairs office. “The tank has arrived.”
I rise from my chair to follow him out. This will be a long day, but it’s the final puzzle piece to finishing the six thousand square foot home I started building two years ago.
With the completion of my aquarium, the home will be ready for me to move into full time. Yet, I’m reluctant to do so. I could’ve moved into my house a long time ago, but it would have taken me farther away from her.
I don’t stay at my condo because I love living there.
I do it because she’s there, in her reading nook. From my condo, I can watch her the way I want.
The completion of my one-of-a-kind home aquarium means my time at the condo is coming to an end.
This also means that Kennedy’s time at her condo is coming to an end. She doesn’t know it yet.
“The crane needs to back into the driveway, sir,” Jakes says.
“I’ve cleared the cars out and parked them in the garage,” I tell him.
As we exit the front of my home, the spacious circle driveway is free of any of my three vehicles to make room for the crane that carries the first piece of bulletproof glass side of the ten-foot-long tank.
Though I didn’t need to be out here, supervising the installation of my aquarium, there’s no other place I would rather be. That’s a lie. I would rather be wherever my little warrior is right now.
She may have turned me down, but that doesn’t mean we’re done. Not by a long fucking shot. We’re just getting started.
I’m plotting my next move with Kennedy when the call I’ve been waiting for comes through on my cell.
I give one final look at the men working to install my aquarium before notifying the company owner that I’m heading to my office.
“I’m here,” I say to Jersey and Taehyun.
“What’s this bullshit about Blackmon?” my best friend and third business partner, Taehyun, demands, cutting to the chase. He’s also Jersey’s brother.
He lives and works in Seoul. He chose to return five years ago after his father’s death, my uncle, whom he’s named after.
My uncle left his company to all three of us in his will. We’ve doubled its value in the five years since his death. Yet, our next planned venture with the Global Group, a realty company, will more than triple our bottom line and grant us access to bring down my dead father’s empire.
There’s just one problem.
I received a phone call yesterday from the business leaders at the Global Group stating that they are considering partnering with Blackmon’s company instead of ours.
This fucking snake keeps popping up everywhere.
“He’s good for public image,” I tell them, using the reasoning that the Global Group gave me.
“And we aren’t?” Taehyun asks.
“Blackmon does a lot of charity work through his church,” Jersey says, a scoff in her tone. “If they want charity, we can give them that. Dae, all of the work you do—”
“Not going to happen,” I cut her off. I won’t pimp any of the charity work I do for public opinion.
“We’re not touching that,” Taehyun agrees. “Besides, we’ve got other business to handle now.”
My top lip curls. “What is it?”
“Your brother-in-law is as insufferable as ever.”
“Don’t call him that,” I growl.
“That’s what he is, isn’t he?”
“She’s only my half-sister,” I reply. It’s not like I grew up with the witch anyway. The bitch never even acknowledged my presence. Just like my father.
“Which makes her husband your brother-in-law. Anyway, they’re working on garnering support for the next big launch.”
“It won’t happen.”
This is my ultimate goal.
“I made a few calls. They’re far from getting the funds they need. They’re already overleveraged.”
“Once we’re a part of the Global Group, we’ll use their debt to put them out of business for good.”
This has been our aim since my uncle died. Growing the business, yes, but also ending the motherfuckers who tried to destroy us all.
A loud noise from upstairs sounds.
“What’s that?” Taehyun asks.
“Don’t you know?” Jersey answers. “It’s the start of his aquarium installation.”
“Fuck, that’s right,” he answers. “I forget you’re a day behind.”
I snort. The time difference means Taehyun is often up in the middle of the night for these calls. Not that he sleeps anyway.
“With the crown jewel of your home complete, you’ll finally be ready to move in.”
“Eventually,” I say in a low tone. “Jersey, in our proposal, I want you to pay special attention to our corporate fair wages and competitive employee packages, reduced turnover year after year, but don’t touch the charity work,” I instruct.
“Will do,” she replies. Jersey’s background is in public relations. She’ll pull it off.
“If the group wants to increase public image, show them we’re still the best investors to grow in that arena,” I add.
Taehyun agrees to keep an eye on our international interests.
We’ll reconvene in two weeks about this. I’ll speak to each of them before then, but it’s a reasonable timeline to gather the necessary intel and develop a more robust proposal.
After the call, I head upstairs to watch over the aquarium installation. This process, indeed, has been long in the making.
Every move I’ve made and every step I’ve taken has been for one reason.
Her.
My little warrior.
To be the man she deserves. I tried to make myself wait until all the chess pieces I placed on the board long ago were positioned correctly. But now that I’ve had her so close, my patience is wearing thin.
Two nights ago, when she was close enough that I could feel her breath brush against my skin, and it was fucking torture not to claim her right then and there.
Then there’s this situation with Blackmon that she’s investigating. I’ve been so blinded by my desire for her that I haven’t even taken the time to figure out what she’s investigating exactly.
I pull out my phone to make another phone call.
“Yes, Mr. Kim,” my new assistant at the Black Opal answers on the first ring.
“I need you to put in a call with the driver,” I tell her.
It”s time for my second date with Kennedy.