Chapter 27
Dae
I frown at my phone as I stare at a message from Kennedy.
Little Warrior: It’s okay. We don’t have to meet tonight.
That’s her response since I told her I wouldn’t be home until late because I have to work at the club tonight. Since that first weekend she spent at my home, she sleeps over two to three times a week. I’ve tried to get her to stay more but she insists on staying at her place when she gets off of work.
That thought makes me frown harder. There’s no way in hell I’m not waking up to her in my bed tomorrow morning. I don’t sleep unless she’s next to me. Before, I never missed it. I preferred working nights because I didn’t need sleep and felt more energetic at night anyway.
Now, there’s only one place I’d rather be most nights.
Me: Be at home when I get there.
I hear voices on the other side of the door of the private room I’m in. I wasn’t lying when I said work would keep me occupied tonight. I have an important meeting. Yet, at this moment, what captures my attention are the three little dots that keep appearing and disappearing in my message box.
Little Warrior: I’m going home. My home. You won’t even be there. Your place is like Fort Knox. How will I get in without your fingerprint?
Me: My home is your home. You know the code, and I added your fingerprint to the system weeks ago.
Again those fucking dots bounce up and down like she’s typing and then erasing it. I can feel her waffling on the other side of the phone, and it’s beginning to drive me crazy. Every urge in me wants me to find her, toss her over my shoulder, and drag her to my bed.
Fuck.
The thought of it makes my cock jump in my pants.
At the same time, the door opens, and I hear a voice that garners a different reaction from me. My gaze moves to the man at the door.
“Dae!” Sebastian Blackmon yells as he enters with arms outstretched.
I don’t rise from my seat in the leather chair at the far side of the room. Instead, I send a quick text to Kennedy, telling her to have her ass at my place tonight unless she wants me to come looking for her.
Then I stuff my phone in my pocket and gesture for Sebastian to take a seat.
“We have a lot to discuss, huh?” he asks cheerily.
“We do.”
I give him a once-over. From the moment I met him, I had a bad feeling about him. Back then, I trusted my uncle’s gut over my own, but that’s no longer the case.
“Now that we’re both part of the Global Group, I think it’s an excellent idea to have these one-on-one meetings like this.” He looks around the room, which causes him to miss my scowl.
“That won’t be happening.”
That phony smile drops slightly before he replasters it on his face. He glances over at the wine bottle with glasses sitting on the table.
“May I?”
I nod and watch as he helps himself to a glass of the red wine I purposefully had set out for this meeting.
“This is the brand of red wine we sell at Le Vie,” he comments. “You must’ve enjoyed it when you had it, huh?” He infuses his voice with false cheerfulness.
I don’t respond until he takes his first sip of the wine. “Excellent,” he says, holding the glass up for inspection.
“Funny how the authentic version tastes nothing like the bullshit you serve at Le Vie.”
He chokes on his second sip, spilling a few drops onto his shirt. His expression is incredulous.
“Dae, what—” He can’t finish the question because he’s still coughing.
I cock my head to the side. “You can drop the act now. We both know you’re full of shit.”
“What the hell is this about?” His face reddens a mix of anger and likely embarrassment.
I slowly rise from my chair. “After that dinner a few weeks ago at Le Vie, I was intrigued by your success.”
“We’re often rated as one of the top restaurants in the city,” he boasts as I slowly circle the room, hands tucked into my pockets.
I snap and point at him. “That’s what intrigued me so damn much.” I click my tongue and shake my head. “After leaving your restaurant, I asked myself how such a god-awful restaurant could be rated so highly?”
“Excuse me?” His face reddens even more. He spins in circles as he follows my every move.
“The same thing I thought. Excuse me, but how does a restaurant with a half-filled dining room during peak hours, mediocre food, and watered-down wine sit at the top of reviewers’lists every year?”
Stopping, I look him over.
His mouth opens and closes before he says, “I didn’t come here to be insulted. Is this how you treat your members? Your uncle would be ashamed!”
Frowning, I cock my head to the side. His insult doesn’t land the way he thinks it should. I respected my uncle, even loved the man. But I didn’t revere him. He wasn’t perfect, especially not when it came to choosing who to do business with.
“He’s dead so he doesn’t get an opinion on the matter, does he?” The question comes out as cold as I intended.
Blackmon’s eyes go wide. “No respect.”
“I show him respect by no longer allowing his name to be tarnished by keeping you on as a business partner in the club he started.”
“We started,” he says through gritted teeth.
I shrug a shoulder. “That’s not the story he told me.”
“I—”
“It doesn’t matter.” I hold up a hand. “What does matter are the multiple sources proving you paid critics to boost your reviews, statements by employees who were actively made to either water down or use cheaper knock-off brands to stretch your alcohol and cut costs, and forcing employees to work overtime without payment.”
“How did you—”
“Does it matter how I found out? What is important is that I can and will go to the Global Group with this information if you don’t rescind your position.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” A vein in his forehead throbs so much that it looks like it’s about to pop any second.
“How long did you think you could keep this ruse up?” I ask even though I don’t give a shit.
“Th-There is no ruse,” he attempts to keep up the lie.
“The Black Opal has a two-year waitlist, and we’re still turning applicants away. The club’s main level is full all four nights of the week we’re open. I know what success looks like because I helped fucking build it with my bare hands.”
Yes, the business existed before I began working here once I moved to Williamsport. But the Black Opal didn’t reach new levels until my uncle made me manager three years before his death.
“You didn’t build—”
“And the help of those closest to me,” I finish like he wasn’t talking. “So, walking into your half-empty restaurant during peak dinner hours was the first giveaway that something was off.”
“Many of our staff had the flu that week. We had to shut down half of our kitchen, and for that reason, we turned away many of our guests.”
“Right, that’s what you told them at the Global Group. Luckily, I’m the type who likes to do my research. So I went back a week later. Same sad story. I didn’t stay for dinner. Like most of your customers over the years.”
Blackmon’s business has been on the decline for at least the past two years. It’s no doubt due to his cheapskate ways.
His face erupts into one of pure rage.
“Fuck you! I helped your uncle build this business.” He jabs a finger in my direction. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be here now. I’m still a paying member of this damn club, and when I tell everyone about this, it’s you who’s going to need to do damage control.”
At that precise moment, Jersey walks in. She looks Blackmon over before dismissing him with a look.
“Are we ready?” she asks.
I nod.
“Excellent. Mr. Blackmon, this is your contract with the Black Opal.” She holds it up for his inspection. Then she rips it in half. “I’m certain you’re aware of our club’s policy to rescind membership at any time for any reason.”
He opens his mouth to say something.
“Though the contract does state we reserve the right to keep your annual fee, we’re being generous with you.” She holds up a check. “This is a check for fifteen thousand dollars. We kept five K since we’re a few months into the year. You understand, right?”
She continues without pausing. “Thank you for everything you’ve done in the past, but your services, especially your membership, are no longer needed,” she finishes, not sounding apologetic.
“Who the hell are you?” he demands to know.
“Someone whose father wouldn’t appreciate you speaking to in that tone.” Her eyes narrow.
“Father?” Blackmon looks her over. His eyebrows raise as if seeing her for the first time. “Hae?”
Her face tightens. “I go by Jersey these days.”
Hae Kim is Jersey’s real name, but only her parents have called her that since she was a teen.
“You’ve used my father’s name for too long to have access to the other members of this club. That ends today.”
She glances over at me. “I’ll get security.”
I peer at my watch. “It’s about that time. I have a few calls to make and more work to do. There’s no need to continue wasting time on this matter.”
Blackmon remains so outraged for a few seconds that he can’t even speak. Jersey places Blackmon’s check on the glass table and makes her exit, and a minute later, two security guards enter.
“Don’t forget about resigning from the Global Group,” I tell him. “Get it done within the week unless you want your secrets revealed.”
“You won’t get away with this,” he says as he swipes his check from the table. Even as he’s being escorted out by security, he continues talking. “You will regret this. The secrets I know will bury you and this fucking club.”
I don’t pay him any attention as he’s shown the door. However, his statement sends off a slight alarm bell. I’ve wondered why my uncle never severed the business relationship with Blackmon, and his threat just made it seem as if there’s something that I’m not aware of. I don’t like not knowing the details of my business.
I pull out my cell and give Taehyun a call.
“It’s done,” I tell him as soon as he answers.
“Jersey just texted me,” he confirms.
“Blackmon knows something we don’t,” I tell him.
“There isn’t anything we don’t know about the business.”
Taehyun should be right on all accounts. I’ve known the ins and outs of this business ever since I started working for my uncle. I’ve read financial reports from years ago, including member names, original investors, and more.
“There’s something. That son of a bitch seemed certain that we’d regret this decision.”
Taehyun snorts. “He’s blowing smoke.”
“We need to make sure that’s all it is. He’s not even who we give a fuck about,” I remind Taehyun, “but he is partnered with Daniel Park, and once that bastard finds out what’s going on, he will try to strike back.”
“We’ll be ready for that piece of shit by then. I’ve already begun working with the team from the Global Group to guarantee their buy-in of the deal we’re setting up here.”
I nod, though he can’t see me. The end goal is to ensure my father’s former company and Daniel Park—the son of a bitch who now runs it—end up in debt up to their eyeballs.
“I’ve also been gathering paperwork that shows Park’s been bribing bankers for years to keep the business afloat,” Taehyun continues. “By the time I arrive in Williamsport, I should have a better idea of whether Blackmon’s accusations are true.”
Taehyun is coming to the States to attend the gala here in Williamsport. Jersey and I will be there, too.
“So, will this be my chance to meet the love of your life in person?”
I raise my eyebrows. “Why the fuck are you interested in meeting her?”
He chuckles. “Because I want to see you obsessed up close and personal. As many years as you’ve spent stalking—”
“Fuck you.”
He laughs harder.
“And stay away from my woman. I’ll break your damn—”
“Don’t get carried away. I’m not plotting anything on her. I know you would go ballistic on anyone who does.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” I agree. “I’ll call you in a few days.”
I hang up with Taehyun and head for my office. On the way, I take a look at my phone. There’s a message from Kennedy from the conversation we were in the middle of before Blackmon arrived.
Little Warrior: I’ll be at your place tonight if I want to.
I glare at her response for a beat before checking her location. If she wants me to find her wherever she is, so be it. Images of me throwing her ass over my shoulder and carrying her out of her apartment make my dick go hard.
Luckily for her, though, that won’t be the case tonight because the tracker on my phone tells me she’s exactly where I want her.