Chapter 36
Dae
“Your cousin looks good in a tux,” Kennedy says, glancing over my shoulder.
I narrow my eyes and look in the same direction to find Taehyun speaking with a group of men from the Global Group.
“I know I said this last night, but it’s almost uncanny how much you two look alike,” she continues, staring between my cousin and me.
Taehyun got in yesterday afternoon, and he and Jersey had dinner at my place with Kennedy and me.
“Stop staring at my cousin unless you want me to snap his neck.”
Gasping, she widens her eyes as she stares at me. “Don’t say that. He’s your best friend.”
I meet her gaze. “I don’t like you looking at other men. Even if they’re my family.”
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Stop it. I know you don’t mean that.”
I curl my top lip because she’s right. I wouldn’t snap Taehyun’s neck, but I’d still beat his ass for looking at her for too long.
“What’s the long face about, cousin?” Taehyun asks as he approaches, a broad grin on his face.
“He’s upset because I was complimenting you in your tux,” Kennedy answers.
Taehyun straightens his shoulders and smiles wider. “I do look good, huh?” His eyes sparkle in mischief as he looks at Kennedy. “I bet you’re bummed you picked the uglier cousin out of the two of us.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
A growl of irritation comes out of my throat. “Don’t test me.” I glare at my cousin.
He takes a sip from the champagne flute in his hand while peering at me over the rim with a lifted eyebrow.
“Unless you want to know what it feels like to need your jaw wired shut for six weeks, you’ll keep your funny comments to yourself,” I growl.
“Whoa,” Taehyun says, holding up his hands. “Touchy.”
“Stop it,” Kennedy admonishes.
“Are you threatening my brother again?” Jersey asks, interrupting us. She moves to her brother’s side, wrapping her arm around his.
“He is, sis. I don’t know how you work with him five days a week.”
Jersey grins as she looks at Kennedy. “He’s been more tolerable over the past couple of months. Nice dress, by the way,” she tells Kennedy.
“Thank you. I love yours, too.”
Kennedy and Jersey continue to compliment one another, and before I know it, they’re in a conversation all their own. I never realized how much it mattered to me whether Kennedy got along with the limited family I have.
Taehyun and Jersey are it. We didn’t grow up together, so there aren’t shared childhood memories, but for the past ten years for Taehyun and eight years for Jersey, they’ve been the family I never truly had.
“There’s Bill from the Global Group,” Jersey tells us. “Taehyun, he’s the only one you haven’t met in person.” She tugs her brother’s arm. “Let’s go meet him.”
“You’re with me,” I tell Kennedy as Jersey and Taehyun leave us.
She looks up at me through her long lashes and gives me a bright smile that almost stops my heart.
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” she says, retaking my arm.
“I’m not just talking about tonight. For eternity,” I add, looking at her in those beautiful eyes I can’t imagine not being able to stare into.
Kennedy’s lips part, but a masculine voice interrupts from behind us.
“Eternity is a long time.”
Kennedy whips around with wide eyes. “Daddy,” she says, sounding like she just got her hands caught in the cookie jar. A beat later, a smile replaces the surprised expression.
“Hi, Dad, Mom.” She pulls her mother into a hug first.
I observe the obvious affection between the two. At about the same height, with similar facial features and warm smiles, Kennedy is almost like a younger version of her mother. The only difference is that her mother’s skin is a few shades darker, and her hair is styled in sister locks, which she’s placed in a stylish updo. Kennedy’s wearing her hair down because she knows I like it that way. At least, that’s what I assume.
My attention moves from the two women to Kennedy’s father, Aaron Townsend. Even as he hugs his daughter, his sharp gaze remains on me. No, it’s not a gaze. He’s glaring at me.
I return his stare with a neutral look.
“Mom, Dad, this is Dae Kim, my date. And, well …” She pauses and looks at me. Then, with a smile, she adds, “We’re dating.”
Knowing that she doesn’t attempt to keep her physical distance from me in the presence of her parents does something to me. I wouldn’t have let her either way, but having her voluntarily wrap her arm in mine fills my heart with something I’ve never felt before—or only maybe rarely felt.
Pride?
I think that’s it.
Though, I don’t like the word dating. It’s far too innocent for what we’re doing.
“Mr. and Mrs. Townsend, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I nod and say to both of her parents.
Her mother appears genuinely happy to hear the news and to meet me. “Kennedy says you’re the owner of the Black Opal.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Along with my two cousins and business partners,” I answer.
Her mother smiles and then wrinkles her forehead. “Your face looks familiar.”
I stiffen slightly, at the thought that her mother could recognize me from that day in the alleyway. But then I remember that’s impossible. I snuck away like the coward I was back then before she could see me.
She snaps. “Where do I know your face from?”
“Eternity is a hell of a long time,” Aaron Townsend interrupts. His eyes are now narrowed, and his scowl is slightly more pronounced.
I give him a half smile. “Not long enough.”
His mouth tightens. “You know him because Brutus included a photo of him when he gave me the rundown that I requested,” her father says to her mother, but his glare remains on me.
Kennedy’s mother gasps. “That’s right. I can’t believe you have a file on him, Aaron,” her mother says.
“Dad,” Kennedy says through clenched teeth.
“I do,” he says without shame. “A man shows up all over town with my daughter on his arm, claiming he’s her man,” he spits the last word out like it’s garbage on his tongue, “and you think I’m not going to have the fuc—”
“Aaron,” Kennedy’s mother interrupts.
He glances sideways at his wife before looking back at me. “And you think I won’t have him checked out? Congratulations on the Global Group deal,” he tells me dryly.
“Thank you,” I reply, ignoring his obvious sarcasm. Honestly, I assumed since that day I met her family’s head of security, he’d have done some research on me. I’m not surprised in the least.
Kennedy clears her throat. “I’m just going to assume that you and Uncle Brutus were being cautious because you care about my safety,” she says, looking her father in the eye. “But I’m sure you didn’t find anything except that Dae is a business owner. Now, you can drop the espionage acts,” she finishes, smiling.
He snorts. “Don’t count on it.”
“Count on what?” A man with dark hair and green eyes moves to Kennedy’s father’s side. With him is a beautiful Black woman with red hair.
I know them instantly.
Kennedy’s uncle, Joshua, and his wife, Kayla Townsend.
“Uncle Joshua, I didn’t know you would be here tonight,” Kennedy says, hugging her uncle and then her aunt.
“You look so beautiful,” her aunt says, kissing her cheek.
“Good thing, aside from the freckles you take after your mother,” her uncle teases.
I don’t miss the glare her father slides at his younger brother. “We have bigger problems right now,” he says.
Both her uncle’s and aunt’s eyebrows raise. “Problems?”
“My daughter is dating someone.” Her father pins me with a look. “And he hasn’t stopped touching her since we arrived.” His gaze falls to where my arm wraps around Kennedy’s waist, hugging her to me.
He’s right.
Even when she hugged and greeted her family, I kept my arm around her waist or hand.
Her uncle’s green eyes sharpen on me. “Is that so?”
“Uncle Joshua, please?” Kennedy groans.
“It’s fine,” I assure her, squeezing her waist. “Your family’s protective because they love you.”
“Now he’s silencing her,” her father gripes and steps in my direction.
“Aaron, don’t,” Kennedy’s mother says, her voice turning serious.
He stops.
“Don’t you think of it, either,” Kennedy’s aunt says to her husband.
“We just want to get to know him,” her uncle says. “Right, Aaron?”
Her father grunts.
“Let’s talk,” he adds.
“Daddy, no.” Kennedy’s voice softens.
“It’s fine,” I tell her, bringing her hand to my lips. “Seriously. Didn’t you tell me you wanted to catch up with your mom?”
Though reluctantly, I release her hand. It’s time to get the inevitable over with.
“Sweetness, I need a glass of champagne,” Aaron Townsend tells his wife.
Narrowing her eyes at him, she tilts her head to the side. “You don’t drink.”
He peers at me, then back to his wife. “I’m about to start.”
“Dad, is this necessary? I’m not a teenager.”
“This is necessary,” Joshua Townsend adds.
It takes a few more assurances for me to convince Kennedy that all is well. I watch as she walks away with her aunt and mother.
“Don’t go far, sweetness,” her father tells his wife, to which she rolls her eyes. Then he turns back and pins me with a stern glare.
I meet his stare with one of my own.
“What do you want with my daughter?” He gets to the point.
“Sir?” I ask for clarification.
Joshua Townsend folds his arm and stares at me in the same manner as his brother.
“You tried to buy the Newport a couple of years ago,” her uncle says.
I’m not surprised that he remembers that. As the head of the real estate division of Townsend Industries, I imagine Joshua Townsend knows the ins and outs of what happens with the buildings they own.
But this is the first time we’re meeting face to face. My attempt to purchase the building Kennedy lives in didn’t get far enough for a one-on-one meeting with Joshua Townsend.
“You’re aware of that,” I say, meeting her uncle’s glare.
Her father snorts. “You tried to buy the building my daughter lives in,” he starts with a narrowed gaze. “That failed, but now you’re dating her.”
“Hell of a coincidence,” her uncle adds, finishing his brother’s point.
I raise my eyebrows, pondering their conclusion. “Are you insinuating that I’m with Kennedy to finagle my way into your company?”
He snorts. “That wouldn’t be possible,” he assures. He steps closer. “Is that what you’re trying to do?”
If he only knew.
I attempted to buy the Newport so I could be close to her. I could give a fuck about the building or the value of the property.
“Neither one of you are stupid men,” I start. “I’m certain the file you had prepared on me informed you that after my company’s attempt to purchase the Newport fell through, we partnered with the Global Group to take over and renovate the Premium,” I say, referring to the building almost directly across from the Newport.
The one I spent most nights in, until recently, so I could watch her from afar.
“Doesn’t mean you’re not trying to use my niece to renew that attempt at purchasing one of our properties.”
“If you’re using my daughter for business, I promise you I will bury you underneath the construction site of our next building,” her father snarls.
“If I were using Kennedy for anything as insignificant as business, I would let you bury underneath that building.”
Her uncle’s eyes widen, but her father’s cold glare remains unchanged.
“I know how deeply you love your daughter, sir,” I tell him. “But I also want you to know that there isn’t anything or anyone I’ll let stand between what Kennedy and I have.”
Kennedy’s father’s eyes visibly darken as he glares at me.
“What the fuck did you just say to me?” His voice claps through the air like a weight.
Despite his intimidating presence, I mean every word. Kennedy is mine. She has been ever since that day and I’m not letting anyone get in the way.
“All due respect, Mr. Townsend, I’m in love with your daughter. She’s my world and my future. I don’t have any ulterior motive other than to love her the way she deserves for the rest of her life.”
“Shit,” Joshua Townsend curses under his breath. “I think this one’s serious.”
“Love,” her father snorts disbelievingly.
“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how special your daughter is.”
He looks me up and down. “Special. You’ve only been seeing her for a few months. What do you even know about her?”
“Are you asking what I love about your daughter, sir?” I ask him.
He gives a curt nod.
“The list is a mile long.”
He looks as if he’s about to say something.
“But for starters, she brings light to every corner she touches. She’s ambitious and a go-getter without being hard or unapproachable. Her phenomenal way with words pulls any reader into the articles she writes.
“I don’t doubt that one day, the book she writes will be on the bestseller list because her passion shines through in her work. And I’ll be there, rooting for her and buying every copy out of every bookstore in the state when she does.”
Her father looks unimpressed when he asks, “Just the state?”
It doesn’t bother me because I’m not looking to impress him or anyone else in her family. I respect them because I know how deeply Kennedy loves them. It’s evident her father and the rest of her family love her just as deeply.
“I have to leave a few for her family to buy,” I reply, looking between both men.
He nods slowly.
“I still don’t trust you,” he finally says.
“With time, you will,” I tell him.
He grunts. “Cocky son of a bitch.”
“Reminds me of someone,” Kennedy’s uncle says as he tips his head sideways and stares at me. “Or someones,” he amends.
“I’ll get rid of you eventually,” her father adds.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell him as I look him in the eyes.
Before he can answer, an announcement comes from the front of the room.
“It’s time to get started on our presentations to our honorees,” one of the hosts for tonight’s events begins.