11 #3
George never let her pay for the hotel rooms or food.
He was a man, and his pride would never allow it.
A year after they became lovers, Danbi mentioned that her birthday was in March.
They were in a nice room at the Hilton this time.
She was naked and he was still dressed, something he had requested of her.
They allowed each other fantasies, and George, who had never had anything like this in his sex life, felt grateful.
He learned that the more he wanted her, the more excited she’d get.
“What would you like for your special day?” he asked.
“I want to get my breasts done.”
“Don’t do that.”
“I might need to in the future.”
“Not now, though,” he said, cupping her round, full breasts. They were luscious and appealing, but George found himself admiring Danbi for thinking ahead. “Don’t do it for me. You don’t have to change anything.”
Her eyes crinkled with pleasure, and she got on her knees. After he finished, she looked up and pouted.
“$20,000. I could put it aside and get it for myself as a gift later. I promise you’ll be the first person to see them.”
“Not too big, though,” he said. “I don’t like the ones that look too big.”
The next time they met at the Sheraton, he gave her the money in a Gucci purse. He made her promise not to have the surgery until later. She took off her blouse.
“What’s that you’re wearing?” he asked, pointing to the ivory-colored undergarment that covered her waist and enhanced her bosom.
“It’s a corset,” she said, then dropped her skirt to show off the matching garters and stockings.
“I don’t know why you do this to me,” he said, and reached for her and pulled her onto his lap.
Danbi relieved his stress, and he wanted her to have beautiful things.
“This is for a new dress,” he’d say, putting $1,000 in her pocketbook.
In several of his properties in Santa Ana, he received partial rental payments in cash, which reduced their tax bills, and it was easier to put aside a bit of cash for her each week.
When he saw her at church, he liked knowing that she was wearing things that he had paid for.
In the past year, they’d taken two weekend trips, pretending to be husband and wife, and he enjoyed the way men looked at him with admiration when she wore a white strapless bikini by the pool.
He felt possessive of her and tried not to think of her being with Taehun Shin.
At church, he would glance at Shin and wonder how a man could ever let a wife like Danbi out of his sight.
On a trip to San Francisco, in a part of town where they knew no one, she brought up money again. They were dining at the hotel restaurant, which was risky, but Danbi didn’t want to eat in their room every night. As they walked back to their suite, she said she wanted to get a bigger house.
“How big?”
“As big as yours.”
He laughed.
“How many small houses do I have to sell to get that? And I don’t want a mortgage.”
“How much do you have saved?”
“Only $300,000.”
“Well, you can get a few more little ones and acquire a much bigger one using the smaller ones for collateral. If you sold a whale, you would make a much bigger profit faster.”
“Won’t it cost a lot to fix a big house?”
“No, you want to get in on a new development. Not a fixer-upper for a starter home. But sell a place that’s likely to go up and stay up.”
“Everything is rising,” Danbi said. “Everything I bought has gone up. If I had more money and time, this is all I would do. I would be so rich,” she said. Her laughter sounded like bells, and George kissed her on the mouth.
“How much is your house worth?” she asked.
“Several million,” he said. “I haven’t had it appraised in a while. I think at least seven or eight?”
“Do you have a mortgage?”
“Sure. Not a lot. We didn’t buy it for that much.” George didn’t mention that it had been a present from his father-in-law.
“So I need more money to buy places and to invest.”
“Why do you need such a big house?”
“Why do you?” she asked, and George kissed her again.
“I need more than the house. I also need to care for my mother and my retirement. I won’t be poor when I’m middle-aged, and I won’t be living with my daughter.
My mother is less clear these days, so I need to get more help for her.
The agency is doing fine, but we give too much to the agents.
I don’t make enough to quit working. Maybe if I have a lot, I can just leave my husband. ” Again Danbi laughed.
A week later, they were meeting at the Sheraton. George got there first, and when he heard the knock on the door, he let her in, excited to share news he knew she’d like.
“There’s a new development in Irvine. You can probably make six figures if you flip it. If you put down a little and get loans for the rest. You won’t have to deal with fixing this one. It will sell fast.”
“Keep talking,” she said, and turned around so he could unzip her pink shift dress. She had worn a baby-pink brassiere and panties for him. He spanked her rear lightly.
“If you get in on this new development in Irvine and make a couple of hundred, we can do it again until you become a millionaire,” he said.
Danbi faced him. “You’ll help me. You always help me.”
“Of course,” he said, and carried her to the bed.