Chapter 8
KAI
Out of all the places I thought I’d be, the Huang family mansion wasn’t one of them.
I was hoping Nirah wouldn’t need me. But the tech issue at the Pacific Observer was threatening a deadline push. Her instructions were simple, though: Talk to Diana Huang and take notes on the partnership speeches.
I rake a hand through my hair. After that weird conversation between Diana and I on Monday, I don’t even know if she wants to see me.
It’s not like I can just leave. No matter how much I want to, I can’t let Nirah fire me from this internship.
I have to hold up my end of the deal with my parents so I can stay on the ice.
Pressure presses down on me, winding around my neck like a vise that gets tighter when I walk through the front doors.
“Merde!”
My eyes cringe at the gold light spearing down from the ceiling. It takes a second before I can blink them open and see everything. The chandeliers glow over the spiraling staircase, down to the marble floors, where guests mingle and sip champagne they plucked from the tower in the dining room.
They watch me with narrowed eyes.
I fidget in my suit, my fingers nudging down the collar of my cheap dress shirt. My hands flex and ache for the hockey stick that isn’t there. I’m not on the ice, which means there’s nothing I can do to defend myself from the hits they might lay on me and I hate how fucking helpless I feel.
What if I told Nirah I got food poisoning halfway through and I had to leave? She can’t fire me for that, right?
“Kai?”
I turn around, finding Diana standing at the bottom of the staircase.
Goddamn.
She blazes the way stars do: radiant and unreachable. My eyes trace the curve of her neck where her ink black hair drifts against her cheeks. The bold chandelier light limns over her strapless satin red dress and the gold detailing on her necklace, making her glow like fire.
Shock glints in her eyes. “You’re the intern?”
“Believe me, I’m just as surprised to be here.”
I rub the back of my stiff neck. Diana peers up at me. Concern flickers in her eyes as she frowns.
“Are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah. It’s just really bright in here.”
Diana cocks her head, unconvinced by my lie. But she doesn’t push. She simply reaches out to smooth my collar, and I instinctively lean close enough to hear her whisper into my ear.
“There’s no need to be nervous. Not everyone is as collected as they look.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Diana nods at a bejeweled old lady with pearls in her hair. “I overheard that she bought those out of spite because her husband loves their new chihuahua more than her.”
I snort. Diana smiles and subtly tugs the edge of my collar, steering my eyes towards a couple laughing nearby.
“On their wedding night, her husband accidentally blurted out the name of the woman he was having an affair with.”
My brows dart up. “Well, that explains why his wife is practically digging her nails into his arm.”
“See?” Diana drawls. “They can judge you all they want. They’re still a mess.”
The tension unwinds from my neck as I laugh. “With eavesdropping skills like that, you must be a damn good reporter.”
Diana smiles shyly. Her eyes dart away from me. My hand flexes at my side, aching to turn her chin back so that she can look up at me again. The thought makes me go rigid.
I shouldn’t want to touch her. Girls are not in the plan.
Especially girls like Diana Huang.
Laughter suddenly echoes from the other end of the hallway. Diana’s smile falls. Her throat bobs as her brothers round the corner towards us.
“I know a quieter place where we can talk.” Diana snatches my hand. “Come with me.”
We hurry through the crowd until we burst through the doors leading to the backyard. The chatter and the music fade out. The cool night breeze settles over us, calm and still enough that I can hear the water trickling from the stone dragon fountain in the middle of the grass.
“We can talk here.”
Diana leads me towards the gazebo. Dimly lit sconces surround a round wooden table carved with flowers and lion shaped legs. A Go game board and a bowl of white and black stones surround it.
I sit down and nod at the game board. “Do you play?”
Diana smooths down her skirt and settles in the seat across from mine.
“My dad taught us how to play Go when my siblings and I were growing up. He says it teaches you how to build, conquer, and defend what’s yours.”
I learned how to play the game after one of my roommates—and DHU’s Zamboni driver—Wallace, taught the boys and me how to play it when he got back from South Korea. I’m not the best at it, but it’s fun enough to pass the time.
I tap at the game board. “How about one round?”
Diana looks confused. “We’re supposed to be talking business, Kai. Not battling for territory.”
“Why can’t we do both? I promise I’ll be nice.”
“I’ve heard of your plays on the ice. You’re not capable of being nice.”
“I’ll make a good attempt just for you.”
Diana pales. I clench up in my seat. Why do the fuck do I keep saying shit like this? She probably thinks I’m trying to get in her pants when that’s the last thing I want.
But she doesn’t let my words rattle her for too long. Diana raises her chin and answers with a bite in her voice that makes me smile a little.
“I won’t hold back, you know.”
“If that’s meant to scare me, you’re wrong.” I take the white stone and place it on the board. I look up, a little too turned on by the challenge burning in Diana’s eyes. “Game on.”