Katalina
I watched helplessly as Hoseok reached out and my son joyfully fell into his arms. He stepped into the elevator and the door closed.
“Hey, buddy. What are you doing here?” Hoseok asked David in a gentle voice.
Instead of answering, David just buried his face in Hoseok’s neck, pretending to be shy.
“Good morning, Mr. Kim.” I greeted him, solemnly.
He instantly furrowed his brows, completely displeased by the way I addressed him.
“Catherine, when are you going to stop doing this?” He groaned.
I just smiled and kept staring at the elevator’s button panel.
“Wasn’t David supposed to start school today?” He asked after a beef silence.
“Yeah. We came here from his school. He refused to stay and I was running late. So, I just brought him here. We will try again tomorrow.”
“David, is that true?” He ruffled the boy’s head and asked.
“Yes.” David pouted. “I wanted to see you, but mummy said I was disturbing your work.” He complained, sounding like he would start crying again.
“Is that so, mummy?” Hoseok snorted at me, and I rolled my eyes. “I am truly busy, but I will always have time for David, okay?”
“I know.”
“Hoseok!” I grunted. He shouldn’t be encouraging the boy. “You better tell him he has to go to school, else, he will never become a pilot.”
“That’s true buddy. Say, we try again in the afternoon?” He raised his brows comically, making David giggle and nod.
“Good. If you go to school this afternoon, I will buy you a new train set. Bigger than the one in my office.”
“Yes. Yes. I will go to school. I want ice cream and pizza too.” He then turned to me. “Mummy, my pizza?”
I gave him a stink eye and lifted up his lunch bag. ‘It’s here, squirrel.”
When I got to my floor, the elevator door opened, but David turned away from me. His body language made it clear that he had no plans of leaving Hoseok’s neck. Resigned, I handed Heseok his lunch bag and stepped out of the elevator.
The first meeting was just a review of the first quarter accounts. All I had to do was be present and listen. After that, I went to Hoseok’s office where I found David playing with a train set. Hoseok wasn’t in the office, and his secretary, who hates me so much, was left to watch over my son.
I thanked her and left with my son.
“Should we go back to school now, David? You promised Uncle Hoseok.” I reminded him once we were back at my office.
“Yes Mummy. If I go back, uncle Hosek will buy me a bigger train set, and let me take it home.” He replied enthusiastically.
Feeling relieved, I checked his lunch pack and saw that he had finished his pizza.
My second meeting was outside the office and I had enough time to drop David at his school before heading there.
With Hoseok’s promise of ice cream and more pizza, dropping David was no hassle. He even waved goodbye with a big smile on his cute face. I shook my head in amazement.
My next meeting was with a client who wanted to liquidate his assets and leave the country. If I convince this person to let my company help with it, I will get 5% of the deal.
Getting to the restaurant where the meeting was to be held, I found myself alone with a cup of tea for almost thirty minutes before the client arrived. As I waited for him, my mind couldn’t help but wander to Huracio’s engagement. All morning, I had suppressed all thoughts of him. It was the only way to get through the day and not crumble. But sitting by myself with just a cup of lukewarm tea for company, I found out the real meaning of an idle hand and the devil’s work. No matter how I tried to not think about him, the harder it got. I typed his number Into my phone and wondered how he would react after hearing my voice. Would he believe it, or think he was being haunted?
“You are dead to him, Kata. Don’t call him. It will ruin everything.” Emilia’s warnings from the previous weekend echoed in my head.
“Ms, Cook?” Something landed on my shoulder, startling me back to my senses. “Are you alright?”
Looking up, my eyes clashed with my client’s curious gaze.
“Mr. Williams.” I tried to smile, but my cheeks quivered.
“You are crying. What happened?” He asked worriedly.
“I am?” Surprised, I placed my hands on my face and it was indeed wet.
Sniffing, I grabbed my bag and yanked some tissues out of it. “I am so sorry.” I sniffed while dabbing at it , careful not to ruin my makeup.
“Did Hoseok fire you? I can make space for you if you follow me to England.” He smiled reassuringly.
“Huh.” Feigning a chuckle, I shook my head. “My life is right here. Thanks for the offer.”
“So, he really fired you? That stupid boy. Is he blind?”
“No, no. You misunderstood. I wasn’t fired.”
“So, why were you crying?”
“It’s just hormones.” I replied shyly.
“Oh. That…” he cleared his throat and sat down.
“I just felt a little overwhelmed. That’s all. It has nothing to do with my boss.”
“In that case, let’s get to business…”
Williams is a friend from school. He tried to pursue me, but I shut it down, making it clear that I wasn’t interested in any relationship. When he heard that I was dating Hoseok, he was very upset. Despite how I tried to assure him that I wasn’t dating Hoseok, he didn’t believe me. Since then, he always finds a way to show his disdain for the innocent Half-Asian.
Having completed his studies here in America, Williams is set to return to England, therefore, he is trying to liquidate all his assets and he wanted me to handle it for him as a TopLink agent.
William insisted that we eat lunch before we started the review of the assets to be liquidated. We ordered and were having small talks when three women entered the restaurant.
“There she is. The most audacious slut in TopLink. She is even using her working hours to cheat on Mr. Kim. So shameless!”
I wouldn’t have looked up if I didn’t hear Hoseok’s name. And I was utterly shocked when I spotted the person speaking. It was Grace, one of Hoseok’s several assistants. She and two others are the ones spearheading the campaign against my relationship with Hoseok at the office. Apparently, she has decided to take it beyond the office and was now stalking my meetings.
With her were two other girls whom I had never seen before. One of them looked Korean, while the other was American.
“Babe, what are you doing here?” Williams suddenly stood up with a deep frown on his face. Being so close to him, I could feel the temperature dropping.
“You know them?” I asked, while standing up with him.
“Williams, so this is the business meeting you were going to.” The American girl sneered in a shrill voice. She turned to me and her pretty face instantly contorted into the most ugly, hate-filled contenance I have ever seen.
A chill went down my spine. I had the urge to step back, but the chair behind my legs stopped me.