You couldn't believe how much of a fool you had made of yourself last night. You were so embarrassed you could hit yourself. Why did you have to keep doing such things? Why did you act like such a fool? Why did you say that?
Spotting the pile of yesterday's clothes on the floor you could only hope, beg, pray, that you had taken them off yourself after Mr. Lee had left.
You barely had time to wallow in your own self-hatred when a knock came on the door. So deep in thought, your answer was automatic.
'Yes?' you called out.
The door opened and you instantly pulled the covers up to your chin.
'OH!' Mr. Lee coughed, quickly turning his back to you, facing the door.
'I thought your yes meant I could come in. So sorry, I'll leave,' he said quickly.
'Stay!' you insisted hastily. 'Just... keep facing the door,'
Mr. Lee cleared his throat awkwardly.
'What is it?' you asked nervously.
'Well,' Mr. Lee began, 'I was wondering whether you would be interested in coming with me today... I mean, if you'd like. I just didn't want you to get bored being all alone in this house all the time,' he explained.
Your eyes widened in surprise.
Your father had never asked you to come with him. You had asked. Of course, you had. Many times. But he had always rejected the idea. It had either been too dangerous, too difficult, too far away or some other nonsense excuse. It had been so discouraging to ask and hear no all the time that eventually, you had stopped asking, hoping that one day he would ask you when he'd thought you'd be ready for it. That day had never come. Nor would it.
'Yes-yes I would like that,' you stammered, trying to contain your excitement.
'Great, breakfast is ready downstairs and we have to leave at 8.30,' Mr. Lee noted.
'Right, I'll be right there,' you said.
Mr. Lee nodded and left the room.
You instantly jumped out of bed to take a quick shower.
With your hair still wet you rummaged through your walk-in closet.
This would be your first ever case.
You could feel the excitement bubbling inside you.
You wanted to impress the other party, to impress Mr. Lee.
Searching high and low, you looked for the perfect outfit to wear today. Only... There was no perfect outfit.
There were only simple jeans, sweats, hoodies, plain tops, and dresses that were either short enough for the club or long enough for an official event. None of it seemed useful. None of it seemed to exude any kind of elegance, grace, intelligence.
Frustrated you put on your favorite designer jeans and shirt, two items that now seemed worthless, and ran down the stairs.
'Good morning to you too,' Mr. Lee commented when he saw my grim expression. 'What's wrong?'
You stuffed a croissant in your mouth and chewed on it harder than necessary before answering him.
'My clothes, that's what's wrong,' you complained to him.
'Is it?' Mr. Lee said, looking you up and down. 'I don't see any problem, you look fine,'
He raised his eyebrows.
You rolled your eyes at him, unable to help yourself.
'Are you serious? Have you looked in the mirror? You're wearing that,' you said, eyeing his all-black designer suit, 'and then there's me,' you plucked at the shirt you were wearing.
'So?' Mr. Lee said, taking a sip of his tea.
'Ugh, you wouldn't understand,' you grumbled, looking away from him.
'Try me,' he said calmly.
You bit your lip.
Your father's words echoed in your head.
"Well, because you're a girl of course. You wouldn't be able to handle it nor would anyone take you seriously,"
You looked at Mr. Lee, who was looking at you seriously. So far, he had not let you down...
You took a deep breath before you spoke.
'This is... important to me. I want to be taken seriously. I don't think I will be unless my outfit matches yours,' you said honestly.
Mr. Lee nodded slowly, seeming to take in your words. He checked his watch then took out his phone, dialing a number.
You looked at him confused but when you opened your mouth to speak he held up a hand for you to be quiet as the person on the other end of the line picked up.
'Hello, Mrs. Jaedansa? Hi, it's Lee Dong Wook,' he spoke. The person on the other end of the line was clearly a woman since her high-pitched squeals reached even your ears.
'Yes, can you open up shop early today?' Mr. Lee asked, looking at me and smiling.
You blinked.
'No, it's not for me. It's for my girl,' he said grinning at you.
Fourty-five minutes later you were sitting in the car next to Mr. Lee, wearing a brand new luxury brand dark red-velvet suit.
'Thank you,' you mumbled for the millionth time to Mr. Lee.
'If you say that again I will not take it seriously anymore,' Mr. Lee chuckled.
'We're almost there,' Mr. Lee followed, 'Is there anything you like to say or know before we get in?' he asked.
'What is it about?' you asked.
'We're going to visit Gisul Enterprises, a tech company who had agreed to invest with me into a new project to develop office buildings,' Mr. Lee explained, 'However, they recently had a change of heart about their investment. That was what the phone call was about yesterday,'
Mr. Lee took a left turn and you hummed to let him know you were listening.
'They want to back out of their investment because they learned of my... other activities. They're even prepared to give up on the deposit they have already paid me,' Mr. Lee frowned.
'So what are you going to do?' you asked, thinking about how your father usually dealt with these kinds of problems. You didn't think you were ready for such things just yet...
'Oh, nothing much,' Mr. Lee grinned darkly. 'Just a chat that's all. Most of the time it's enough to change their minds,'
You nodded slowly, wondering what Mr. Lee really had up his sleeve.
'Alright, anything I can do?' you asked, guessing the answer.
'I don't know. But please don't hesitate to speak your mind if you have anything to say or ask,' Mr. Lee said simply.
His answer surprised you. You had expected him to ask you to stay quiet and not do anything. But he had said the exact opposite. A warm feeling filled your chest.
Mr. Lee truly was different.
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WRITERS NOTE
This chapter was literally hell to write ugh.
I was halfway thru it when I wanted to save and I accidentally published it.
Then when I wanted to UNpublish it, I accidentally deleted the entire thing! UGH. Frustration all around. Had to start over completely.
Anyway, I promise, promise, promise that there will be smut soon 😅.
Somehow this story is demanding so much background while I was planning for this to be just absolute filth?
I don't know what happened XD.
Anyway, hang in there.
Mr. Lee will satisfy your needs soon enough ;)