JIMIN POV
It's the last day of the month.
I hate the last day of the month.
It wasn't always like this.
It used to be just another day
in my life but now it's a day I dread.
A day when I have to face the fact that my little boutique design firm didn't bring in enough money over the past thirty days and if I'm being realistic isn't going to be granted any miracles next month, either.
But even if I can't get a miracle, a few new clients would be nice.
At least one or two.
There's a tap, tap, tap under my desk and it takes me a moment to realize it's the side of my
shoe knocking against the faux-wood panel of my cheap desk.
Tap tap tap.
Clack clack clack.
I place a hand on my leg to
keep it from shaking a nervous habit that seems to mostly
rear its head at times like this, particularly on the last day of
the month.
Somehow the annoying
tapping and clacking continues.
Ripping my gaze from the computer screen, I shake my head to clear my thoughts for
a moment.
What the hell is that noise?
I hear it again, closer and louder this time and then I recognize it.
It's set of stiletto heels,
skittering across the laminate
tile outside my office.
"Jimin!"
I look up from my computer
at the sound of my name
echoing through the corridor.
No matter how many times I tell my business partner, Jennie, to just use the intercom if she has something urgent to say, she insists on running like a mad woman from her office to mine.
Literally running.
Every time.
"Chim."
"I know you're in there..."
She knocks on my door.
She's breathing so heavily I
can actually hear it from inside my office.
Then she yells again. "Are you busy? This is important."
I'm not busy, thank God.
I can only imagine what a client would think to have her barging in on a meeting but that's Jennie.
There's no changing her, for better or worse.
"Come in." I say, but she's already opening the door and rushing toward me, waving a piece of paper wildly in front
of her.
"Do you know what this is?"
She waves the paper again for emphasis and I try to keep a straight face.
She slaps the paper down onto my desk in front of me but immediately snatches it back up.
"We got the bid, Jimin."
"We got the bid!" I laugh.
I can't help myself.
I don't even know what the hell she's talking about but it's a welcome distraction from
looking at the balance sheets.
And winning a bid is always a good thing.
If only we had more of them.
But this is what I love about her.
This is why she's my best friend in addition to being my business partner, Her enthusiasm for our little renovation and design
firm never ceases to amaze me
and even though she's a little excitable at times, I can't imagine working day in and
day out with anyone else.
"I hope it's a good one." I say,
as I reach up to try and grab
the paper from her but she
holds it up higher.
"We could use the work,are you even going to let me see it?"
She nods and hands the paper over but her excitement is
muted now as she looks at me.
"There's just one thing..."
"A small detail, really."
"Not super important in the scheme of things..."
My eyes skim the paper as I
try to decipher what the hell she's rambling about.
The first thing I see is the
name Jeon and then I
completely tune her out.
Depending on who you ask in Seoul, the name Jeon will
mean one of two things.
Hot twin Alphas and money.
A lot of money.
Money by the bucketful.
Money by the metric fuck-ton.
That's the part I'm interested in.
"Holy shit." I mutter.
"The Jeon twins, Jen? Are
you serious right now?"
"They have a chateau in
France." she replies quickly, clearly finding her enthusiasm again.
"They need it to be remodeled completely like, from the
ground up."
"They're ready to spend
millions, Jimin. Millions."
"And we won the bid."
"It's done, well almost done."
"What's left to do?"
"Set up the meeting." I start to feel every bit as excited as her.
I stand up to give her a hug
but the expression on her face makes me hesitate.
"What? I don't like that look."
"I mean it's nothing and maybe
I shouldn't even say anything..."
I inhale and exhale slowly.
Whatever the problem is, it's clearly something that's been gnawing at her so losing my temper right now probably
isn't going to help.
"Just tell me." I force a smile.
"It'll be okay."
"Just get it over with."
She sighs and nods.
God, is it really this serious?
"It's just that the Jeon twins,
were referred to us by some
one who doesn't normally
send business our way."
I cock my head to the side and she takes a step backward.
This is like pulling teeth but maybe worse.
All I know for sure is that every word that comes out of her mouth makes me feel a little more uneasy.
"Okay." My forced smile is
gone but I'm really starting to lose my patience with this little game of cat and mouse.
I just want some facts.
"Tell me who it is so we can move on with our day, please."
"San."
Her voice is so hushed that I wonder for a moment if I've heard her correctly.
Maybe it could be some other
San but she winces and her frown deepens, telling me that I'm just trying to fool myself.
"Choi San." she whispers, confirming what I already know.
I can almost feel the color
drain from my face.
She takes another step back,
as if I might be getting ready
to go crazy and maybe I am.
If anything could bring out the crazy inside me, that name,that man would be the one to do it.
I haven't seen or heard from
him since we broke up, no
since he cheated on me the
week before our wedding.
My blood starts to boil as I
relive the moment that I found out and then the fight we had afterward when he tried to
blame his infidelity and our boring sex life on me.
It's taken me a long time to
get over that and maybe I'm
still not completely over it, judging by my reaction to hearing his name again.
"Forget it." I shake my head
and hold up the paper.
"Get on the phone and retract the bid, We can't take this job."
"This is why I didn't want to tell you, I knew you'd say that."
The expression on her face
is a mixture of pain and exasperation.
It's fitting, since those are
the exact same emotions I'm feeling right now.
"You know as well as I do that we need this job and San isn't involved in it, He just gave the twins our number."
"Take a look at that bid again, We're talking about millions
of dollars at stake here."
I lean back in my chair and
hold the paper up in front of
me, letting my eyes focus on
the important bits.
The twins.
The money.
The fact that this job could put our little firm on the map, could make us the go-to designers
and renovators in Seoul.
This is exactly the type of exposure we need right now—literally the answer to my prayers.
Is it worth it?
Am I going to accept some
pity client that has been
tossed our way by my ex?
Really?
I take another deep breath and close my eyes for a moment.
I open them to see Jennie
still waiting, looking like she might faint if I give her the wrong answer.
Fine. To hell with it.
"We do need the money." I say, dropping the paper and letting
it float back down to settle on
my desk.
"And I do speak a little French."
She smiles again, tentatively.
"That's right, You do."
"Okay. Let's do it."
I let the smile from earlier
slowly reappear on my face.
"Set up the meeting."