Off Limits Attraction (The Heirs of Hansol #3) - Jayci Lee Page 0,10
of the way to Jihae’s desk and sat on a guest chair that faced her. “Is that why he called? To ask you on a date?”
“Are you out of your mind, woman? It isn’t a date. He called to let me know that he had something to sweeten the deal. He’d found the perfect screenwriter for Best Placed Bets. On that note, I want to know everything you can find on Charity Banning.”
“Got it. Now go on.”
“I told him I’d never seen anything Ms. Banning has written. He said there was a theater still playing her latest film and offered to take me to watch it. He wants to convince me how perfect the film could be with someone who could masterfully transform the story into a great screenplay.”
“All I hear is ‘blah, blah, blah.’”
“I’m serious, June. This is not a date. I can’t risk my professional reputation by having people believe that I have a personal relationship with Mr. Song. Can you even imagine what would happen if my father found out?”
Her parents would accuse her of being naive and frivolous for dating a colleague, and put her under complete lockdown and take Rotelle Entertainment from her. Sadly, she wasn’t exaggerating at all. When her father had agreed to let her work at Rotelle Entertainment, he probably thought she was seeking a fleeting distraction. He didn’t believe she’d excel at her job and become recognized as a successful businesswoman. According to him, it made her bigheaded and fed her rebellious nature. He would jump at the chance to remove her from her position over the slightest mistake, but she hadn’t given him the opportunity so far.
As for her rebellious nature, she had smothered it to ashes after her one flailing leap for freedom. When she’d finished her last term at Oxford, she had disappeared into the countryside instead of attending her graduation. Both of her parents had prior arrangements. Couldn’t they have made an effort to care for once? After all, her college graduation was a huge milestone. Their absence had made Jihae furious and reckless.
Even though she’d lived in Oxford for nearly eight years, Jihae had never been allowed to travel around Europe on her own. She decided if she didn’t take a chance then, she would never be able to be on her own, even for a few months.
She’d relied completely on the cash she’d saved up, and had taken Eurail to go from city to city, mostly staying in hostels. It had been the most freeing, exciting few months of her life. She had returned to the UK and settled down at a little inn in the Lake District when her father’s men had tracked her down. They’d escorted her home immediately, and she had never been out of her family’s and the security guards’ sight again.
After years of denying her entreaty to expand Rotelle Entertainment to Hollywood, her father’s sudden order for her to travel to the US was a godsend. Her parents’ unreasonable expectations and constant scorn had become unbearable to live with. Especially when her engagement to Garrett Song had come to an end. Jihae had been secretly overjoyed by the cancellation of her impending arranged marriage, but her parents blamed her for the broken engagement. For bringing shame to their family. They told her Garrett Song broke the engagement because he’d somehow found out about her selfish, wild nature. Just one, single rebellious incident as a college kid had permanently marked her as the family’s black sheep.
“I just wish you could have some normal moments in your life,” June said with somber understanding. “You’re like Rapunzel trapped in a tower. Even an ocean away, your father controls your every action. Why can’t you go on a freaking movie date?”
“Someday, but not with this man. Getting involved with a business associate is unprofessional and improper enough to give my father the excuse he needs to remove me from Rotelle Entertainment.”
Jihae reached out and squeezed her friend’s hand. It meant so much to have someone who understood that she wasn’t living a fairy-tale dream. She was grateful for the privileges she had, but being a jaebul heiress meant isolation and loneliness. It was like being imprisoned in a golden cage, tightly leashed at all times.
“Okay. Fine. Then you better make sure no one construes your outing as a date, either. You did mention him being on Hollywood Insiders.”
“That was because he was with Sandy Lim.” She’d almost forgotten that he might still be dating