Off Limits Attraction (The Heirs of Hansol #3) - Jayci Lee Page 0,3
working there as a server during college. Soon after graduating with an economics degree, he went on to become a manager. When the owner decided it was time for him to retire, he decided to become a silent partner and gave Colin a chance to buy out a small share of the business.
Colin had sold off most of his belongings and emptied his savings account to buy in to the business. He worked his ass off to grow the business, and bought Pendulum outright by the time he was twenty-three.
His grandmother, the formidable Grace Song of Hansol Corporation, had allowed him to become a nightclub owner without censure—not because she approved of his plan, but because she always stood by family. She didn’t approve of his choice, but she’d understood why he wanted to branch out on his own, and succeed through hard work, not through his name and connections. He wanted to be a self-made man who never needed to depend on anyone but himself and prove that he was nothing like his father.
His father was the proverbial trust-fund baby who’d never done an honest day’s work. He was too busy burning money on expensive cars and women, and jetting all over the globe. His grandmother, and his uncle and aunt—before she’d passed away from cancer—had raised Colin. He had grown up with his cousins, Garrett and Adelaide, who were more like an older brother and a little sister to him.
He now owned several popular nightclubs in Koreatown and West Los Angeles, and business was flourishing. He didn’t exactly have a party-animal reputation, but it was his business to ensure that the real party animals had a good time. That didn’t make Grandmother very happy with him, especially since he was running his clubs rather than working at Hansol. But his clubs had allowed him to save up enough money to open CS Productions.
His grandmother, the family matriarch, hadn’t given up on Colin’s joining Hansol one day. So far, she had him on a long leash, but he didn’t know how long she would let him go on like this. No matter how hard he tried to distance himself from Hansol and the Song family name, she found ways to hold on to him. In a way, he appreciated that. He avoided all association with Hansol Corporation in public and kept his identity a tightly held secret, but he loved his family and needed to be a part of it.
He revved his engine and drove out of the café’s parking lot with a cheek-cramping grin on his face. Jeannie Choi had optioned Best Placed Bets to CS Productions. He could hardly believe what had just happened. They only had three employees so far, including him, but they were a tightly knit group. They had a critically acclaimed TV series under their belt, but this would be their first full-length film. He couldn’t wait to tell his team members about the news.
Colin had set up the company in a small office in West LA, and he got there in about forty minutes from the suburbs where Jeannie lived. When he opened the office door and entered like a superhero, Kimberly and Ethan jumped up from their desks and ran to him.
“You won’t freaking believe this,” Ethan said before Colin could open his mouth.
“Rotelle Entertainment is looking to partner with a US production company for their first Hollywood venture,” Kimberly blurted as soon as the words left Ethan’s mouth.
“This could put CS Productions on the map.” Ethan was practically bouncing on his feet.
“Totally!” Kim shouted. Then she clenched her hands into fists, and her expression hardened in steely determination. “We have to lock this in.”
Colin still hadn’t gotten a word in. He had very mixed feelings about working with Rotelle Entertainment. Even so, he didn’t want to dampen morale, so he added his good news to the excitement. “I have something that could help with that.”
Both his employees turned to him with blank eyes, as if they’d forgotten he was even there.
“What was that?” Kim said with a confused frown.
Colin chuckled, shaking his head. “Do you remember where I was this morning?”
“Where you were? You never tell us where you’re going—” Ethan gasped. “Jeannie Choi.”
“Spill it, Colin. You can’t keep us in suspense any longer.” Kim looked at him like a puppy hungry for a treat.
“I was keeping you in suspense? You guys wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise.”