said.
Jihae’s heart immediately switched into high gear at the mention of Colin Song’s name. It turned out the handsome producer and his production company were a good fit for Rotelle Entertainment. Even so, she was hesitant about approaching him because of her obvious attraction to him. But before she could decide what to do, CS Productions had applied for the partnership of their own accord.
She still couldn’t help but feel conflicted about the whole thing. CS Productions was a strong candidate. But...why did the man have to be so unreasonably attractive? Just don’t be biased one way or another. Looks had no bearing on a business decision.
“Just two more to go?” Jihae yawned behind her hand to hide her sudden flush. “Thank goodness.”
“You’re pushing yourself too hard,” June said, eyeing her with concern. “Even for you.”
“I know. I know.” She rolled her eyes then affectionately bumped shoulders with her friend. “It’s just that I’ve been dreaming of this for so long, and we’re finally here in the States, living it. It’s hard not to be excited.”
“Sure. Fine. Be excited. Just slow down a little. You could still be excited working eight to nine hours a day instead of eleven to twelve.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Jihae noticed for the first time that June had dark circles under her eyes that even her flawless makeup couldn’t hide. “Oh, my goodness. You’ve been working those hours with me all this time. How thoughtless of me. I’m so sorry, friend.”
“Don’t worry about it. You weren’t asking me to do anything you weren’t doing yourself. I say that’s fair.”
“Let’s cut back to a sane eight hours a day once the interviews are finished.”
“Promise?” June stuck out her pinkie, and Jihae shook it with hers.
With their coffee break over, they went back to work like proper workaholics. Her team had sifted through stacks of proposals and narrowed it down to ten production companies to interview. A few were lackluster and some were promising, and now Jihae was down to her last two interviews.
Her earlier glimpse of him on TV had given her mixed feelings about Colin Song, but she wasn’t about to judge him based on a snippet of entertainment news. She would do her utmost to be completely fair. Maybe he wouldn’t be as handsome in person. Yes. He was probably just very photogenic and looked like any other man in real life.
Her phone rang and brought her wayward thoughts to a halt.
“Yup.”
“Mr. Colin Song is here to see you,” June said.
“Thanks. Please send him in.”
“He’s level-ten yummy,” her friend whispered almost inaudibly.
“Stop that,” she said, fighting a laugh.
Jihae hurriedly replaced the receiver in its cradle and wiped the goofy grin off her face. She walked around her desk with her professional half smile on, ready to greet her guest when he came in.
Her office door opened and all the oxygen was sucked out of the room. Colin Song in the flesh. The video clip hadn’t done him justice. He took long strides into the office and stood in front of her before she could get a proper breath in. He wore a sharp suit in a perfect shade of gray with a white dress shirt that showed off his athletic physique. His shoulders were so broad, she wondered if he had all his suits custom-made. She should’ve said hello about three seconds ago, but he was so beautiful she forgot how to speak.
Oddly, he, too, stood transfixed in front of her, his mouth slightly agape. Oh, bloody hell. She must seem completely bonkers staring at him like a goldfish of little brain. She shook herself out of whatever spell held her hostage and extended her hand.
“Mr. Song, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
His big, warm hand enveloped hers, making her mind go stark white. Then her knees turned to gelatin when he said in a smooth, deep voice, “The pleasure’s all mine.”
“I’m Jihae Park. I work here,” she offered helpfully. God. When he uttered the word pleasure, it sounded like it was dipped in copious amounts of butter. So decadent.
“Yes,” he said with laughter twinkling in his eyes. “I’m well aware of that.”
“Well...yes.” Jihae gave herself a mental forehead slap, and forced herself to focus on business. It was her comfort zone. She had to stop acting so weird. “Please have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
He folded his long form onto a sofa, and watched her with quiet eyes as Jihae picked a seat across from him. The coffee table between them created a much-needed barrier for