“Julia...”
She couldn’t handle her friend’s recriminations. She’d break if Rachel took his side on this.
“What? I’m wrong?” Julia challenged her.
“She might have asked him to date you, but there’s nothing she did to make the two of you fall for each other. That man cares about two things in this life: his family and you. Period.”
It’s why Julia couldn’t even be as mad as she wanted to. He’d always been family first. She knew it, accepted it. She’d admit that she even loved him for it. So he chose his family’s financial needs first. Even at the expense of playing Julia for a fool.
“It’s clear as day, Julia. I get why you’re hurt. I would be too. But think of it this way. Your grandmother did this for you because she wanted you to be happy. And, in the same sense, Tae wanted that for you too. I mean, how much are we even talking here? Big money? Does your grandma even have big money? Maybe she only offered him a couple hundred bucks. Would that make it feel like less of a betrayal?”
Julia was tired of talking about it. She was tired of thinking about it.
“Hey, thanks for coming over and bringing pho for healing. I’m okay, just like I texted you guys. You didn’t have to drive here to make sure. I just need to get back to work.”
Work was the only thing she had control over now. It was the only thing she was good at, the one thing she could count on. Prepping for the big meeting with Andrew Lim was the only thing she would pour herself into.
And for the next few days that’s exactly what she did.
“I’m thrilled to be meeting in person, finally,” Julia said.
“Same here. We’ve done some great work over email and conferencing, but nothing like a face-to-face meeting to really get a sense of how both sides are feeling.”
Andrew Lim was an impressive figure, almost intimidatingly so. Tall, broad, and handsome, his presence was felt immediately as they walked through the reception area to the executive conference room where the two of them would be meeting.
Julia really loved how Tae had designed this room with its textured walls and wide-planked wood floors laid out in a herringbone pattern. The ten-foot conference table was made out of a huge poured-concrete slab, but instead of typical leather chairs, Tae had chosen softer wheeled armchairs and had them upholstered in a soft pink velvet. The entire aesthetic was a surprising mix of industrial and chic, and Julia was obsessed.
She wasn’t sure what Tae would end up wanting to do with his life. But she hoped he kept designing and building interiors. He was so talented.
A pang hit her heart at the thought of Tae. She’d been so careful to stay busy enough to avoid thinking about him, but he’d sneak into her thoughts every once in a while. Usually at night when she was trying to sleep. It was super inconvenient for him to interrupt her now, right before one of the biggest meetings of her life.
Andrew took a seat and pulled out his files. Julia had her iPad out and set up the connection to project to the screen if needed.
“Our teams have gone over a lot of what thiscouldlook like, but I’d like to start finalizing some details to get us on the same page and see if we can move forward,” Andrew started. His voice low, commanding.
Julia was ready for this meeting mentally, and she so rarely found herself feeling intimidated by anyone when it came to business. But her emotions had been fragile as of late, and, well, she needed this to work. It was Hansuk Holdings and Andrew Lim that held all the cards. She didn’t feel in a position of power right now. And that worried her.
Starlight was Julia’s brainchild, and she was proud of what they’d managed to build.
But there had always been the Korean factor in her mind. Would Korea, with their fickle and demanding consumers, their insular businesses and industries, take Starlight seriously? And there had always been the feeling of not being good enough until the Korean market told her she was. She wanted that validation. But did she need it?
Maybe that was exactly what had happened in that disastrous plan for being setup by her family on dates. Besides doing it for her grandma’s dying wish, she couldn’t deny wanting validation that she was dateable. But honestly, did she ever really need it?
And had she done it all differently, would she and Tae have found their way to each other? Would it have been any less of a mess than it was now?
Get ahold of yourself, Julia.
“I’ve appreciated the time and effort your team has put toward this proposal, working in tandem with our Starlight team. It has been an incredible honor and a great learning experience for so many of us.”
“The enthusiasm of your team and their loyalty to the brandis refreshing, Julia. You’ve built a great company. We’d really like to step in and take it to the next level for you.”
Step in. Take it to the next level.
This was where Julia wavered. Was Hansuk Holdings trying to acquire Starlight at the end of the day?
“I think there could be a strong partnership here. I wanted to discuss the business side of the proposal. You’d mentioned we’d discuss this one-on-one when we met. It’s unclear to me what Hansuk’s ultimate goal is here. Are they trying to help launch Starlight globally and, in turn, become profitable from its success, or—”
“Julia, at the risk of sounding overly arrogant, Starlight is a very small fish, and Hansuk owns the pond. We don’t need Starlight for any profit they could earn us. Our intention is to acquire the company at some point, obviously, with your blessing. We would keep the brand as is, but we’d definitely need to look at a larger scale and more profitable production model, distribution model, marketing model, staffing model,” Andrew Lim explained.
