“Please dispose of my body in the Venice canals where no one will find me.”
Tae laughed. He couldn’t help himself.
“I actually don’t know what I want,” Julia confessed. “Obviously.”
It was comforting knowing that he wasn’t the only one. That even successful-on-paper CEOs could be a little lost too.
“It’s okay, Julia. There’s no way you’re gonna get any losersin this group. Your parents see this as their one and only shot to set you up. You’ll get three amazing men to go out with.”
Julia’s head shot up. “Tae, I run a successful, reputable company. I’m about to be inOmagazine. And now I’m being ruined by a call to all Korean men within flying distance, which is basically worldwide, offered up to the most impressive option only to fully disappoint him and everyone else by a mismatch. Matchmaking by résumé won’t work. I’m sure of it. It won’t make me suddenly charming and not abrasive. And I’m supposed to win him over and marry him on the off chance that my grandma dies?”
Tae was glad Julia was looking at it as an off chance at this point and wasn’t back in her any-day-now mode.
“You keep talking about it like it’s just the guy’s decision. What about you? You have to fall in love with him too. Don’t you forget that.”
“Great. Way to drive home that this is going to be impossible. I don’t like anyone, Tae. Take me out of the equation.”
“No can do. This is a relationship, and hopefully a marriage, we’re talking about. You matter as much as he does.”
“Let’s just focus on thehimof it all first. Then we can see if there’s anything left to salvage from the wreckage,” Julia whined.
“Well, that’s where I come in. I won’t let this fail. Look, I’m sorry to have dropped this bomb on you, but I wanted you to know that whatever you find out about your grandmother, it’s likely too late to back out of the setups. But, honestly, Julia, what have you got to lose? You’ll have some fun, maybe meet some good guys—”
“And maybe find the love of my life?”
Tae shrugged. “It could happen.” Maybe he was more of a romantic than he gave himself credit for.
“Or I will be the embarrassment of the entire Korean community and die an old shrew with four hundred cats.”
“Well, that’s grim. You don’t like cats.”
“What am I going to do?” Julia dropped her head into her arms on the table.
Tae reached over and patted her on the head.
“There, there, Julia. Leave it to me. I’ll take care of everything.”
9
The Product Closet
Julia
“Hey, are you guys gonna come out with any of those new faux freckles? Or the eyebrow gems?”
Julia couldn’t believe she was doing this. She opened her big mouth at the very last second, in a moment of weakness, just as they were saying their goodbyes at the café and she’d be free of Jisoo and her huge engagement ring... and invited Jisoo into the Starlight Product Closet to make gift bags for her bridesmaids. She hadn’t expected Jisoo to call her the very next day. But here they were. After having not spoken to her in over a year, she was now chitchatting away with her childhood frenemy twice in one week.
Making matters worse, Julia had work to do. She was worried about her company and the next steps for its growth, maximizing the exposure from the Oprah effect. To enter the Korean market or not to enter the Korean market, that was the question. But instead of focusing on stuff that mattered, here she was answering questions about the over-the-top Korean makeup trends. Great.
“Do doctors wear faux freckles and eyebrow gems?” It came out snarkier than Julia had wanted. Oh well.
“When they’re not saving lives, they do.”
Point, Jisoo.
“But this is for my bridesmaids, and these girls love the newest makeup trends coming out of Korea. Seriously, Korean brands really know how to lead the market.”
“Yeah, well, we don’t really carry the trendy stuff.”
