She turns to me, one eyebrow raised. “Yeah?”
I nod and lean in. “Fuck it.”
This is not witty or classy, but she laughs, and it’s enough to get the smile back in her eyes. That’s enough for me right now. After she goes to bed, I hide those nasty leggings in my room so Hana won’t see them in the morning.
Take that, Mama Choi.
Twenty-Nine
“So.”
“So,” I parrot back. It’s a week later, and Alex and I are at a bar after work to prepare for my upcoming initial meeting with Hyphen’s in-house legal. Brittany has already told me several times how jealous she is that I’m getting the fun little local clients while she has to spend her time with boring old companies negotiating multimillion-dollar deals. Sometimes she didn’t get home for dinner, and Kenny was getting somadabout having takeout all the time.
I do my best to be collegial, but it’s difficult, especially when I see her coming back with Meredith, both holding coffee from the same place. Brittany is gathering support among the partners, and I need to find a solution. Dad’s constant harping on the theme of career advancement doesn’t help.
Alex straightens his lapels and puts his hands flat on the table as the visual indicator that he’s about to say something important.
“Mr. Choi.”
“What about him?” I look at the menu to avoid his gaze.
“Are you dating?”
I can’t prevent the slight jerk that shakes the menu and focus on the description for the panko-crusted cauliflower bites. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” I say.
“As the man who spent the greater part of a week and most of his sleeping hours trying to hide your existence from the media and a very smart and resourceful fan base, I beg to differ.”
Touché. “We’re not talking anymore.”
His face softens. “Sorry.”
“There was no way it would work, and I don’t want to discuss it.”
“Understood.” He puts down his menu. “On the professional side, Hyphen distributes StarLune. I need to know if you can handle it.”
I sit back in the chair and glare at him, offended he thinks I can’t keep it together. “I can stay professional. We barely knew each other.” I can’t help choking over the last because it’s true but also false.
“Right.” He gives me a disbelieving look. “Have you looked through the information I sent?”
I nod, grateful to be on safer ground. “Interesting industry.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
I turn the menu over. “Most of it is manufactured music.”
“You lived with Min of StarLune and can say that.” Alex sounds disgusted.
“He wasn’t Min when I knew him,” I snap, angry to have Jihoon come up again. Work at least used to be my safe zone. “And I saidmost.”
“Do you think great actors are artists? Dancers?”
“Yes.”
“Then you agree that, say, Dame Judi Dench is an artist.”
“Normally I would say yes, but I’m downgrading my answer toperhapsbecause I’m suspicious of the point you’re going to make.”
“Does Judi Dench write her own parts? Do dancers create their own choreography forSwan Lake?”
