The Accidental Star

NIGHTCAP

JAKE

" I can't believe you're making me do this, " I grumbled as I signed the last page of the document Anne had prepared for me.

" Now you know how it feels, " she said sweetly as she watched me from across the table transferring my company shares to her.

I slammed the pen on the table and leaned back on my chair. " Happy? "

She took the documents from the table and skimmed through it making sure that I signed every page. " Overjoyed, " she flashed me a grin and placed the document inside her purse.

Everything happened in one day. From her accidental audition, to her contract signing with my entertainment house and the transfer of my shares to her name. I didn't know how she quickly managed to draft a contract for the transfer but four hours after we signed her in our agency, she invited me to dinner. And that was when I lost a number of my remaining MartinCorp shares to my cousin.

I shook my head at her. " If you weren't my own blood, I'd hunt you down and kill you."

She smiled at me demurely as she took a sip from her glass of red wine. " I've been thinking the same thing eversince I agreed to sign up with Spotlight."

Spotlight Entertainment was the agency that I co-founded with my former college room mate, Soong Jang Hye, here in Korea about five years ago.

I silently studied her as I toyed with my wine glass.

I couldn't believe that the answer to my problem was right under my nose all this time. If she hadn't come to Korea, if she didn't run away, she wouldn't have accidentally auditioned. She wouldn't have been discovered and casted. I would probably still be scouting every town in South Korea for the perfect female lead.

I have a lot of people in New York to thank for her sudden appearance in Seoul. I grimaced at the thought.

Starting off with my uncle who has recently remarried for the 4th time in the last fourteen years. Anne hated all of her step mothers. And she had four of them. Not that I could blame her. My uncle seemed to have a particular type of woman - young, beautiful, scheming and wicked. Extremely wicked.

Then there was the ex-boyfriend whom Anne caught cheating with one of her best friends, Carrie. Thank goodness it wasn't Rachel. The latter was Anne's closest friend and I couldn't imagine how she'd be if it was Rachel who cheated with Tommy. Not that Rachel would ever do such a thing and Tommy wasn't exactly her type.

But recalling how broken Anne sounded over the phone when she told me what happened, I didn't think it mattered whom Tommy cheated with. It didn't lessen the pain of being two-timed.

And then, there were the MartinCorp board of directors. After my decline of the company chairmanship, Anne was supposed to be next in line. In the family hierarchy, she was  the oldest grand child after myself. In my absence, she should be heir apparent. But the day before she flew out of America, the board was won over by her newest step mother, who by the way was only seven years older than her. And from what I heard, my uncle took his wife's side and made her his successor.

And that, apparently, was the last blow that she could take.

" Earth to Jake, " I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard and saw her snap a finger in front of my face.

When my eyes focused on her again, I felt a shadow fall over me.

I looked up and saw Ji Chang Wook and his talent manager, Daniel Lee , standing by our table.

Daniel grinned at Anne. " Hi Jake, " he said in English. " We saw both of you from the window and we thought we'd say hi."

Born to an American mother and a Korean father, Daniel speaks pretty good English.