Kim SeokJin is a powerful CEO in one of the largest companies in the country. His lover is his chief business rival, Kim SongDae. Park JiMin only complicates matters between Jin and Dae with that damn smile of his.
All seven friends work togethe...
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Jimin paled and immediately was on his knees in front of her, trying to comfort her.
“Dae…. Dae…” he called her name trying to get her attention. “I am so sorry! I lost my temper. I forgot you were here. Baby…please. I am so sorry.”
Tae and JK had restrained Jin to that point, convincing him Jimin had to apologize, but as soon as the endearment left his lips Jin broke away and had him by the collar.
“Get away from her you bastard. Don’t you DARE call her that!” he shouted.
Jin had drawn back his fist but somehow Dae had managed to slip between them. She laid her hand on Jin's arm as she held her breath, her body trapped in the suffocating tension between the two of them.
“Move, Dae,” Jimin whispered, but her touch on Jin's sleeve finally penetrated his fury and he released his grip and moved away.
Hobi quietly gathered Dae and lead her back to the couch.
After several moments of silence Jimin spoke again.
“SongDae. I am so very sorry. That phrasing was unforgivable. I would never disrespect or harm you. I will do everything I can to earn your forgiveness. However,…” he paused. At the caveat Jin actually growled, causing JK to reach for him again.
Jimin gave him a warning look and began again.
“However, I did not “just make up" any of those theories. The last one was circulating in an online forum this morning,” he explained.
Dae thought she was going to be physically sick at that. Tae hurried to the bar and returned with a wet cloth and a bottle of water for her.
Jin had to sit. He felt a wave of nausea as well.
“Go on,” he demanded and Jimin continued.
“You both were seen leaving the Gala last night, within minutes of each other, without your dates,” Jimin said.
Tae snorted at that. “I saw Alex leave fifteen minutes later, hanging all over 2 idols that were half her age. And you…” at Jimin's look he left the rest unsaid.
“At any rate, my team found the mention. It was only 3 or 4 comments, speculating about the nature of your relationship, in a rather crude manner. We have scrubbed it and are monitoring for any other mentions.”
Jin blanched at what would have happened if Jimin’s team had not been so thorough.
“Jimin,” Jin said quietly “Thank You."
The men nodded; a temporary truce called for the duration of this crisis. The rest would have to wait until another time.
Dae had pulled herself together, realizing that now was the time for leadership. Personal issues would come later.
“What do we do now?” she asked, meeting each man's eyes in turn.
Tae explained where they were in the investigation, with JK jumping in with details from KimCom.
They assured the group that triple fail safes had been added and more personnel brought in to monitor all activity.
YoonGi reported that he had been in frequent contact with the government liaison and they were preparing to assist in the investigation.
Hobi told them the project had been evaluated and that no harm had been detected and there were no foreseeable delays due to the leak.
Finally, all eyes turned to Jimin. How was he going to spin this to the media?
Jimin glanced around and then at his watch.
“We will hold a press conference in one hour, ten minutes. Dae will announce that during a routine audit of the system it was discovered that a low-level security document was inadvertently released. She will then outline the safeguards now in place that will ensure it will never happen again. This is not a script, but you should become very familiar with it,” He said, handing her a document.
“Jin will follow with a statement about the soundness of the project and the fact this has had no impact on it. He will conclude by reading a written statement from the Department of Defense praising how this was handled and affirming the new security measures.”
At Dae's surprised look, Jimin shot her a cocky wink and a smile. He thought he heard Jin growl again. Good he thought.
Jimin drew a deep breath, this next part was not going to be easy.
“I will take questions at the end. There will be no need for either of you to answer.”
“And Jin….Alex will be there to stand with you and support you as you read your statement,” Jimin finished, waiting for the explosion. Jin did not disappoint.
“Like hell she will!! What does she have to do with this?” he asked, his anger slipping once again.
Jimin held up his hand and answered, “she called me this morning and said your father had called and explained the situation to her. She said he had asked her to be here and stand with you to quell any rumors about you and Dae. It is a solid strategy Jin.”
Jin looked into Dae's face and shook his head. Before he could refuse again, she quietly said “We need to be Company leaders right now Jin. It is the right thing to do.”
Jin nodded and moved away from the group.
His disappointment and hurt in that answer rivaled anything he had heard today.
Just now he was conferencing with Kim SongDae, skilled negotiator and shrewd business owner.
Gone was the soft woman with ice cold feet, lush curves and stars in her eyes that he had held this morning. His heart felt empty.
Everyone slowly drifted back into groups to discuss tasks, leaving Dae alone again with her thoughts.
