Julieta was stressed. Jin could sense it. She had welcomed him into the conference room to look over the contract with her. He had remained standing until she had seated herself first. Then he’d taken the chair next to her, around the corner from her seat. He studied her lovely face for a moment.
She had swept her long, dark hair up into a tight bun today. No free-flowing tresses for him to slide his fingers through. He sighed. Not that he was in a position to do that anyway.
He couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under her eyes too. She had a faraway look in those eyes. Her brow was furrowed. Something was definitely troubling her. Her gaze was centered on the papers before her on the table. But he was pretty sure she wasn’t comprehending anything that had been typed on them. And she kept tapping her pen nervously against the tabletop.
What was it about this woman that brought out every protective instinct in Jin’s body and soul? He wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let her go. He longed to shield her from the pain of the past and the difficulties of the present. He coveted her confidences.
“What’s wrong?” Jin asked after a quiet moment.
Distracted, she glanced up at him. “What?”
“Something’s bothering you. What’s wrong?”
Should she tell him? If she did, he might pull his support too, and then she’d be sunk for sure. She squared her shoulders. No, she had to face this, like everything else, alone. She had to be brave. She had to protect the project. It was absolutely essential that she get BTS to sign the papers and commit to her advertising campaign. It was more important than her personal feelings.
She plastered a fake smile on her face. “Nothing’s wrong. I’ve just got a lot on my plate right now. The rest of my day is solidly packed with meetings, so we had best get to work. I don’t want to waste your time.”
“What you mean is that you don’t want me to waste your time,” he retorted coldly, a little stung by her tone.
“What?” She looked up at him and tried to focus on him for a moment. “I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to offend you.” Mortified, she felt tears stinging her eyes.
Jin didn’t miss them. Immediately, his heart softened. And his voice with it. “What is it? What’s wrong?” Then in an even gentler tone, “You can’t hide it from me, you know? I can tell something is distressing you.” When she still didn’t say anything, he persisted, “Don’t you trust me? I’m just trying to help you.”
“Why?” she suddenly cried out as a tear breached its banks to slide down her left cheek. Then she whispered, “You don’t even know me.”
“I know what I see. A very hardworking young woman who is dedicated to making her late father’s company an even greater success than he did.” He paused for a moment, fighting the urge to wipe the tear off her cheek with his fingertip. “You can’t fool me. I know that look. Someone who’s overworked and under-rested. I am very familiar with that posture in life. And there is an added worry eating away at you too, I’d wager. What is it?”
Two more tears flooded past the retaining wall of her eyelids to course down her cheeks, the one racing the other to see which would reach her chin first. She fought back a sob. His compassion had broken through her defenses.
Jin couldn’t take it any longer. He leaned towards her, lifting his hand to her face. His palm finally coming to cup her cheek as his thumb tenderly brushed two tears away. Clearly, the tear on her right cheek was the winner. It had almost reached her chin already. He had the strangest impulse to kiss that one away.
Julieta raised sad eyes to meet Jin’s empathetic gaze. His face softened by sympathy, he looked absolutely adorable and trustworthy. Dare she trust her future to him?
Then he smiled at her. It was a simple gesture that revealed his pearly white teeth, but it seemed to Julieta that the sun had broken forth from his mouth to enlighten the gloom she’d been wandering around in for the last week. For the first time in seven days, a ray of hope broke through her soul. Maybe, just maybe…could it possibly be? Maybe she wasn’t alone anymore. Maybe she didn’t have to face everything by herself.
In that moment, she took a leap of faith. She chose to believe in the concern she read in his eyes. And in the promise which she saw shining from his mouth.
She took a deep breath before she admitted in a voice just above the barest of whispers, “I think someone in my company is trying to sabotage me.”
Fear spiraled through her. What had she just done? Now she’d made herself vulnerable to Jin too. How would he react to her admission?
He shocked her by grinning widely. “Why, yes, I think that is a splendid notion! It is a beautiful autumn day outside! I would love to continue our talks over a walk in the park! Perhaps we can grab some lunch too!”
Why was Jin speaking so loudly?
She gazed at him, confused, her eyebrows coming together near her nose. She was adorable when she scrunched her face up like that, but Jin didn’t want her giving the game away to anyone listening, so he reached under the table and put his hand on her knee.
His movement shocked her. Stilled her. Her eyes jumped down to where his palm was releasing a heat wave into the bare skin just above her knee. Why was she suddenly feeling faint? Then her eyes collided with his. He was gazing intently into her jade green depths now. He bent towards her and whispered in her ear, “Play along.”
She smiled at him. Then she even giggled. Jin quirked an eyebrow in surprise. She was a better actress than he had first believed. He watched as she stacked all the papers in a pile before sliding them into a manila envelope. Then she stood up.
“Come on. I know just the place.”
