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C H A P T E R    T H I R T Y - T H R E E
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»Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.«
– Muhammad Ali

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Yuta, Lucas and I were escorted to a table at the exclusive high-rise restaurant above our hotel. It was filled with laughter from the, slightly well-lubricated, people sipping on their expensive Ripassos and Merlots under the dimmed lights.

A big man in white a tux was playing captivating jazz songs on his Saxophone, filling the atmosphere with an undeniably sexy vibe. I sat down next to Yuta with Lucas right across from me. We were waiting for Miss Nakamoto Haruna to arrive from a fashion show in Tokyo.

Eyes were watching us from all around the restaurant, undoubtedly because of Yuta who smiled politely at the guests at the surrounding tables. I noticed two young, long-legged, women debating whether or not to ask for a selfie with him. I rolled my eyes at Lucas as their giggles were loud and obnoxious. As they both got up and approached us, I sighed in defeat, wishing they'd control their hormones.

But they stopped and looked at Lucas, who seemed just as surprised as Yuta and me.

"Excuse us, sir, but weren't you at Paris fashion week last year? We think you look like a model we talked to backstage at the Eiffel Tower." The blond-haired woman twisted a strand of hair flirtatiously around her index finger while the red-head placed a hand on our table.

"Sorry ladies, you must be mistaking me for someone else. I'm not a model." Lucas replied cockily. Yuta looked amused, and I tried my hardest not to run my mouth and scare them away.

"I don't know what your profession is but you should seriously consider changing it then, you're, like, wow." The red-head said, biting her lower lip. Before they turned to walk away, they both leaned in over our table, giving us all a good view down their dresses, and slid a napkin over to Lucas.

You've got to be kidding me...

It showed both a phone number and a room number, and I couldn't help but puff at their pathetic move, making Yuta chuckle at my indiscretion. They both looked at me frowning before sending Lucas once last coquettish glance and turning on their, Manolo Blahnik, heels.

Ugh!

"Wow. That was... intense. You're a wanted man Mr. Zhong." Yuta took a sip of his red wine, watching Lucas as he crumbled their, not-so-subtle "call me" napkins. I raised my eyebrow. I had expected him to put them in his pocket.

"I prefer being the one to chase." Lucas smiled as he too took a sip from his glass of sparkling water, locking eyes with me. I knew he was only trying to make me more desirable to Yuta, who then cleared his throat and briefly looked over at me to search my face for a reaction. I just smiled at Lucas, trying not to look impressed. I wanted Yuta to feel that I wasn't an easy catch and whoever I'd become interested in would be a lucky man.

That's when we heard people start to whisper again leaving the sound of heels echoing through the restaurant in almost complete silence. We looked up and were met by a pair of, feline-looking, hazel, eyes. They belonged to a tall, slim, woman.

She was wearing a black bodycon dress, paired with a glittering, silver, necklace, and silver clutch. Her hair was chocolatey and long. It fell naturally wavy on her shoulders and bounced as she walked, catwalk-style, down to our table where she stopped. Her skin was flawless and glowing, and she had a nose so perfect it couldn't possibly be real. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. It irked me.

"Haruna!" Yuta stood up to greet her, Lucas and I followed. He pulled her into a hug.

"Haruna, I wanted you to meet Carmen Cain and Zhong Taeyong Jr. They're both sponsoring my newest project." Yuta said enthusiastically. Haruna looked closely at Lucas for a moment, seemingly, intrigued by his looks. He took her hand and kissed it. I wasn't surprised by his boldness; luckily, neither was Yuta.

"It's a pleasure, Miss Nakamoto. You're even more stunning in person," Lucas said, looking up at her down from her hand. She sent him a subtle smile and then turned towards me.

"Miss Cain, Yuta has told me a lot about you. On the phone earlier today, he mentioned how you convinced three new sponsors to sponsor his project. I'm impressed," she said, even though she didn't look particularly impressed. I shook her hand and smiled politely at her.

"Thank you, Miss Nakamoto. I was quite surprised by the outcome of my little speech too, to be honest. I'm just glad I could help Yuta." I laughed half-heartedly.

She paused for what seemed like an eternity and then responded with a short "hm," without blinking nor smiling. The air around us suddenly became cold. It was as if a switch flipped like she suddenly decided she didn't like me. I looked awkwardly over at Yuta who, without a doubt, felt the coldness too. He put his arm around her shoulder, snapping her out of her death stare. The absurdity of the situation had Lucas suppressing a laugh. None of us had ever seen a person turn on a dime like that before.

"Uhm... Let's get some food, shall we?" Yuta asked, trying to switch Haruna's attention to something else than me and barely managing to do that as she sat down next to Lucas. Of course, she didn't intimidate me... But I must admit, out of all the crazy mothers, wives, girlfriends, and sisters I'd met, she was the one who intimidated me the most. Yuta, Lucas, and I exchanged a "well, shit" look and sat down.

"So, Carmen, what do you do for a living?" Haruna asked, sipping her red wine.

"Well, right now, I've dedicated my time to follow Yuta's project and see where the money I sponsored makes a difference. But before that, I was able to do an internship in marketing at Wall Street due to my job in Yeouido." I replied. That I still was a student, barely able to pay my loans and rent, was a detail she didn't need to know. After the mission, that aspect would change anyway, and who knew? Maybe I would end up following the role I was playing and work hard to become the Wolf of Wallstreet for real someday. But would I be able to become hungry and ruthless enough to get on top of the financial ladder by then? Time would show.

Haruna looked at me like I was a bug that needed to be squashed. I couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with Yuta and I being on a first-name basis already. Or was it because of my profile and the whole having internships and jobs in the biggest financial districts kinda-thing?

"I'll never understand the people who take pleasure in sitting at a desk all day." She said boldly.

I couldn't say I was surprised by her swing at me; it was obvious she couldn't stand me.

"Well, I got sick of it too. Which is why I am here." I smiled coldly at her. I wasn't going to try and get her to like me if she had already decided she and I weren't going to be friends. After all, Yuta needed me and my money, so I was sure he wasn't going to let her chase me away.

"And what about you Mr. Zhong? What do you do?" She looked softly at Lucas. There was no piercing death stare for him.

"You haven't heard of Zhong Petroleum, Haruna?" Yuta looked surprised at his stunning sister. She raised her eyebrows to the sky.

"Of course, I have. I just... didn't know this was the Zhong Petroleum heir." Her mouth stretched into a devilish grin, like a spoiled child for Christmas. One could be tempted to say it looked gold digger-ish and, funny enough, her interest in Lucas increased after that.

The rest of the evening consisted of small talk, wine, and great food. Despite the fact that Lucas and I already knew almost everything about Nakamoto Haruna and Nakamoto Yuta, we still had to endure the many hours of our, pretend, get-to-know show. It would be one of the easiest parts of this mission but also the most tedious one.

~∙~∙~

Heading to my room, I was rejoicing the night's end. I sighingly pulled the keycard to my room out of my purse when I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I jumped, it was not often people managed to sneak up on me, but I was, obviously and shamefully, too tired to notice.

"Yuta!" I turned around and met his kind eyes. He looked almost pitifully at me. My exhaustion was very apparent, and I instantly straightened myself up, trying to salvage myself. I didn't want him to think I didn't enjoy the night and misinterpret my tiredness.

"Carmen, I just wanted to say thank you for an incredible night and-uh... I wanted to apologize too. Haruna is, well, difficult to get close to at first."

Not if you're a rich guy with Lucas' looks...

I bit my tongue, holding back my snarky remark.

"Maybe with time..." I said, smiling sympathetically at him. He brushed a hand through his hair and sighed. He was clearly debating with himself whether or not to enlighten me on one of their personal family struggles.

"To be honest with you, she's got some insecurities which is why she sees other people, especially women like you, as a threat and competitor."

"Women like me?"

"Yes, women as smart and beautiful as you." He said it as incidental as if it were the most normal thing in the world, giving me no time to process the compliment and react to it. "I want you to know because I don't want her to intimidate you off this project. I know we shouldn't discuss personal issues like this..."

"I'm glad you told me," I interrupted him, making sure he knew him confiding in me would stay with us. "Your sister doesn't intimidate me though..." I managed to put what little energy I had left into one last flirtatious tête-à-tête. "You, however, intimidate me sometimes, Yuta..." I didn't remove my gaze from his, and I didn't smile, I just searched his face for a reaction to my words.

I hoped he read my words. I hoped he knew I meant that his sexy, authoritarian air would intimidate most women.

It took a few seconds for him to remove his eyes from mine and instead smile down to his feet but it only confirmed my hopes. He caught it. He bit his lower lip before looking back into my eyes.

"Well, my apologies, Miss Cain." My heart jumped at his reply. Because we earlier decided to be on a first-name basis, I knew him calling me Miss Cain was him flirting back, playing on the very things that made him intimidating. He smiled provocatively at me before clearing his throat.

"Goodnight, Carmen."

I chuckled.

"Goodnight, Yuta."

He turned on his heels and walked down the hallway. I leaned against my door, watching him as he disappeared around the corner. My head was spinning. I wasn't sure if it was from the many delicious wines I had enjoyed that night or the exhilarating feeling I felt whenever I got even closer to my target... Closer to Nakamoto Yuta.

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to be continued.