Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

Chapter 17: Playing Hooky

The car drove away and while Katherine tried to stay unaffected by her boss's presence less than a meter away from her, she couldn't help but sneak a glance at him. She hadn't heard about Damien before she applied for the job opening but according to what she had read online that morning, he was the fourth richest man in the world and currently at the top of his field resorts.

Katherine thought that he looked young but he was already thirty years old this year. Damien's long hair that was parted to one side would sometimes fall on his forehead and he would brush them off out of habit. He had long lashes for a guy, making her envious whenever it fanned up and down. Her gaze trailed down to his jaw and she didn't know why she suddenly swallowed. She wasn't aware of how she was attracted to his manly yet beautiful looks. Have jawlines always been that sexy to her?

Realizing that she had been staring too much, Katherine adjusted her eyeglasses and scanned the interior of the car instead. Damien actually noticed her stare but pretended that he wasn't aware of it; a small smile cast on his lips though he tried to hide it.

"Interesting choice," Katherine muttered as she scanned the interior of Damien's Jaguar XJ.

"Hmmm?" Damien closed his tablet and turned to face the person in question.

"Your car I find it interesting that you chose this model, Sir." She continued to look around.

Crossing his legs, he found a comfortable position as he asked her, "Are you knowledgeable about cars?"

"Not that much but I used to work in a luxury car dealership for a couple of years so I know a thing or two." Curious, she looked at him and asked, "Why did you choose this particular car?"

Damien found it engrossing that this woman talked about other things apart from anything that was related to his identity, his wealth, or his interests in women. It was one of the reasons why he asked Natasha to resign. Though he appeared quite approachable all the time, he didn't like it when people take advantage of him. Natasha thought that because her boss was very nice to her, she could strike a move to "upgrade" her status. So when she tried to seduce Damien, he asked her to submit her resignation so she could have a "vacation".

Since he was in a good mood, Damien willingly conversed with her, "I like how it has both sporty and luxurious feel."

"Hmmm It fits you," she whispered softly but he was able to hear it.

Katherine bit her lip, suddenly feeling thirsty and her thirst was accompanied by hunger. She woke up early this morning after she overslept from yesterday but she did not have any appetite to eat breakfast. Touching her stomach, she pressed her lips into a thin line and thought that she would have to drink plenty of water when they get off. No money No food.

Unbeknownst to her, Damien was casually observing her moves. There were so many questions in his head that he wanted to ask her, like why she left without saying anything five years ago. When he caught sight of her little movement, he knew that she was hungry. "You haven't eaten anything, have you?"

Smiling brightly, Katherine shook her head like there was nothing wrong. "I'm okay."

Ignoring her response, Damien instructed Markus as he took out a wad of cash from his wallet: "Drop by the Busy Bean Cafe at the corner and get us two croissants, black coffee for me."

He then turned to Katherine and asked, "What do you want to drink?"

Shaking her hands in front of her, she declined his offer. "I'm okay, really you don't-"

"Do you drink coffee?"

"No, only hot chocolate," she answered without thinking, making Damien smile. Katherine realized what she just said and she could only stare at him in horror.

"Markus, get a cup of hot chocolate and order whatever you want for yourself, too." He handed the money just as Markus pulled over to the curb.

"I'm really okay Ummm, President Park. You didn't have to buy me food."

"I don't like my people starving." Casually leaning back and looking at her, Damien saw her biting her lower lip. It's exactly how Katherine was before whenever she was thinking of something. "Do you really not know me?" He asked with a curious gaze. He was frustrated at what was happening.

Unsure of what he meant, Katherine just answered truthfully. "To be honest, it's the first time that I have met you. I have not heard much about your company before and I am also not aware that the CEO is this young."

Her answer was very natural that Damien couldn't find any flaws. Trying to find ways on how to catch her lies, he thought of what other questions he could ask.

Katherine's phone beeped and she excused herself to take a look at it. She clenched her fingers when she read that it was another reminder for her unpaid bills. Not wanting to deal with it at the moment, she sighed and placed her phone back to her purse.

Sensing her distress, Damien became hesitant about asking her questions. He was afraid that if he kept on pressing the matter about five years ago, Katherine might run away again.

Markus came back with their food and they ate carefully while they rode towards their destination.

Arriving at a luxury hotel in the countryside, Katherine saw the name but was unfamiliar with it. "Is this one of your hotels?"

Fixing the button on his coat, Damien walked leisurely towards the entrance and told her, "No, this hotel belongs to Mr. Wu and we're here to play hooky." A dangerous smile appeared on his face, making Katherine even more curious. Why would they be playing hooky in another person's hotel?

They reached the bar and restaurant where Damien had chosen a table in the middle of the area.

Katherine followed and sat opposite him while Markus sat next to him. As soon as they were seated, a waitress came by and handed them the menu. The waitress greeted them politely and introduced some items from the list before taking their orders.

Katherine was still full from the croissant that she had eaten earlier so she only ordered soup yet she was still unsure why they were dining at the restaurant at ten in the morning when they were supposed to be working. Were they meeting someone here?

"So, tell me about your previous jobs. What did you do before you came to my company?" Damien took a sip of water from the glass on the table while he waited for her to answer his question.

"Ummm well I worked at several supermarkets and convenience stores recently" Katherine thought that there was no harm in answering her boss' questions so she told him about her work experiences.

Damien's brows scrunched up a little as he listened to her tale about her part-time jobs. There was nothing wrong with them but he wondered why she was doing those things for the past few years; he was utterly confused. The Katherine that he knew back then was an independent woman who didn't have problems with money.

Just as she finished answering, a man in his late forties walked towards their table with two bodyguards following him from behind.

"Mr. Park, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Damien stood from his chair and shook hands with him. "Ah, we were just in the neighborhood and wanted to have brunch. I figured I should try your popular dishes that I have heard a lot about."

'What a smooth liar,' Katherine thought. 'We weren't in any way near this place. We traveled for almost an hour just to get here and there wasn't even traffic!'

"Well, I'm glad that you thought about this place. I won't keep you for long. I hope you enjoy your food. Do take a look around and enjoy." Mr. Wu replied without a hint of malice in his words before he turned around and left. But Damien knew too well how stressed the man must be feeling seeing that his competitor was on his territory.

Damien sat down and acted like nothing happened whilst Katherine looked at him strangely. Soon after, their food arrived and they started eating. She found the food really tasty and so she enjoyed and finished all of it. The two men however only ate about half of the food before they started to enjoy their wine.

Katherine wondered, 'Did we come here just to eat?'

"Are you done?" He asked in which Katherine replied with a nod. "Good, let's go to the pool."

Her brows furrowed even more. She still did not see the point of coming to the hotel. Certainly, they weren't here just to pass the time right?

But to her surprise, her boss sat at the barstool, set his coat aside and ordered a cocktail drink. "What would you like to drink?" Damien asked as he rolled his sleeves up to his elbow. He was looking casual as if he was there to relax before gently pulling Katherine by the hand and leading her to sit right next to him.

Caught off guard, Katherine felt her cheeks burning by how gentle and warm his hand was when he held hers. But as if she was in a daze, she could not say anything and just followed suit.