This is going to be the worst dinner of my life.

Irene inched an inch away from the tall man beside her. The elevator was fairly spacious but Cho Yonghae was standing far too close, his arm brushing against hers. Irene kept her smile up, while her stomach made a fast descent into the pits. Cho Yonghae was beginning to show more of his true colours. He had hovered near the border of Creepy Town at the first dinner, but was pretty much crossing the border and stepping right into the centre of Creepy Town this time.

“We have special guests joining us this evening,” Cho Yonghae was saying, oblivious to the dread seeping through Irene. “Do you know Mr Shon, CEO of SS Financial Group?”

Irene nodded gently. “How can I not know of such an important figure in the world of finance? I’ve read numerous news reports about Mr Shon and his companies.”

“He will join us for dinner with his daughter.”

His daughter? Irene perked up a little. Having another woman around was better than having none at all. “Is she in the business too?”

Cho Yonghae snorted and patted her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “What would a woman know about business? She’s not involved in his business or any business at all. I heard she spent many years abroad. She must be enjoying herself, socialising, shopping and whatever it is that rich young women do with their father’s money. It’s too bad he doesn’t have a son. But he will have two sons-in-laws, that’s a consolation.”

“Exactly right, Mr Cho. Our dear Irene is too naive about these matters,” Park Gyuho added.

Irene held her tongue as they entered the private dining room. It wouldn’t do her any good to unleash all her pent up snark on them. All she had to do was tolerate no more than two hours of this nonsense. Just two hours. Maybe she could spend most of it with Mr Shon’s daughter. She just hoped his daughter was nice and not as repulsive as Cho Yong Hae.

The doors opened and she stepped in, after Cho Yonghae. Her eyes searched desperately for the other woman. Please be nice. Please be nice. Please--W-Wendy?

=

Wendy could not breathe. She could not move. She might as well have been a mannequin. Standing stiff, she watched as her father stepped forward to greet the new entry. Then, he turned back and gestured for her to join him.

Oh crap.

Moving to Cho Yonghae, she offered her business smile and business hand shake on autopilot mode.

“Mr Shon, Miss Shon,” Cho Yonghae said with a pompous smile, “Let me introduce you to Mr Park and Miss Irene, SBK news anchors.”

With dread, she extended her hand towards Mr Park, then Irene, the woman she was drinking and eating with, less than twenty-four hours ago. “Nice to meet you,” she said to them, business smile plastered on, not quite daring to look into the icy not-so-soft brown sparkling eyes.

“This is Mr Shon,” Cho Yonghae continued, “CEO of the biggest finance empire in our country. And this is Miss Shon, his daughter.”

“My daughter graduated top of her class in commerce, management at University of Toronto,” her father informed them with classic fatherly pride.

If there were a hole in the floor right now, she would be the first to dive into it.

“It’s my pleasure to meet you.”

Irene didn’t sound upset but her eyes told a different story. Wendy bit her lip, thinking about the explanation she had to do. If Irene would let her.

“The two of you are quite close in age, aren’t you?” Cho Yonghae asked.

“I’m sure they are,” her father chimed in. “Aren’t you glad you came with me today, my dear? You wouldn’t have made a new friend otherwise.”

Oh, you have no idea. Wendy smiled in spite of the sinking sensation in her stomach. “You’re right, Dad. I’m glad I came.”

Her father smiled proudly and nodded.

Cho Yonghae cleared his throat. “We’ll let the two of you get to know each other. Us men shall not bore you with our business talk. Gentlemen, shall we?”

“Will you be alright with Miss Irene?”

This might be the end of me. “Yes, of course. Don’t worry about me, Dad.”

“Okay then, enjoy yourself, my darling daughter.”

Things could not get worse than they already were. Wendy was certain of that. In which case, she might as well face the music with aplomb.

“I didn’t expect to see you here, Irene. How are you?” How are you? Have I lost my ?

Irene raised a brow. “Is this the same Wendy who called me ‘sweetie’ a hundred times in a night?”

It was hard to tell if Irene was raging or mildly miffed, behind her beautiful poker face, so Wendy put on a grin to mask her doubts. “This is definitely the same Wendy. But in a different setting.”

“Oh, really? The same Wendy who worked part-time as a barista while studying in Toronto?”

Wendy’s grin dropped. “I did work part-time as a barista.”

“Your father is a tycoon of the financial industry. Working part-time is not necessary for you. You made it sound like you depended on it for money. I feel cheated right now.”

“I didn’t mean to make it sound like that. I really didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you tell me who your father is?”

“I don’t have the habit of telling people who my father is.”

“Well, it will take me a while to get over the surprise of seeing you here. As Mr Shon’s daughter, nonetheless.”

“Are you still mad at me?”

“I’m not mad at you. But there is one thing you can do to redeem yourself.”

“What is it?”

Irene leaned closed and whispered, “Get me seated beside you before Cho Yonghae makes me sit beside him.”

An ominous feeling hit Wendy. “Is he bothering you?”

With a sigh, Irene nodded and told Wendy how Cho Yonghae had given her the creeps at her first dinner with him and how he was getting creepier at this second dinner.

Indignance swiftly overflowing, Wendy wanted nothing more than to march over to Cho Yonghae and give him a hard punch in his face. “Leave it to me. I’ll make