11:30 am
Katherine stood at the Hospital"s entrance waiting for Damien who picked up his car from the parking lot. While she stood there, she received a text message from her friend Emma.
[Emma: Kath, I"m on my way to the restaurant and so is Adam. See you soon!]
Typing her reply quickly, she sent her friend an "Ok" emoji. She could feel a headache coming but she brushed it off and thought that she was only hungry.
The Jaguar parked in front of Katherine and the windows rolled down. "Let"s eat first before going back to the office," said Damien.
Katherine bent forward to see her boss and answered in a soft voice, "Um… Boss, I forgot to tell you that I"m supposed to meet my friends for lunch today. Can I meet you back at the office instead?"
"Friends? Who?" Damien raised his brows and waited for her to answer but then Katherine pursed her lips into a thin line and darted her eyes to the side. She didn"t know how to tell his boss who she was going to eat with; he doesn"t know them in the first place.
Seeing that she didn"t respond to his question, he pushed the door open and said, "Get in. I"ll drop you off."
"No, it"s okay… I can take a cab." She waved her hand in front of her.
"Get in, Ms. Millier." He insisted, making Katherine unable to refuse for the second time so she got inside.
When the car moved, Damien asked her again, "Where are you having lunch?"
Katherine took her phone and opened the Maps application. She searched for the restaurant and placed it on the dashboard for Damien. However, Damien was more curious about her lunch date with her friends than the restaurant"s location.
"Okay," he said, "Are you meeting your friend Emma?"
"Yes, she"s been wanting to meet up with me since I last saw her."
"Is it only going to be the two of you?" He glanced at her and tried to ask nonchalantly as he kept his eyes on the road.
"No, our other friend Adam will join us too. You saw him back at the hospital once, remember?"
"Ah… Adam…" He muttered and Katherine was reminded of that elevator incident. She awkwardly smiled before she stared outside her window.
Seoul Food Restaurant
When they arrived at the restaurant, Damien parked his car and got outside. Katherine was puzzled why her boss walked towards the door so she turned to face him. "Um… Boss, thank you for the ride."
Damien only nodded and opened the door, he urged her to go inside but he followed after her. Katherine did not understand why he hasn"t left yet. Did he want to eat with them too?
"Kath! Over here!" Emma waved her hands and called her over before she caught sight of the striking man behind her. The two friends moved their brows and eyes as if they were having a silent conversation from a distance. Emma wondered why Damien was there.
Sitting opposite Emma was Adam whose gaze also landed at Katherine and the man that walked beside her.
"Did you wait long? Sorry." Katherine said when she arrived at their table.
Emma stood up right away and greeted, "President Park, it"s nice to see you again. Are you going to eat with us?"
Damien swept his eyes across the table and saw that it wasn"t really appropriate for him to stay with them despite his reluctance to leave Katherine in the presence of Adam. So he shook his head and had an emotionless expression as he responded, "I just dropped Katherine here. I wanted to make sure she wasn"t going to wait alone."
Emma fawned over Damien"s words, she secretly wished that all bosses could be just like him. "You"re very kind, President Park."
He lightly touched Katherine"s elbow which made her turn to face him while she wondered if it was okay for her to like his warm touch and hoped that his hand would stay there for a second longer than it should.
"You don"t have to eat fast. Take your time with your friends but call me when you"re done so I can pick you up."
"I don"t want to trouble you. I"ll be back at the office on time," she hurriedly promised.
"You won"t. Besides, I"ll be just nearby. Call me when you"re done." He looked at her intently as if he was giving an order before he turned and walked away.
The three friends watched his back as he strolled towards the door. Katherine breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he left and sat down next to Emma. Sometimes, she just doesn"t know when Damien is friendly or when he is fierce.
"Your boss seems to be always around you all the time, Kath. He hasn"t crossed the line yet, has he?" Adam casually asked as he ate his fries.
"What are you talking about? She"s his secretary, so it"s the other way around; she always has to be close to him all the time. Even if he crosses the line, if it were me, I wouldn"t mind… I would totally tap that." Emma waved her hand to emphasize her statement, it made Katherine giggle. She truly loved Emma"s boldness. If only they knew how literally close they were the past few days — not that she"s complaining.
"My boss is actually very kind. He"s been really helpful. It"s such a breather after working under mean bosses from my previous jobs." She spoke as she stole fries from Adam"s plate; he happily slid his plate forward, allowing Katherine to take as much as she wanted.
"I don"t know… He looks mysterious. Just don"t let your guard down," Adam didn"t forget to remind her. He had always liked Katherine but couldn"t get himself to ask her out so he remained only as her friend since.
Emma nudged Katherine and said, "I don"t know about you, Kath but if my boss is as hot and as sweet as him, I"d keep my guard down whenever he"s around."
Rolling her eyes, Katherine chuckled as Emma"s words made her think if she needed to stay cautious around Damien.
An hour and a half later, the three of them finished their meal and were ready to pay. They signaled a waitress over and asked for their bill; however, the waitress smiled at them and said, "Your bill has already been paid for."
With a perplexed expression, Katherine responded, "But we haven"t paid yet."
"The gentleman who came with you earlier paid for it before he left. Thank you for dining with us. Have a great day!" She sashayed over to the next table who called her over.
Adam and Emma looked at Katherine who didn"t know what to say and could only shrug her shoulders at her friends.
She pressed her lips together and decided to call Damien. Her call was answered on the first ring.
"Boss, I"m about to go back to the office. I"ll just take a cab-"
"I"m outside." He interrupted.
Katherine immediately bid her friends goodbye and walked out of the restaurant. She decided to pay him back when she gets her bonus at the end of the week; she didn"t like owing people and not being able to return the gesture.
When she stepped out of the restaurant, she found Damien who looked debonair and lazily leaning on his sleek and stunning white Jaguar XJ. And when he looked up at her, she could feel the rush of blood on her cheeks. There was just something about Damien Park that made her feel things that she had never felt before.
She felt calm and safe as though he was her armor.