Serendipity - A Chance Encounter

Daniel Cho tried to coax Samantha to calm down for the past 5 minutes.

"I"m gonna kill you!!"

"Will you chill woman?"

"Chill?? Are you for real Mr. Cho?? Get back in here you--!" Samantha Kim gritted her teeth as she continued to slap the CEO of Cho Corporation in the back furiously like a mad man.

"I"m sorry, okay? It was an accide--AAAH !" Daniel Cho screamed as he tried to get away from the crazy unicorn but she caught his hair and pulled it.

Daniel is so scared right now when he thought he"d lose his luscious hair.

(Okay, that"s not the point Daniel. What about losing your life? *shaking head*)

"Accident my a*s! If you weren"t such a h.o.r.n.y b.a.s.t.a.r.d, this wouldn"t have happened!" she roared while trying to pin Daniel down.

In the outside world, Daniel Cho is a respected businessman but in this room.. tonight, who would have known that this gorgeous man, women"s dream lover, is a pitiful husband.

How in the world did we come to this? It all started several months ago..

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La Maison, a French restaurant in the downtown area of the city.

Wearing a white V-neck s.h.i.+rt, tattered Jeans and white air force, Samantha is sitting by the window of the restaurant while listening to her best friend Hannah nagging. Hannah has been persuading her to throw a party, she believes that Samantha should let loose and just enjoy her birthday for once without a care in the world.

"C"mon S! Why don"t you enjoy your 25th birthday and meet some new people. It will do you good!", Hannah prompted as she beamed at her best friend.

"Why does it matter if I have a party or not? We can just eat out... You know? Why go through all the ha.s.sle." Samantha said as she observed the traffic on the road outside.

"Don"t be boring! You"re young. You should have fun!

Besides.. I met some new friends, one of them is pretty hot... I can hook you up! What do you say?"

Samantha turned her head and looked at Hannah who"s sipping her tea; smelling the aroma before tasting it.

"Does he have abs?" Samantha raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"Duh! He even has big feet!"

Samantha almost spat the warm cocoa she was drinking when she heard Hannah"s comment.

Hannah continued nonchalantly, "You know what they say, "A man who has big feet has big meat--"

"Oh my gosh. HAHAHA" Samantha guffawed and threw a crumpled tissue to Hannah, "you"re shameless Han."

"What? I"m just sayin"!"

They laughed for a bit more.

"Anyhoo... You do know I"m dating Andrew, why would I need to meet new guys?"

Hannah rolled her eyes, "Psssh. Please.. That playboy. For all I know he"s in some s.k.a.n.k"s bed right now. Why don"t you just dump him already?"

"C"mon don"t say that.. You really don"t like him huh ?" Samantha chuckled.

"Uh, what"s there to like?

Okay, he"s hot... sure. But he"s an a*s, okay?

He also has nice a*s by the way... but still."

Hannah crossed her arms while she complained, Samantha laughed at her remarks. "This crazy best friend of hers."

"What"s more... He"s been trying to get in your pants but you"re not giving in. He"s acting innocent in front of you but the moment you turn your back, he plays around with some witch. I MEAN..... What"s the point of being together?"

Samantha propped her elbow on the table, lazily supported her chin with her hand.

"Well, he"s nice to me. He hasn"t really treated me badly."

That"s true, Andrew courted her for a year. Samantha reluctantly agreed to be his girlfriend but the closest intimacy Andrew got from her was second base.

Hannah made a face, "Really? That"s it?"

"As long as I don"t catch him or he doesn"t do it in front of me. I can still handle it." Samantha smiled.

Hannah sighed, "I really don"t get you. It"s not like you love him. And again, he"s an a*s.. I really don"t see the point."

Samantha checked her phone, "Enough of that already. Don"t you have a date?"

Hannah looked at her watch and her eyes grew wide, "Oh c.r.a.p c.r.a.p c.r.a.p! I"m late!" Hannah frantically stood up and fixed her clothes and posed, "How do I look?". She was wearing a blue bodycon dress, silver strappy heels, and a silver clutch.

"Like a superstar!" Samantha said as she beamed. "Is this a new guy?"

"Uh huh. He"s the one I met 2 days ago at the concert. He"s only here for a month."

"What is it this time?" , said Samantha.

Hannah"s just a free spirit. Dating guys and having fun. She always finds different qualities that pique her interests in every guy she meets. Sometimes it"s the scent, his built, the way he dresses himself, his hobbies...

Hannah stroked her chin, "His accent.. " she swooned and with a serious face, she said, "Oh b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l. He"s from England. You know how s.e.xy he sounds?" mimicking an English accent.

Samantha chortled, "Okay, you win! Go, have fun!"

"Thanks, Bye S!", Hannah reached in to kiss Samantha"s cheek.

Samantha watched her best friend as Hannah exited the restaurant and got in her Red Audi S5 Cabriolet. Hannah Chu"s always been so carefree and wild. They"ve known each other since they were in their diapies. Their moms were high school cla.s.smates and are really good friends that"s why Samantha and Hannah grew up together.

Samantha Kim, on the other hand, likes to be low-profile. Her family is well-off. The Kim family owns a multibillion-dollar company; Kimsun Electronics. But despite being h.e.l.la rich, their family doesn"t like showing off unnecessarily.

In middle school, she discovered that a lot of her so-called friends were very superficial. They were only "nice" to her because her family was rich and because she was an exceptional student. She, later on, learned that most of them were just jealous of her and wanted to leech off of her. So she transferred when she got into high school, Hannah of course transferred with her. She avoided being the center of attention. Had her grades just slightly above average on purpose and wore not so flashy clothes and she just... Kept to herself most of the time. Although she tries not to attract attention, her beauty always stands out so she had suitors growing up.

Samantha"s phone beeped. She checked her phone and sighed.

Alexander [Sam, need your signature. You droppin" by the office?]

Another text came in as Samantha was contemplating her reply. It"s 4:50 pm, employees are gonna leave work soon.

Alexander [Or... I can go to you, where are you?]

Samantha tapped her reply.

[That"s okay. I"m on my way.]

Samantha got up and walked towards the door of the restaurant as she dialed her a.s.sistant"s number.

a.s.sistant Chen answered her call, "Yes, madam?"

"I"m on my way there."

"Understood, I"ll wait for you in the underground parking."

"Oh, no... I didn"t bring my car. So I"m coming in through the front entrance, clear out the lobby for me please."

"Certainly, madam."

As Samantha reached the door, she b.u.mped into someone who was coming in and she dropped her phone.

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Just earlier, a black Maybach stopped in front of the restaurant.

"President, we"re here.", a.s.sistant Ahn said.

Daniel Cho, CEO of Cho corporation; a gorgeous bachelor who is very popular with the ladies in City M, was just sitting at the back of his car with his eyes closed.

"Mmm.", he said as he slowly opened his eyes. He has been busy all week closing a project and therefore he hadn"t rested properly.

Daniel got out of the car in a navy blue suit. He walked towards the restaurant as he b.u.t.toned up his suit swiftly. a.s.sistant Ahn walked in front of Daniel Cho and opened the door for him.

Daniel"s phone rang, "Yes, I"ve just arrived--", Daniel answered his phone while stepping into the restaurant.

As he was busy answering his phone, he didn"t notice the woman in front of him and accidentally b.u.mped her shoulder causing the lady"s phone to fall on the floor; he caught a whiff of a peachy perfume that tickled his nose.

In a speedy motion, he bent down and picked up the phone and checked if the screen was broken. Luckily it was unscratched.

"Sorry.", he said as he handed it back to the owner.

"It"s okay. Thanks.", said the Good-Smelling-Bella showing her gentle smile briefly.

Daniel looked at the woman as she exited the restaurant, hailed a taxi and then she was gone.

"Boss?"

Daniel snapped out of his trance when his a.s.sistant called his attention, he then headed towards the restaurant"s VIP room.

"Let"s go."

30 minutes later.

"President Cho, it is such a pleasure to be able to collaborate with you in this project.", Mr. Su remarked as he extended his hand to shake Daniel Cho"s.

Daniel shook his hand, "The pleasure is mine, Mr. Su."

"The project has gone smoothly! I must treat you to dinner."

"Thanks for the gesture, but I must decline. I have a family dinner that I can"t miss."

"Oh, very well then. I"ll treat you next time."

"Looking forward to it." Daniel nodded politely.

a.s.sistant Ahn whispered to Daniel Cho, "Boss, Madam Cho"s calling.", he said as he handed Daniel"s phone.

Daniel Cho left the VIP room as he answered his phone.

"Yes, mother?"

"Honey, where are you? You didn"t forget tonight"s dinner, right?", asked Mrs. Cho.

"Of course not. I"m on my way."

"Alone?"

"Of course I"m alone.", replied Daniel.

"Dan, why don"t you bring a date? You"re already 28.. I haven"t met any of your lady friends yet."

"No, thanks, mom."

"You"re not gay, are you? There are rumors-- Ah, It"s fine if you are, actually I don"t care. But your grandfather"s been asking me questions about you."

"Mom…"

"I know, I know.. Now get over here quickly, everyone"s waiting for you."

"I"ll see you soon. Bye, mom."

As soon as Daniel hung up the call from his mother, another call came in. A general manager from a branch in City H is calling.

"President, there"s been an issue here that needs your attention. Instead of flying here next week, can you come earlier?"

Daniel stroke his forehead, feeling a headache coming up. "Ok, I"ll be there tomorrow.", he answered as he hung up the phone.

"Ahn, book a flight to City H tomorrow and push all my appointments until we get back."

"Yes, boss."

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Samantha"s taxi stopped in front of a tall building. She put on her wayfarer sungla.s.ses and mask quickly as she got out of the vehicle.

She strode towards the entrance of Trident Company, (name of the company). Upon, entering the empty lobby, she walked briskly towards the private elevator.

Samantha is the company owner, but her ident.i.ty as the CEO is a secret. Only her family, business partner, and her best friend know about it. Samantha doesn"t want to be in the limelight so she never revealed her face to her employees. Thus, whenever she visits the office, she"d always use the private elevator connected to her office. And because she entered from the main entrance, the lobby looked like a ghost town with only her a.s.sistant waiting for her by the elevator.

a.s.sistant Chen had been working for Samantha since they founded the company. She had always thought that this boss of hers is strange for not wanting to be recognized, she couldn"t understand why an attractive and brilliant woman like Samantha doesn"t want the fame.

"Good afternoon, Madam.", a.s.sistant Chen greeted then she pressed the b.u.t.ton to open the elevator door.

"Mmm.", Samantha nodded then got into the elevator. "Where"s Alexander?"

"He"s waiting for you in your office."

They arrived soon at the top floor, "Ding".

When she walked in, she saw Alexander sitting on the sofa sipping coffee. He tilted his head towards Samantha and smiled, "You"re here."

Samantha smiled back and turned to face her a.s.sistant, "Chen, you may go now. I don"t have any tasks for you tonight."

"Thank you, Madam. Have a good evening.", a.s.sistant Chen replied brightly.

Samantha nodded.

She then walked towards the sofa and sat in front of Alexander.

"You hungry?", Alexander asked as he looked at Samantha taking off her sungla.s.ses and face mask.

"Not really, I just met Hannah in a restaurant before I came here.", she said as she slumped back on the sofa.

Alexander observed Samantha, he admired her looks.. she has a long wavy hair that she occasionally plays with her fingers when she has nothing to do.

"You look... Bored?"

Samantha smiled, "Do I?"

Alexander chuckled, tapping the cup of his coffee, he asked.."Still dating that jerk?".

"Yeah... Why is everybody hating Andrew?" Samantha laughed shaking her head.

"He might be nice to you now, Sam.." Alexander paused, "…Just be careful."

Samantha knows that Alexander likes her although he didn"t really confess, he has been pretty obvious about it.

He"s a nice guy, though.. but Samantha doesn"t have any romantic feelings for him.

"Don"t worry... I can take care of myself.", she said as she stood up and walked towards the floor-to-ceiling gla.s.s window.

Samantha looked down and watched the cars on the road, people on the sidewalk are hastily walking and going about their daily routine. She stared at the scene below her and thought about her life. "How different is my life to theirs?", she thought.

Samantha had started the company three years ago with her brother"s good friend, Alexander. Samantha"s a computer genius and when Alexander discovered her gift, he urged her to build a software and then they sold it to a business owner and from then, they started their business from the ground up; Samantha being the CEO and Alexander, the COO.

Samantha had everything an ordinary person could ever want. Money, house, cars, a flouris.h.i.+ng company.. But why does she seem unhappy? It"s as if, she doesn"t really have the drive or pa.s.sion to do anything. She"s like.. living her life on autopilot.

Disrupting her train of thoughts, Samantha"s phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she chuckled, "h.e.l.lo, gramps.", Samantha spoke to the person on the other line.

"You child, if I didn"t call you, I wouldn"t hear from you."

"I miss you too, grandpa." Samantha smiled as she imagined her old grandpa who"s just angry about everything in the world.

Grandpa Kim snorted, "Come with me tomorrow, let"s go fis.h.i.+ng."

(A/N: Really gramps? Fis.h.i.+ng? Yay--it"s gonna be so much fun! -_-")