Meeting Room at the Cho Corporation."If there are no further questions, then we shall start executing the plan. Meeting Adjourned." Daniel Cho said before he stood up to leave the meeting room.
"Boss, Madam Cho called." a.s.sistant Ahn handed Daniel"s phone.
Daniel nodded and took his phone, he was about to call his mother when a female employee called his name.
"President Cho.." Director Leah Tan called his attention.
"Yes?" Daniel turned his head and answered.
"President, there are some design proposals of the landscape plan for the new shopping mall that we are developing. I"d like to go over it with you and listen to your opinion."
"Aren"t we doing a bidding for that? Why do we need to go through all of them now?" Daniel asked with a look of annoyance.
"Yes, President, however, I think that shortlisting the candidates will help us." Director Tan insisted.
Daniel didn"t think twice and said, "Have my brother go through those with you.", then he walked away from her.
"Vice-President Cho? But.. President--"
"I don"t have time for that, Director Tan." Daniel said coldly while walking, he didn"t even glance at her.
"I understand, President Cho." answered Director Leah Tan, feeling down.
Leah Tan has been working for the company right after she graduated, that was 6 years ago. During that time, it was still Daniel"s father who was the CEO and Daniel had just returned from overseas studies. She had been a fan of him ever since she saw how brilliant this young CEO is. She made an oath to herself that she will also work very hard so that she can one day, stand beside him and earn his affection. Although Daniel had not given her any special treatment, Leah is still content that she gets to see him every day and is closer to him now as a Director than years ago. She"s a very diligent woman and a lot of men in the office likes her.
-
When Daniel Cho returned to his office, he immediately returned his mother"s phone call.
"Mother, why did you call? Did you need something?"
"I don"t need a reason to call my son, I just missed you!" Mrs. Cho sneered.
Daniel chuckled, his mom can be cute sometimes, "Sorry, I"ve been busy since I came back from H City. I"ll come to see you soon."
"Tss, you"re always busy with work…! Anyway, have you met Samantha again? I sent you her number a few days ago, didn"t you receive?"
"Yes, I did mother. But I don"t think we"ll see each other again."
"What? Why not? Did you guys fight? Don"t you like her? Don"t you find her pretty?" Mrs. Cho asked non-stop.
"It"s not that, it"s just... I"m really busy with company matters, I don"t have time to date."
"Nonsense! You promised to think about it, why don"t you give it a try?"
"I did think about it, and this is my decision."
"What a shame, well if you don"t like her then.. I"ll call one of my friends, I heard her daughter just came back from overseas. I"ll set a date for you two."
"Mother... Please, just...", Daniel sighed, "Okay, I do like Samantha, I find her charming but I don"t want to chase after her just because you said so."
"Nonsense! Since when do you hesitate if you like something? And this time, it"s a woman! It"s been a while, Daniel. You haven"t dated for a long time. You need to be happy too."
"You really won"t stop match-making huh?"
"No."
"All right fine, I"ll call Samantha for dinner. Just don"t go on setting-up dates for me anymore. Let me handle my own life mom."
"That"s all I ask. Enjoy your date!"
"We"re just going to meet and eat, don"t get too excited."
After the call finished, Daniel Cho sighed and considered his next move. He checked the time, it was currently 5 in the afternoon. He sat on his desk and started writing; a few minutes later, he dialed Samantha"s number.
"h.e.l.lo?~"
When Daniel heard Samantha"s voice, he felt a sudden feeling of antic.i.p.ation thus the corner of his lips lifted upward.
"h.e.l.lo, Samantha... this is Daniel Cho. I"d like to invite you for dinner."
--------
Four Seasons Hotel, private room 108.
As soon as Samantha entered the room, she sat down and asked, "So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"
"What would you like to eat?" Daniel asked.
"I"m not hungry."
"I"ll order for you then."
Daniel called the waiter and ordered some dishes. When the waiter left, Samantha couldn"t help but wonder. While she was on her way to the meeting place, she got really nervous and she couldn"t understand why. It wasn"t their first meeting so what was she worried about? Now that Daniel was in front of her, he kept on delaying; it made her feel unsettled.
"President Cho, I"m not sure why you wanted to meet with me. We don"t have any common affairs--"
"Are you always this uptight?"
"Excuse me?"
"Ms. Kim, I invited you for dinner, so I hope that you will enjoy sharing the meal with me tonight. We"ll talk about other matters after."
Samantha didn"t have anything to say to that so she just let things happen. When the food was served, they ate in silence. Occasionally, Daniel would ask Samantha if she wanted something; more food or drinks. When they both finished eating, Daniel wiped his mouth and drank his wine.
"How was your food?" Daniel asked as he smiled.
"It was really good, thank you." Samantha smiled back, "Do you come here often?"
"Sometimes, I know a lot of good restaurants but this is one of my favorites."
"I see, it"s my first time here. I"ll definitely come back."
"I"m glad you enjoyed your meal."
"Soo...."
Daniel chuckled, "You"re very curious, aren"t you?"
"I think I"ve been pretty obvious about it since I arrived." Samantha chuckled as well. "What is this all about?"
"I have a proposal for you and I hope that you will agree to it."
"I don"t understand... I don"t think I have anything to offer to the Cho Corporation."
"This has nothing to do with the company, this is personal."
"Personal? I"m sorry but I"m really confused. Can you elaborate?"
Daniel smiled gently, "I"d like to propose for us to date."
Samantha was bewildered when she heard Daniel"s proposal. Did she hear incorrectly?, "I"m sorry, what now?", she asked.
Daniel Cho didn"t repeat what he said, he was sure that Samantha heard him so he just smiled while he sipped his red wine.
Seeing Daniel didn"t respond to her question, she asked again, "Why?"
"What do you mean why?" Daniel raised an eyebrow. " Why not?"
"Do you like me?
"What?" The question surprised Daniel, "d.a.m.n she"s straight-forward."
Samantha copied Daniel, she didn"t answer and waited for him to answer.
"Well, yes. I don"t hate you... I think you"re not hard to like."
"Hmmm.. What else are you not telling me, Mr. Cho?"
"Please call me Daniel, Ms. Kim"
"Okay then, Daniel. Call me Samantha."
"Okay... Samantha... you"re aware that our parents are trying to set us up." Samantha nodded, they already talked about this several days ago. "You see, my mom doesn"t back down easily. If she"s not satisfied, she will not stop. She"ll keep setting me up on dates after dates."
"So, why don"t you propose this to other women? Why does it have to be me?"
Daniel Cho smiled, "Because our mothers are working together."
"My mom?"
"Yes, has she not been trying to urge you to date? Besides, If I"m going to be blunt, I"d want to say that you"re actually quite.. pleasant to be with. That"s why I"m proposing this to you."
When Daniel asked that, Samantha recalled and it"s true... her mom had been constantly bringing up dating recently. So it wasn"t hard for her to believe Daniel.
"If you don"t believe me, you can find it out yourself."
Just as Daniel said this, Samantha"s phone rang, it was her mother.
"h.e.l.lo, mom?"
"Sam, how are you? Have you eaten dinner yet?"
"Yes, mom I"ve just finished eating."
"What did you eat?"
"Uhm.. Roasted Lamb?" Samantha looked at Daniel who was just smiling devilishly at her.
"Oh, are you eating out? Who"s with you? Are you on a date?"
Sure enough, it looks like her mother was indeed in on it.
"Ah.. Hmm.. I"m having dinner with Mrs. Cho"s son, Daniel."
"Oh Oh, that"s good. that"s good. Go ahead, I won"t bother you anymore. Enjoy your date!!"
"It"s not -" Samantha"s mom had already hung up the call, "date."
Daniel chuckled and Samantha blushed.
"Looks like you"re right."
"So are you going to accept my proposal?"
"I"ll have to think about it first, I didn"t really plan on dating right now."
"It"s the same for me, Samantha. I am a busy man.. but I will make time for this if you agree."
"I need to think things through, if and I"m saying if.. I will agree to your proposal, there has to be some terms that we need to agree."
"I"m way ahead of you." Daniel brought up an envelope and handed it over to Samantha.
"Is this a.. contract?"
"You don"t have to call it that. It"s just an agreement. After all, it"s not a legal doc.u.ment. It"s merely a list of things that we should both agree on. You don"t have to decide right now, you can sleep on it."
"You really are a businessman, Daniel Cho. You have thought everything through.. I"m impressed."
He smirked, "I"m a thorough person. So... When shall I hear from you again?"
"I"ll let you know in a few days."
"Okay, then." Daniel stood up and Samantha got up as well.
He walked towards her, he leaned and whispered to her ear, "Don"t make me wait too long, I"m an impatient man.. I might get.. frustrated~.", Daniel said in a low s.e.xy voice.
When Daniel said this, Samantha swallowed.. her insides felt warm and she subconsciously bit her lip.
Daniel glanced at her and noticed this, he smirked and then left the private room.
When Samantha was left alone, she exhaled a whole lot of air she didn"t even notice that she had been holding her breath.
"Why is it suddenly so hot in here?" She said as she fanned herself.