Sweet, Sweet Disaster: An AMBW Romance (Sweet Treats Book 2)

by Nia Arthurs

  “What?”

  “I know who that singer is. Nightingale. The one from Stacie’s club.”

  Way ahead of you, buddy.

  “Get this.” His friend hissed in excitement. “Stacie found out from the bar manager. Her name’s Joana Lee Gregory. I looked her up. She’s half-Korean and sexy as hell. If you want her number, I can—”

  “Luis!” Sun Gi yelled. “Shut up, man.” He could imagine Luis blinking and pulling the phone back to stare at it. Sun Gi shook his head. “I don’t need Joana’s number.”

  “Why? You know her?”

  Sun Gi swallowed and pushed the words out. “She’s my secretary.”

  “What? How did that happen?”

  “She got a job at one of my stores. Her manager mentioned her to Bo Young. They looked over the files and they both approved. I couldn’t say no.”

  “Why would you want to?”

  He thought of Hanna and cringed. The last thing he and his blazing hormones needed was Nightingale trailing him everywhere. He’d given Hanna his word, but he hadn’t expected his resolve to be tested.

  Not like this.

  “Hello? Sun Gi?”

  “I’m here.”

  “Why aren’t you ecstatic?” Luis paused. “Don’t tell me that Hanna’s on to you.”

  “It’s not about Hanna.”

  “Of course it’s about Hanna. Look, I know you didn’t get engaged because you’re crazy about each other. Besides, she had Tyler on the side back when she was with Joon Gi, so why can’t you?”

  “It’s late, Luis. I’ve got to go.”

  “So you can meet your new secretary?”

  “Very funny.”

  “I bet your room’s a mess right now. Clothes everywhere.” Luis laughed.

  Sun Gi looked around suspiciously. “How’d you know that?”

  “Because you always lose your mind when you like someone, like really like someone. Remember that girl from Saint Mary’s? When she came around, you got this goofy grin on your face and tripped over your own feet.”

  He flinched. “Just keep the fact that Jo is working with me quiet. I don’t want any problems with Hanna.”

  “You live a complicated life, my friend.” Luis chuckled. “Good luck.”

  Sun Gi hung up.

  A glance at his watch had him skating to the closet. He’d make do with a classic—white shirt and black pants. After squeezing some gel into his palm, he raked it through his locks, debating whether he should leave his hair down or paste it up.

  Nine minutes.

  In the end, he decided to leave it down. Pasting his hair back was reserved for special occasions and there was absolutely nothing special about this day.

  Nothing.

  He stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth and jogged to his car. The sun was high in the sky, but a strong breeze chased away the usual heat.

  He chomped down on the slice of bread so it wouldn’t fall and then used his hands to finagle his briefcase into the car.

  On the way to work, he turned on the radio and absently flipped through the early morning talk show hosts until he found a station that played music twenty-four-seven. He settled in and focused on traffic until he heard it.

  Jo’s song.

  The melody gripped him by the throat and wouldn’t let him go. He forced his hands to the dial and clicked the radio off, letting out a desperate exhale when silence swept through the car.

  That damn song was everywhere.

  He shook his head and listened to the sounds of traffic for the rest of the drive.

  Ten minutes later, Sun Gi strode into the store and greeted the clerks who shouted out their greetings. He nodded back before hurrying up the stairs.

  He made it to the office and yanked the door, stopping short when he saw Jo staring back at him. Her hands were extended as if her fingers had been hovering over the knob.

  She wore a simple mustard-colored blouse tucked into a pencil skirt. The skirt hugged her plump rear tighter than an iguana clinging to a tree branch.

  He forced his gaze away from her butt to her eyes that were ringed with eyeliner. She licked her lips and he surveyed them next, lingering on the glossy texture and wondering what it would taste like.

  “Can I help you?” Jo cocked her head and speared him with a look that warned she’d caught him checking her out and didn’t appreciate it.

  Sun Gi cleared his throat and said lamely, “You’re here.”

  “Yeah. I got transferred today.”

  Sun Gi recalled last week when Brighton got fired and Jo stormed out after him. He could only imagine what Brighton had said about him in private.

  Did Jo believe him?

  “Good morning, Sun Gi!” Bo Young waved from behind her desk.

  Jo scooted past him and tore down the stairs.

  Sun Gi shot a desperate look at Bo Young. “Did she quit already?”

  His secretary laughed. “No, she’s just getting her notebook from the car. I was explaining our shipping system to her and she said she wanted to take notes.” Bo Young’s eyes sparkled. “I like her.”

  “I knew you would.” He straightened his tie and strode into his private office. As he booted his computer, Sun Gi glanced at the open door that offered a view of the receptionist area. Jo strutted past and he ducked his chin, pretending to be deep in work.

  Throughout the morning, his gaze kept deviating to the open door where he could look directly to Bo Young’s desk.

  Jo sat closely with his secretary, scribbling in her notebook and nodding with a serious expression. Her yellow blouse beautifully contrasted her brown skin and her curls danced every time she bobbed her head.

  Every time he moved his gaze away, it slunk back. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, couldn’t stop studying her.

  If things were different…

  But they weren’t.

  Jo rose.

  He shot his gaze back to his blank laptop screen and peered over the top. Jo was on the move. Her brown legs were short but lean and fit. It was the first time he’d seen her in heels and he definitely hoped it wasn’t the last.

  Jo stopped at the entrance of his office and knocked on the door.

  He sat up. “Jo, I didn’t see you there.”

  “I’m supposed to ask if you want coffee.”

  The scowl on her face dared him to ask for such a thing. So he didn’t. “I’m fine.”

  “Great.” She turned to leave.

  “Jo.”

  She spun back.

  Sun Gi jutted his chin toward the chairs sitting at an angle before his desk. Her eyes sharpened. For a moment, he thought she’d stalk off, but she trudged to the chairs and plunked into them.

  Pooling his hands together, Sun Gi looked at her. “Why did you agree to become Bo Young’s replacement?”

  “I was asked.”

  “Is that all?”

  She stiffened. “What happened to Brighton was unfair.”

  So this is about that guy. An irrational anger zipped through him. “Your friend was a thief.”

  “He didn’t do it,” Jo cried.

  “Did he tell you that?”

  “Yes, he did.”

  Sun Gi scoffed. “Eun Jung had evidence—”

  “She had evidence of missing inventory, but no proof that Brighton was the one who had stolen them.”

  “I stand behind her decision.”

  “Tell me something.” Jo scooted to the edge of her seat. Her eyes were intense, simmering in passion. It reminded him of the way she’d looked while singing at the bar. “Did you instruct her to fire him?”

  Annoyed, Sun Gi folded his arms over his chest. “And why would I do that?”

  She kept flinging an accusatory glare.

  He huffed “Brighton was fired because he stole from us. Whether it was a roll of toilet paper or an expensive TV, neither belonged to him.”

  “The punishment was too severe for the crime.”

  “Why are you defending him?” Sun
Gi tossed at her. “Are you two dating?”

  Her nostrils flared. “What kind of question is that?”

  Sun Gi knew it was out of line to ask about her personal life, but he didn’t apologize. It bothered him. Joana Lee Gregory bothered him. More than her Nightingale alter ego did.

  His phone rang.

  Sun Gi ignored it.

  Jo rose regally and looked down her nose. “You should take that.”

  He almost called her back but a glance at the screen revealed Hanna’s name. Sun Gi sighed and answered. “Hello?”

  “Sun Gi?” Hanna sobbed. “I’m going to have to cancel our date tonight. My grandmother is sick. I’m flying to Korea to take care of her.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I’m just… overwhelmed. Halmoni is the only one who doesn’t push me to get married. She’s the only one who understands me. I can’t lose her.”

  “You won’t.”

  “Thanks for saying that.”

  “Have a safe flight. Call me if you need me.”

  “Goodbye,” Hanna murmured.

  The line clicked.

  Sun Gi set the phone on his desk and sat back in stunned silence. We had a date tonight? Shame crept through him.

  He’d completely forgotten.

  The only thing he’d been thinking of today was Jo.

  22

  Jo gritted her teeth as she stalked back to Bo Young’s desk. The way Sun Gi had crooned into the phone when Hanna called had been a jolt to her mewling heart.

  The. Man. Was. Engaged.

  Jo sank into the office chair beside Bo Young and sighed. The pretty older woman studied her. “Did he yell at you?”

  “No.”

  “Don’t worry about Sun Gi.” Bo Young patted her shoulder. “He’s all bark and no bite.” She paused and reconsidered. “Well, unless it’s business. Then he’s bite first and ask questions later.”

  “Can I ask you something?” Jo twirled her pencil.

  “Go ahead.”

  “Why did you hire me for this position? Why not find someone else who actually studied to be a secretary?”

  “Because of him.” Bo Young jutted her chin toward the boss’s office. “Sun Gi wants me to stay and so no one who applied for the job would meet his standards.”

  “Are you two close?”

  “He’s like my son.” She chuckled softly. “I worked with his father way back in the day. Eric Kim was a great man. Kind, fair, and business-savvy. He built this place from the ground up. But he got sick a few years ago. Right before Sun Gi went to college. That boy stuck to his father’s hospital bed like glue. It tore him up when Eric passed.”

  Sympathy welled in her chest without consent.

  “If you look at Sun Gi, you’d assume he’s a playboy, but he’s really not. He’s got a sensitive and loyal heart. Once he trusts you, it’s for life. Once he gives his word, he’ll die to protect it.”

  Jo glanced at Sun Gi again. He’d turned the chair around and was typing something on his laptop. Delicate, round glasses were perched on his nose and he pursed his lips out in concentration.

  There was more to him than his frigidly handsome exterior and his nose for business. It threw her off-guard. Made her shaky justification for taking this job even more precarious.

  Just then, Sun Gi looked up.

  Their eyes found each other like two magnets rear-ending in the universe.

  She sucked in a breath, caught up in his gaze and in the way her heart thudded because of it. Then, as if he’d just been looking at her to pass the time and gather his thoughts, Sun Gi casually looked away.

  Jo dropped her arms on the desk and ducked her head into her hands.

  Bo Young glanced at her with alarm. “Are you okay, Joana? Do you have a headache?”

  “I’m fine.” She forced her head up and brushed her curls away from her face. “I’m here to work so teach me everything you know.”

  Bo Young laughed proudly. “I like that fire.”

  Jo’s smile was brittle. The only way she’d survive these next few months was to focus on business.

  Don’t cross the line.

  It was a mantra she cried to herself as she shadowed Bo Young around the office. Most of the tasks she was familiar with—copying, using spreadsheets, and ordering inventory. What Jo didn’t know, she jotted down and committed to learning as soon as possible.

  Around noon, Jo’s stomach declared war on all her intestines by emitting a howl that made Bo Young jump.

  “What was that?”

  “Sorry.” Jo slung an arm around her stomach. “I skipped breakfast this morning.”

  “Don’t you work at a bakery?” a voice asked.

  Jo glanced up.

  Sun Gi was standing in the doorway of his office, one hand reaching up to grab ahold of the top. The move drew her eye to his height and impressive pecs outlined beneath his shirt.

  Jo averted her eyes and answered with an edge. “I just serve the food. I’m not in a corner stuffing my face with it.”

  Sun Gi cleared his throat. “I don’t know if Bo Young’s told you, but we went through a lot to find her replacement. How about I treat you both to lunch in celebration?”

  “Sure…” Jo’s voice faltered.

  Sun Gi cocked his head and delivered such a sexy smirk that her heart went wild. “Shall we?” Sun Gi checked his watch. “I have a meeting at one so we need to get going.”

  Bo Young nudged her in the back. “Go. Eat.”

  “Wait, aren’t you coming?” Jo asked desperately.

  “I have a lunch date with my hubby.” Bo Young blushed like a schoolgirl and pushed Jo toward Sun Gi. “Head out now before traffic gets thick. Jo, make sure you get him back before his appointment.”

  Unable to find a smooth way to back out, Jo followed Sun Gi outside.

  She climbed into his car and waited until he’d started the vehicle to ask, “What happened with the mugger? Did the police catch him?”

  “Now you ask? I could have bled out on the sofa that night and you wouldn’t have known.”

  Jo giggled. “What are you talking about? You said yourself that it was just a scratch.”

  “I did, didn’t I?” He flashed her another charming grin and focused on the road. “I reported it to the police. They found the guy pretty easily but I decided not to press charges. The mugger has a mental condition and a drug addiction. He needed help, not jail time.”

  “That’s surprisingly sweet of you.”

  He slanted her a dirty look. “You thought I was the Grinch or something?”

  “Or something,” Jo mumbled.

  He chuckled. “I still can’t believe that lady though. Slamming the shutter on us. She was no help.”

  “To be fair, she called the police.”

  “Don’t defend her. If I’d gotten seriously injured, I would have sued.”

  Jo laughed. “Stop.” She held a hand to her stomach and gasped for breath. “I’m too hungry to laugh this hard.”

  Sun Gi looked at her with a soft grin.

  She straightened. “What’s that expression about?”

  “What expression?”

  “The one you’re wearing right now. This self-satisfied smirk. It’s annoying.”

  He adjusted his hands on the wheel. “I’m just… glad to see you smiling. The way you snapped at me this morning, I thought you’d quit after a few hours.”

  “And would that be a bad thing? I’m sure there are more qualified people lining up to work with the great Sun Gi Kim.”

  “Yeah,” he tapped his finger on the wheel and said casually, “but none of them are you.”

  Jo froze.

  Thump. Thump. Thump.

  The muscles in her body had seized but her heart had gone into overdrive. She hated this. Why couldn’t Sun Gi continue to be a cold-hearted jerk in front of her? What was with the bone-melting grins and affability?

  When they arrived at the restaurant, Jo renewed her promise to be profe
ssional. Bo Young wasn’t around to keep her in check, but if she’d just pretend that Hanna was sitting in the booth across from her, she’d behave herself.

  The waitress arrived. Her shocked glance between the two of them almost made Jo smile. Almost.

  “Can I take your order?”

  They perused the menu and rattled off their chosen dish. The waitress gave them a trembling smile before collecting their menus and waddling off.

  Jo tried not to stare directly at Sun Gi.

  This felt like a date.

  It wasn’t, but she couldn’t change the way her brain was reacting to being here alone with him.

  Think of Hanna.

  Jo squeezed her eyes shut and calmed her breath. Since her irrational feelings for Sun Gi Kim had begun, she’d quieted her inner home-wrecker with reminders of his fiancée.

  How would Hanna feel if she found out that Jo was flirting with her soon-to-be husband? What would make Hanna uncomfortable if she were here?

  Sun Gi eased his hand over the table and tapped her wrist with his knuckles. Jo jumped and looked at him. The sunlight gleaming through the window seeped under his skin and gave him an otherworldly glow. His dark hair fanned carelessly over his forehead and he chased it back with a dash of his head.

  He looked freakin’ hot.

  He’s taken.

  The relaxed smile on his handsome face threatened to undo her.

  Think of Hanna.

  Jo blinked rapidly as panic seeped into her heart and spread through every one of her veins. Normally, she could switch her feelings off when she chanted the name of Sun Gi’s fiancée.

  But something went wrong.

  Suddenly, thinking of Hanna wasn’t working.

  23

  Sun Gi noticed when Jo went quiet and decided that maybe he’d been a little too straightforward in the car.

  After an awkward lunch, he took Jo back to the office. The ride was long and uncomfortable. He turned the radio to a channel broadcasting the news and crossed his fingers that Jo’s song wouldn’t make a surprise visit.

  It didn’t.

  Sun Gi slowed his car in the parking lot and Jo scrambled out. She paused on the sidewalk just as he was about to drive off. Sun Gi lingered, sensing that she wanted to say something.