The Contract: Sunshine

by McCarver, Shiree

  He smiled in appreciation seeing her racing up the sidewalk. For a woman wearing stiletto heels high enough to cause serious injuries if she were to trip, she moved very fast. Her back was rail straight and her stride was confident for one that had just committed a crime, Yoon thought to himself.

  Without breaking a sweat, Yoon caught up to her, reached out to cuff a small wrist with his hand, bringing her to a jolting stop that pivoted her around to stumble against his chest.

  She released a breathless gasp and her expressive eyes went wide in alarm. “I’m sorry!”

  “Miss, didn’t you forget something?” He asked. When she wasn’t sneaking past as she had been earlier he was able to see not only did she have a nice bottom, but a somewhat pretty face to match. However, if he were to pick out something on her face that stood out the most, it would have to be her amazing sleepy deep-setting eyes.

  “I will give you my driver’s license with all my information on it and you can hold it until I return with your money,” she answered.

  He admired the fact she didn’t seem to be nervous or intimidated by the fact even in her high heels he stood at least another four inches over her.

  “I will pay your bill if you pretend to be my fiancée,” Yoon said bluntly.

  “Huh?” Her sexy eyes widened with surprise and as she realized he wasn’t an employee of the restaurant, she struggled against his hold.

  He dropped his arm that had wrapped around her instantly to keep them from tumbling when he grabbed her, but kept his hand around her wrist. He wasn’t in the mood for anymore criminal pursuits this evening.

  “I need you to come inside and pretend to be my fiancée,” he repeated.

  “Yeah, I got that,” she remarked, her voice coolly disapproving. “My question is why should I help you—do what?—ditch some unsuspecting female that you’ve probably duped into sleeping with you and now that you got what you want, you’re trying to dump her and worse yet, in a public place?”

  “It’s not like that.” His voice was cold and exact. He was offended she would think he would do something like that. Well in a way he was doing something like that, but he hasn’t slept with the woman and he had no intentions of doing so.

  “Let go of me and I won’t scream,” she had the nerve to threaten. She showed her disbelief in the tone of her voice.

  Yoon didn’t know why but he was aroused and pissed at the same time. “If you scream, I will just be another good Samaritan doing my civil duty bringing a thief to justice and turning you over to the proprietor of this restaurant, who is a very good friend of mine I might add.”

  “You’re hurting me,” she gave him a pretty pout and fluttered those damned long lashes at him.

  She was lying, but Yoon eased his hold. Yet he wasn’t foolish enough to let go. She was ready to bolt like a trapped rabbit and since he went through all this trouble, he damn well wasn’t going back in there without a fiancée.

  “What will it be?” He asked, spacing the words evenly.

  “Why did you pick me?” She eyed him suspiciously. “Did you really see me not pay my bill or do you think because I’m a Black woman in a hurry to leave this snazzy overpriced five-star restaurant I’m skipping out on the bill?”

  “I was in the booth dining next to yours and heard everything. Don’t try to play the race card on me.” The words were playful but the meaning was not.

  “Okay,” her voice hardened as she retorted tartly, “What do you want me to do exactly?”

  “Just in case Leslie did see you in the next booth, you will tell her that you were here having dinner with a friend and keeping an eye on me,” he explained.

  “What if she starts asking me a lot of questions about us?”

  “You won’t be in there long enough for that. Just a brief introduction and we’re out of there.”

  “How about I just pretend to be your girlfriend?”

  “Girlfriends come and go,” he reasoned the obvious. “Being my fiancée will tell Leslie you are the woman I choose to be with for the rest of my life.”

  “Shouldn’t you be beating your chest when you say words like that?” She snorted on a chuckle. “I am Tarzan and she’s my mate!” She mocked in what she thought to be a masculine sounding voice.

  Yoon sighed. “This is serious business here. I need Leslie Lee to go back and tell her parents that I’m no longer a viable candidate for marriage,” he voiced sternly.

  “Have her parents met you?” Her eyes twinkled.

  He hesitated to answer but he couldn’t help himself. “Yes. Why?”

  “You mean to tell me meeting you wasn’t enough to make them change their mind about you being good enough for their daughter?”

  “This is not funny. I have no time for nonsense,” he added for her benefit. She shouldn’t push him too far. His expression was so strained it was almost comical.

  “You don’t know me well enough to determine if I am joking or not.” The woman reminded him and he couldn’t argue the point.

  “How about I make this even more profitable for you?” Yoon’s eyes swept over her. “I will pay your bill plus add another thousand dollars for your trouble. I’m sure you would love to be able to waste your money on another pair of those expensive Jimmy Choo shoes you’re wearing.”

  “How did you know these are Jimmy Choo’s?” She came back with her surprise evident on her expressive face.

  “I had an ex-wife with taste as expensive as yours,” Yoon found himself answering honestly. “However, the difference was she could afford them. What kind of work did you have to do to pay seven hundred and fifty dollars for a pair of shoes?”

  “I didn’t buy them,” she snapped. “And I don’t like what you’re implying.”

  “Hah! Did you run out of the store with them like you were trying to do with a belly full of food you stole from this restaurant?”

  “No.” She smiled cleverly as if he had paid her a compliment. “I got mine the same way your wife probably got hers.”

  “How is that?”

  “Someone I know met a sucker like you and put them on his charge card.”

  “Well my wife didn’t need a ‘sucker’ to buy them for her. She had her own charge card.” Yoon’s eyes narrowed on her lovely brown face.

  “Who paid the charge card bills in your household?”

  “I did of course,” Yoon replied. “Of course I would take care of my wife’s needs,” he shrugged his shoulders.

  “Of course you did,” she nodded. “Why else would she marry you if you weren’t making it worth her while? You think it’s your blooming personality that won her over?”

  Yoon winced at her remark. It was closer to the truth than he cared to admit. His marriage had been one of finances. His family name had money attached to it and her family name came with political entitlements that his father had desperately needed while running for office.

  “I’ve come to realize everyone has a price; so name yours.” Impatiently he added, “Surely there is something you want that I can give you.”

  “Hmm...” She eyed him from head to toe. “I will take one night of hot sex with a Chinaman so I can see if the rumors about you guys are true or not.”

  “Okay,” he murmured through clenched teeth. She winced and he realized he was still holding her wrist. He quickly let go. “I will find you one.”

  She rubbed her wrist with her other hand and took a step back from him. Warily she asked, “Aren’t you one?”

  “I’m South Korean.”

  After a long quiet moment, she shrugged and said, “You will do.”

  He realized she was intentionally being obtuse. He would show her it took more than insults to get under his skin.

  Yoon waited for her to say more. When she didn’t, he decided to call her bluff, “I’ll bite, sweetheart. If you do your part by helping me tonight... tomorrow night I will show you anything you’ve heard about Asian men is pure conjecture on the part of other races of men to keep their women f
rom us.”

  “You will?”

  “Do we have a deal?”

  “Are you serious?” Her eyes grew round and her mouth grew wide. “You really would sleep with me just to get me to help you out?”

  “No, I will have sex with you,” he corrected. Yoon leaned closer and softly whispered, “All night. Then the next morning, I will take you home and you can sleep in your own bed after we’re done.”

  “Oh man!” She snapped her fingers together. “If you’re willing to do all of that, I should have asked for a million dollars.”

  “A night with me is worth so much more,” he teased. A dimple flashed.

  He was pleasantly surprised by the blush that spread across her face. It was quite unexpected from a woman that had just propositioned him for a night of hot sex.

  Being a man in his position of wealth and connections, Yoon was accustomed to all sorts of propositions from women and men, but this had been the first time a Black woman had propositioned him. He could only assume the hearsay about Asian men that she spoke of must have not been too flattering in the sex department or he might have been propositioned from other women of color a lot sooner.

  Yoon wasn’t aware he could appreciate a woman who spoke her mind so boldly until now and admittedly there were a few myths about Black women and sex that he too was curious about.

  “You do know I’m joking, right?”

  “I’m hoping you’re not because now you got me looking forward to it.” He pointedly looked at her luscious mouth.

  Yoon got the pleasure of seeing her luscious impertinent mouth drop wide.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “I never joke about money or sex, Miss...by the way what is your name?”

  “Nunya.” Her forehead puckered in a frown. Her words spaced enough to insult a lesser man, but he wasn’t fazed.

  “Nun-ya,” Yoon repeated. “That’s an odd but pretty name.”

  “None-ya-business is what I was saying.”

  Yoon released a long sigh. “You really are beginning to get on my nerves.”

  “Join the club,” she muttered.

  Yoon laughed and shook his head. What a mouth she had on her. It was shaped for all kinds of sinful things he thought but yet he would be too scared to put parts of his body precious to him, which was all of it, near anything that housed a set of perfect sharp teeth. Her flawless smile was probably another thing some “sucker” paid for.

  However, wasn’t she a contradiction? If she didn’t mind giving men favors for gifts, then why did she spurn her date tonight leaving her in this predicament? Or did she just have some misguided honor about bonking preachers?

  He put his hand over his mouth rubbing it back and forth catching the warm and sensual scent of neroli and sandlewood. It was her scent. She must have perfumed her wrist as she prepared for her date tonight. Yoon wondered if the preacher would have gotten lucky and talked her into sex if he had taken the time to seduce her instead of asking outright for it as soon as they finished their meal.

  “Wasted time is a luxury for me,” he sighed. “If you tell me what you really want we can settle this matter; but frankly I would think anything beats the alternative option of you spending the night in jail.”

  “It might be better than spending a night with you.”

  “Let’s get it straight,” his voice hardened. “You’re the one that was curious.”

  To his delight, her brown face grew flush again.

  “It’s bad enough you approached me...” she seemed to flounder for the right words. “Ah...a woman you don’t know and this late in the evening scaring me half to death--”

  Yoon rudely snorted as he tried not to laugh at that one. Scared my ass he thought.

  “You put your hands on me, forcing me to stand here and listen to your threats or risk getting arrested,” she sounded off his list of perceived crimes.

  So far she wasn’t incorrect so he didn’t interrupt.

  “When that doesn’t work, you ask for sex and offer a ridiculous amount of money--”

  “I did no such thing, Lady!” He interjected in her tirade because now she was outright lying. “You asked for it; for both and I simply complied with your request.”

  “Yet...you didn’t say no,” she reminded, shaking her finger in his face. “You bargain with your money and that sexy...err...that...that body of yours!”

  “You think my body is sexy?”

  “I didn’t say that,” she dropped her finger from his face and gave him her profile.

  He smiled. “You did too.”

  “Did not,” she huffed.

  “Did so.”

  “I didn’t mean it.”

  “Yeah! Right!”

  “Okay call the cops.” She stomped her foot and quickly lifted her foot to make sure she hadn’t done any damage to the back of her shoe heel against the stone sidewalk. “Damn, now you owe me a pair of shoes. Look at that scratch on my heel.”

  “You can throw that in as a tip for me after we have all-night sex and I leave a million dollar check on the bedside table,” his lips turned up at the corners as he crossed his arms across his chest. “Didn’t I tell you I was worth every dollar?”

  It had been awhile since he had so much fun with a woman.

  “Ass,” she hissed at him.

  Yoon leaned closer as the valets at the stand they were near returned to their post. For anyone that might take notice of them, the appearance was intimate, but there was nothing intimate about his tone.

  “Help me and I will help you,” he necessitated. “I bet you don’t even have enough money on you to catch a taxi ride home.”

  “At this point I will just go back inside the restaurant and explain my situation to the manager. I will tell him who I am and give him a copy of my driver’s license. I assure you once he finds out exactly who I am he will allow me to return tomorrow with the money,” the woman replied.

  “Really? Who are you exactly?”

  “Sunshine Dupree.” Her chin lifted a notch and he would have sworn she just declared herself the Queen of Egypt.

  “Should that mean something to me?”

  “Dupree?” She emphasized, staring at him as if he didn’t have any working brain cells in his head.

  He just stared at her.

  “Dupree Foods? You know the grocery stores. There are six locations in Washington alone,” she said, holding up six fingers in his face. She dropped her hands. “There is even one in Annandale, Virginia in Korea town...just ten minutes from here.”

  “You’re assuming I frequent Korea town,” he lifted an eyebrow in question.

  “I’m assuming you at least heard of the place.” She had the nerve to roll her eyes at him. “You do live here, don’t you?”

  Yoon frowned. “Yes, to both.”

  “Jeez, don’t be so sensitive.”

  He let out a hiss of frustration at the time she was wasting. But he had to ask. “You’re claiming to be one of the heiresses to the Dupree Foods fortune?” He asked with his deep voice full of disbelief.

  “Not one of them, but the only one,” Sunshine said smugly.

  He shook his head as if she were a quack.

  Chapter 2

  If you’re insane, then I’m just plain ole’ crazy...

  Yoon laughed. “You almost had me.”

  Sunshine exhaled with exasperation. “What is with this idiot?” She muttered, uncaring that he still could hear her. “I have my driver license to prove it.”

  Yoon’s eyes twinkled. “Your driver license says ‘Sunshine Dupree, Princess...err...Heiress of Dupree Foods on it?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Forget it. You can go and marry that woman you’re trying to ditch for all I care. I’m going to go and talk to the manager and get this cleared up right away.” Sunshine marched past him.

  “Uh...Sunshine—what kind of name is that for a grocery store heiress anyway? Maybe you should change it to Sunshine Foods. That has a sunny ring to it. Oh w
ait.” His gaze looked upward as if he was really thinking about it.

  “There is already a Sunshine Food Store,” he continued. “Your family’s competition maybe? Hmm...did I mention that I am a member of the board of directors at this fine restaurant here? I bet if I check my holdings, I might have investments in either your alleged grocery stores or your competitors. You see, that is what I do. I invest in people, places and things.”

  She halted and turned to look at him. There was a look of incredulous disbelief on her face. “Are you kidding me?”

  “I will make sure the manager does his job by handling this situation in the proper manner that the law affords him.” A half smile appeared on his lips. “Even if you are in fact an heiress as you claim, you wouldn’t want us to make a difference between the people who have and the people that have not, do you? I mean, even I don’t get a free ride on a meal here.”

  “Oh my God!” She looked heavenward as if she was actually speaking to a higher power. “What have I done to deserve a day like this one?”

  “Just help me and poof all of this will go away as if by magic.”

  “God, I mean really? Did you want me to sleep with the preacher? Is that what this is all about?” Sunshine looked up again. “Okay I will, just make this man go away.”

  “Please tell me you’re not hearing an answer,” Yoon commented sarcastically. His dark head tilted to look up at the Capital’s sky. He wasn’t quite sure if he was seeing city lights and dark smog blotting out the stars or if the God she was speaking to was about to strike him for the devious misbehavior he has expressed this night.

  “God, I’m sorry. But I’m desperate,” Yoon yelled up to the night sky.

  “Young Yoon Min! What are you doing out here?” Leslie demanded as she marched over to stand in front of him. Her sensible low heel pumps clicked klickety and loudly against the brick walk with a resounding echo off the restaurant’s flagstone sidewalk.

  Several of the valet attendants’ heads turned to look at her. He noticed so did Sunshine Dupree as Leslie sailed pass her as if she wasn’t standing there.

  “Go back inside Leslie. I will be there in a minute,” Yoon said gruffly. He could feel tension that had eased in his body building again in his shoulders.