Absinthe novel Chapter 62

"Bye Jiwoo," Faye greeted as Jiwoo got off the car. "See you soon."

Jiwoo waved back until he was swallowed by the crowd waiting for public transport. I rolled up the windows and started driving again.

"Where to?" I asked Faye.

"Pampering?"

"Sure thing!"

Faye talked about how she enjoyed brunch earlier that day. Jiwoo and I teamed up and cooked the best possible fusion brunch that we could come up with. I made a pastry basket with egg tarts, mini samosas, and fluffy brioches. Jiwoo grilled up some meats and sausages and created amazing butter infusions for them. I made a few soufflé pancakes and paired them up with select nuts and berries, while Jiwoo made these extremely light and crispy Japanese-inspired vegetable tempuras. Jiwoo finished off the menu with this creamy mushroom soup that was just heavy enough to pack a flavor punch without overpowering the other dishes.

"We should do that more often," Faye said enthusiastically.

"No way," I said. "You have no idea how hard it was to prep all that."

"But that's going to be your job now, isn't it?" Faye asked.

I chose to keep quiet, but as usual, Faye didn't seem to miss anything.

"Or you're seriously thinking of accepting Samsong's offer?"

"We're here!" I announced, deliberately avoiding Faye's question. "You've got reserved parking, right? Which floor is it?"

Faye rolled her eyes. "Basement 3 – just beside the elevator."

As soon as we entered Faye's favorite branch of Dra. Bell's skin care clinics, we were greeted with an offer of either Proseccos or mimosas. Faye and I opted for a glass of Prosecco each and were soon led to a cozy room filled with comfortable reclining chairs and a soft, serenading music in the background.

Faye and I sat side by side and were soon given intravenous drips of glutathione, vitamin E, and god-knows-what-else-Faye-ordered to be pumped into our bloodstreams. An attendant helped us relax on the recliner, and lastly placed chilled eye patches on our eyes.

Several minutes passed and I was almost falling asleep when Faye attempted to ask about Samsong group again.

"What if that Vice Chairman Lee accepts your offer, though?"

"Huh?" I asked, trying to fight the bouts of sleepiness washing over me.

"10% of their shares." Faye said. "What if he decides to give that to you?"

"Fat chance," I said. "He'd have to be insane to offer that much money. Do you know how much their shares are worth?"

"Not exactly, but I have an idea," Faye said. "It's only 10% and the amounts are already exorbitant."

"Exorbitant?" I asked, smiling. "Big word!"

"Stop joking," Faye said seriously. Although I couldn't see her facial expression, I could feel that something's bothering her.

"Why? What's the problem?"

"I think he's going to accept your offer." Faye answered.

"Huh? I highly doubt that." I retorted. "Like I said, he'd have to be crazy to do it."

"Yes, and aren't all geniuses considered borderline crazy?"

Here she goes again with her sudden bouts of profound wisdom. I didn't know if I should laugh or what. But as usual, I indulged my best friend.

"Look at you and all the projects you've handled with Samsong Group – everything's borderline crazy! That's why nobody else ever thought of doing everything that you've done so far."

Faye was being overly enthusiastic about this whole thing. I haven't done anything special, really. It's just that my decisions and recommendations were all based on what the numbers tell, and what the numbers weren't telling.

"Let's say Mr. Lee does agree to my demands," I started. "I still don't think I can handle it."

Faye was quiet for a moment and I could feel the cold leaving my eye patches before she started speaking again.

"Is it because of Jiwoo?"

"What do you mean?" I said, caught off guard by her question.

"The BJ that I know would get super excited at the prospect of solving corporate issues like this one." Faye answered quickly. "It's so unlike you to doubt yourself about this thing."

I sighed audibly. "It's not as simple as it looks, Faye. And besides, why would I want to go back to that kind of life?"

"That kind of life?" Faye asked.

"Oh, you know – the pretend-I'm-straight kind of life!" I was getting tired of the conversation and didn't bother to mask away my annoyance. I just wanted to change our topic now.

"Hello?!" Faye snapped back. "You were already outed by your CEO. There's no going back to that life now. And besides, Mr. Lee already promised to start embracing diversity!"