Tricking My Cold Lover

There was a loud banging on Lian's hotel room in the middle of the night. Ha-joon had been ringing the doorbell for half an hour.      

She had earlier returned to the Four Seasons along with the rest of the Xias and just as Andrea instructed her; she did not show up for her coffee meet with Ha-joon. Now, he was at her door, furious at being stood up.      

"Lian! Open the door!" Ha-joon called.      

From inside the hotel room, Lian was on the phone with Yanmei. She asked, "What do I do now?"     

She was in her sleeping dress, with messy hair made purpose, walking back and forth before the bed.      

"Do you look like you came from your sleep?" Yanmei asked on the other line.      

"Yes! Yes! I absolutely look like I just woke up!" Said Lian.      

"Then do as we had discussed. Good luck!" Said Yanmei. "Trust me. After this, he will be asking you to work for him! Andy already called her friend and will be working with you on this goal."     

"Remember, since he is playing hard to get... You should do the same... Bye!"     

Xia Lian sighed heavily before she threw back her phone on the bed. She checked herself in the mirror before slowly walking to the door.      

When she opened the door, she pretended to yawn in her sexy sleeping dress, purposely not wearing any bra.      

Seeing Ha-joon at the door, she tilted her head left and right before her eyes grew wide. She covered her mouth and said, "Oh, my goodness! I totally forgot! Ha-joon! I'm sorry! I fell asleep!"     

Ha-joon's eyes tightened. It was just two days ago when Lian was constantly calling her, wanting to meet up. Now, she had forgotten the only time he agreed to meet her.      

"Lian, I have been calling you ten times!" Since Lian wasn't planning on moving, he frowned and said, "Well, what are you doing? Get dress and let's have coffee!"     

"Ummm... I'm kind of sleepy," she said with a sneer. "Can I take a rain check?"     

It dumbfounded him. He opened his mouth and left it hanging for seconds before he pointed out, "Lian, do you know how far and how long I have traveled just to get here?" He put his hand on his waist and said, "Let's just have a quick chat."     

"Oh, sorry." She bit her lip before saying, "give me a minute to get change."     

Despite promising a minute. It took Lian forty minutes to get changed, and when she opened the door, she was dressed in a beautiful V-neck cocktail dress.     

Ha-joon frowned and asked, "Why are you all dressed up?"     

"Oh, you know... it's the Four Seasons. You'll never know who we get to bump into," said Lian before walking outside the room and closing the door. She made sure to walk ahead of Ha-joon the entire time without looking back at him.     

Arriving at the hotel cafe, they ordered coffee and some late-night snacks.      

Lian did her best not to be as enthusiastic as she usually would when it came to Ha-joon. She tried looking around, smiling at other customers who were also having drinks, and from time to time, she would check on her phone.      

When Ha-joon looked at her with a puzzled expression, she said, "Oh, I'm waiting for a call from Darwin. He is actually a CEO of Intramed Wise. It's a pharmaceuticals company in the US! Imagine that!"     

"Are you serious about taking this job?" Ha-joon asked with a frown. "Why go oceans away when there is the Royal Dragon?"     

"I want an adventure! Go to another country! Explore! Regardless of my position, I know my family has money anyhow," revealed Lian.      

As they indulged in their drink, there was an awkward silence between them. Just before another conversation could start, Lian excused herself to the restroom, leaving her phone behind and purposely unlocked.      

She got a call from Darwin, minutes after she excused herself. Ha-joon could see the caller ID on her phone as it rang, and it made him utterly frown.      

Ha-joon reached for her phone and purposely rejected the call, not even telling Lian about it.      

Upon her return, they did not talk much either. Ha-joon merely tried to convince her not to make sudden decisions about taking a job from another country. He said, "Think about your decisions. It's not easy working for another country, let alone an assistant job. Especially since you are not used to being ordered around."      

"You - are - right," said Lian. "But I just feel like some things are not working out for me... in places where I want to go." She bit her lip and tilted her head before she added, "With people, I want to be with - I mean work with."     

She meant to give Ha-joon a hint, but he said nothing. He was seemingly in deep thought.     

In the end, Ha-joon just brought her back to her room and bid goodbye. He left with saying only this, "Remember what I said. Don't rush into your decisions."     

Lian was disappointed. She was hoping that Ha-joon would suggest for her to take the assistant job at the gun factory, the one that Yanmei had already given her.      

Even Yanmei expected Ha-joon to offer her the job. Still, on their phone call that night, Yanmei told her cousin, "Don't worry, Lian. I'll take care of telling Ha-joon that I chose you for the job."     

"For now, rest. Tomorrow, go home and I'll see you in a week or so?" Said Yanmei.      

From inside the Yeongs' estate, Yanmei was getting ready to rest next to her husband. After ending the call with Lian, she reported to Andrea immediately on the phone.      

"Well, it's not a total fail because Ha-joon looked-up Darwin," said Andrea on the other line. "Pfft! He is trying to hack into the server for Intramed Wise. Silly Ha-joon."     

Andrea and Yanmei went into a hysterical laugh at how Ha-joon was affected, yet he never expressed this with Lian. They both concluded that it was only a matter of time until Ha-joon would admit to liking Lian.      

After Yanmei's call with Andrea, Yanmei settled on the bed and kissed Anton goodnight.      

An hour passed and Yanmei's phone was ringing again.      

"Mine." Complained Anton. "Who is calling now?"     

Yanmei frantically reached for her phone and checked. Her eyes grew wide, seeing it was Ha-joon. She turned to her husband and said, "It's Ha-joon."     

Anton merely turned to the other side and said, "Get him off the phone as soon as he gets to his point."     

Yanmei took a second to answer the call. "Ha-joon, what's wrong? Why are you calling me instead of Yeong?"     

"Ahhh.... Mrs. I - I just wanted to raise a very important concern with you," said Ha-joon on the other line.      

"What is it Ha-joon?" She asked.      

"I'm sure you know, Mrs. that Lian and I are occasionally talking on the phone -"     

"Ummmm... The other boys told me, but I never really believed it. It never came from Lian nor you!" She lied.      

"I see," said Ha-joon. There was a moment of silence before he said what he wanted to say, "Mrs. Lian - she - she has been offered a job to the US, and I think it's not a good idea for her to go. She mentioned she wanted to try working in another country."     

Yanmei felt her heart beat faster. 'Is he going where I want him to go?'     

She let Ha-joon continue and the next thing he asked was, "Mrs. What if she works for you or - how about at the gun factory? We have been looking for an assistant for me and help me cope with the company's demand."     

"At least with Lian's expertise in finances, she can greatly contribute to the company."     

Yanmei's mouth fell agape. While Ha-joon did not directly offer the opportunity to Lian, he was practically letting her do it... As if it was not his idea, to begin with.     

She tried to hold down her giggle before she answered, "Ummm... Okay. I'll see what I can do, but you are right, Ha-joon. It's better that she comes here rather than the US. It's too far away!"