Page 107 of Runaway Pride

“Mrs. Kim, please understand that I care about your daughter. The last thing I want is to come between you two…”

Okay, that was better, but a little cookie cutter. There had to be a template online for this, considering how popular outlandish dramas were.

He tightened his tie, a simple matte black tie, and rotated his shoulders, hoping to ease the knot wringing his nerves. The dress code for a kissing-up called for dressy. He only had two suitable ties. With a pressed white shirt and black slacks, he thought himself suitable this morning in the mirror. He wore something similar the day he went to Charlie’s office to ask for forgiveness, but didn’t get to do his hair this time.

Shit, maybe his unstyled hair wasn’t a good look to impress a hard-to-impress middle-aged woman of highborn and rigid standards. He didn’t bring any styling products with him… fuck, maybe he was just overthinking it.

Groaning, he swept a hand over his face and leaned back against the car door. Alex had no advice for him, either. Rick was on his own.

“Mrs. Kim, it is unfair what you’re doing to Charlie.” His voice deepened. “What we’re doing is harmless. If it’s me you’re worried about, then I can assure you…”

Seeing his reflection in the window made him cringe. He had his arms out so dramatically that he looked crazed. Maybe not the best way to get on Charlie’s mom’s good side.

“Fuck it!” he growled. Deciding he was good to go regardless of what he felt, he began to walk, then stopped in his tracks when he saw the side door of the wraparound metal gate open.

His lungs nearly fell out of his chest, squeezing hard beneath the tissues. The woman who walked out was thelastperson he wanted to see.Again.

What the hell was she doing here?

Did she and Charlie’s mom know each other?

His mo—Helen Nam, just came out of Grace Kim’s property dressed like the thoroughbred she sold her soul for. A black one-piece dress covered her neck, shoulders, and flared at the end. White pearls clung to her collarbone, glistening despite the overcast in the sky. Flat, shiny shoes clicked on the ground until they stopped when she saw him.

Rick had wanted to move, to quickly jump back into his car before she spotted him, but his damned body refused to cooperate. He and Helen made eye contact.

Cursing in his mind, he held himself straight. Rush after rushes of feelings tightened his stomach muscles.

After so many years of not seeing her, she should have been unrecognizable. Unfortunately, he could identify her miles away. Resentment had a powerful face, and it stuck around for too long.

Helen looked just as surprised to see him, her mouth parting as her eyes rounded. It was the same face who rejected him, who refused to look at him while telling him to go home. Who told him he didn’t belong with her.

From what he could tell, she still had most of her dark hair. Light spots dotted her skin, and the lines of time around her eyes were more prominent, but she looked good. Hehatedit. It must be great to enjoy good health and top of the line treatment to keep her looking the way she did.

Rick’s dad died before he hit sixty, so he didn’t get to experience life as she did. Considering that they’d been married once before and had two children, why couldn’t she have thrown them a bone?

The tension sparked between the distance separating them. Rick felt the pressure expanding as the stillness passed. To the corner of his eye, he saw a black car parked close to the estate, and an older man stepped out. He went to approach Helen. She spoke to him briefly without tearing her eyes from Rick. Her driver looked at him. After a lull of hesitance, she walked towards him.

Hell, no.

Finally,finally, his body wanted to work with him. He clutched the handle of his car door and pulled, and she stopped her steps. Helen and his gaze held until his ass planted solidly in his seat.

No way was he going to deal withthis. Not today. He already had plans to speak with Charlie’s mom; there was no room foruninvited confrontation. His unease showed when he floored the gas pedal, spinning his steering wheels until there was no more give, and swirled his car in the opposite direction. Tires skidded harshly against the pavement and he could hear them tear as burnt rubber flew to his nostrils.

He didn’t care if he was acting like a child or a coward by running away. A headache was enough. No heartaches accepted.

Thirty-Three

“Where were you?”Charlie asked the second Rick stepped into his house. Worry showered her face as she took his hands and pulled him to her.

Rick shook his head, too lost in a stupor to give her a straight answer. After nearly making physical contact with Helen Nam, he drove straight to a sports bar and calmed himself down with a beer or four.

He didn’t drink for comfort, and only did so under the most serious of duress. His teenage and college years were some of the worst, also developing a smoking habit he’d quit during his late twenties.

“I’d been calling you with no answers for hours!” Charlie said. “What happened?”

Checking the time, he saw he had been uncommunicative for a long time. He’d left his phone in the car while at the bar, then drove back home on autopilot. As he looked, there were five missed calls and a few texts.

“Sorry, I was distracted.” He set his phone down on the kitchen counter and plunked himself on the couch.

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