2 Take a Picture

It had been a month since Samantha last spoke to her grandfather. Despite the fact that he was a grumpy old man, she loved him dearly. Her grandfather doted on her so much because he said she looked like her grandmother when she was young.

Now her grandfather just invited her to go fishing with him. Something that she wasn't really fond of but she would agree to go from time to time. "I'm busy tomorrow. How about the day after?"

"You're too busy to see me now?" Grandfather Kim sounded hurt.

"Gramps... Don't be so grumpy. I'll bring you some mango cheesecake... It'll be our secret." She giggled as she tried to bribe him.

Her grandfather was supposed to avoid eating sweet food but she would bring him sweets once in a while. Though he didn't respond right away, she could imagine him smiling from ear to ear.

"I'm not allowed to eat sweet foods. You better come and see me in 2 days." Her grandfather hung up before she even had the chance to reply.

…

Two days later at Lake Momo 

Samantha and her grandfather had been sitting for a while but they hadn't caught any fish yet. Nonchalantly, Grandpa Kim handed her a small wooden box. "Happy birthday. Here, take this."

"Awww... Gramps, thank you! But my birthday is not until next week." She received the box with a big smile on her face, seemingly touched at the nice surprise. "What is this? Can I open it now?"

"Be careful. It was your grandmother's." 

Opening the box, she saw a beautiful necklace that had a mix of old and new striking black opal and diamond cluster set; the diamonds surrounded the round opal. "Grandpa, this is too precious! How can I accept this?"

Glancing at the necklace in Samantha's hand, he began to feel melancholic and sentimental. "I gave that necklace to your grandmother a long time ago. If she were still here with us, I'm sure that she would love for you to keep it. Take it. It's yours now."

Samantha became teary-eyed at the mention of her grandmother who died when she was in high school. "Thank you, gramps! I will treasure it." She took the necklace out of the box and wore it around her neck; it looked really nice on her fair complexion.

Smiling at her, he changed the topic and reminded her, "I thought you were bringing me some cake?"

"Oh, right!" She took out a slice of cake from the box that she brought along and fed him. He was evidently happy that he got to eat his favorite.

…

Later that night…

Samantha drove her white mini cooper convertible towards The Meridian Hotel where she was going to meet Andrew for dinner. Leaving her car with the valet, she entered the lobby and headed to the elevator. It was empty when she got in and she pressed the button for the 5th floor.

She looked at her reflection on the mirror of the elevator car and fixed her outfit. Wearing denim jeans, black ankle boots, and a wavy black low cut top, the outfit was casual with a bit of a sexy look for a date night.

The car stopped on the second floor and two men got inside. Giving way to the two passengers who just entered the elevator, Samantha moved to her right. 

The two men who just got in were none other than Daniel Cho and his assistant. Daniel wasn't paying much attention when he stepped in the elevator but as soon as the door closed, he caught a familiar peachy scent next to him. As if by nature, he slightly turned his head to the woman and his eyes landed at something on her chest.

Feeling the unsolicited stare, Samantha's gaze flitted to the man who stood next to her. She crossed her arms and unabashedly looked at him as well thinking, 'Are men this shameless nowadays? Well since he's checking me out, I don't mind doing the same. Good thing he's hot.'

Scoffing, she muttered, "Take a picture, why don't you?"

"Pardon?" Daniel raised his head and met her blazing stare. He didn't hear what she said and now he wondered why she was being haughty.

"You like what you're seeing so I'll let you take a picture. That way you can keep looking at it."

Realizing what she meant, he straightened up. "I wasn't—"

His words were cut short when the elevator door opened and Samantha got out, not even caring what the man wanted to say. She left Daniel feeling wronged as he watched the woman leave.

Finding the situation ridiculous, he rested his hands on his hips and shook his head. He wasn't really looking at her breasts. Okay, maybe he was but not in a perverted way. He was actually looking at the necklace that she was wearing. It looked so strangely familiar but he couldn't recall where he could have seen it.

He could tell that the necklace wasn't common, so he couldn't have made a mistake since he's aware that a black opal costs more than 10,000 USD per carat.

"Boss," Ahn coughed.

"Speak."

"I know it's not my place to say this but—" 

Daniel closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then don't say it."

"But boss, even if you can't control your urges, it's rude to stare—"

"Shut up."

"Yes, sir!" Ahn pursed his lips, scared to utter any more words. 'It was you who stared at the lady, okay? I'm just experiencing secondhand embarrassment.'

...

The Meridian Hotel's Restaurant

Samantha and Andrew had a nice meal together. The two shared a small plate of dessert as they chatted. Andrew looked like the typical playboy and son of a rich businessman. Good-looking, yes, but a show-off.

"That's a nice necklace." He admired, reaching for her hand across the table.

She subconsciously touched the jewelry and smiled. "Yes, thanks. My grandfather gave it to me."

"When can I meet your family?"

She instantly retracted her hand from him and grabbed the glass of wine. "We don't have to do that now."

"We've been dating for 7 months and I haven't even met them yet."

"We're just an ordinary family. I told you, my dad runs a small business in the suburbs and my mom's a housewife," she lied smoothly. She never told him the truth about her family. She's actually good at hiding since she had known him for almost two years now, but he still had no clue about her real identity.

They didn't see each other a lot. At an average, they would meet three to five times a month and always in a public place. Andrew thought she lived with her best friend. One truth that she told him though was that she was currently studying baking and pastry and she attended classes a few times a week.

Seeing as she wanted to talk about the subject, he dropped it. Andrew's stare bored into her so intensely as she drank her wine. He stared at her mouth and he ran the tip of his tongue on his lower lip. "Let's go upstairs. I have something for you." He got up and brought her with him to the 19th floor.

Andrew opened a suite and the two entered. On the bed, Samantha found several gift bags with luxury brand logos. 

Andrew Park's family is in the entertainment industry. Growing up, money was never an issue for him. He loved to spend a lot of money on whatever he finds pleasure in. "I bought them for you when I was in Italy a few days ago." He ushered her towards the bed and hugged her from behind. She peeked inside one of the gift bags and sure enough, it was what she expected to see. 'This man really can't wait to get into my pants.'

"Check out the black one..." He whispered into her ear as he roamed his hands around her waist.

Samantha took the black clothing from the bag and held it up. She blinked. And blinked again. Her mouth twitched at the sight. 'What the hell is this thing? It's barely covering the places that need to be covered!' She gulped as she looked at the piece in front of her. 'Is that thing at the bottom supposed to cover my cave of wonders? I'll be practically naked if I wear this.'

"Andrew, it's so... sweet of you to buy me gifts. He he he," she laughed awkwardly.

"Why don't you put it on for me? I'm sure you'd look great in it." He skimmed Samantha's sides, slightly brushing the sides of her breasts. He planted small kisses on her neck and just as his hand started to hover over her pants, she turned to face him and smiled.

"Andrew—" Her phone rang, cutting her off. And she couldn't be any happier. She excused herself and her mouth curled into a smile when she saw who was calling. "Hello, Big Brother."

"Where are you?" Seo Joon asked.

"What? You're picking me up?" She casually asked and her bizarre response confused her brother. 

"What?! I didn't say that!"

"You're saying that mom and dad wanted to see us?"

There was a pause on the other line when Seo Joon's confusion just got worse. "Are you on drugs?! Samantha! I swear!"

Ignoring her brother, she continued to lie. "Okay! I'm coming downstairs!" Samantha hung up the call and turned to face Andrew who was oblivious of what just happened. She hurriedly reached to grab the gift bags from the bed and tiptoed to kiss Andrew on the cheek. "I have to go."

"You're leaving?" He tried to trap her in his arms and she smiled apologetically as she brushed his arms away and told him, "Sorry, my brother's waiting downstairs. I need to leave."

Without waiting for his response, Samantha hurriedly left the suite, afraid that Andrew was going to keep her from leaving.