408 A True Warrior

After lunch, the two stayed on the sofa to relax for a bit before going back to work. Damien laid his head on Katherine's lap with his eyes closed as per the latter's suggestion to take a nap and rest, even if it was for a while. Katherine looked lovingly at Damien as he napped, her fingers softly caressed through his hair while her other hand rested on top of his chest.

She gazed at his face, taking in the sharpness of his nose and his slightly parted lips as he slept. And because she couldn't help it, her eyes wandered from his chest down to his stomach… and a little bit lower. She wondered if he would finally give in if she took advantage of his current vulnerability. He was asleep, wasn't he? Lifting her hand ever so carefully, she moved it down south of his body until it hovered over the waistband of his pants. If she could just…

Katherine gasped when he caught her wrist, and then she met his amused stare. He chuckled as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "You're one sneaky little Kitten."

Rolling her eyes, she couldn't help but knit her brows at him. "Well, if the snack is left at the table unguarded, it's only right for the Kitten to take it."

Damien laughed and playfully bit her hand. "Naughty Kitten."

The ringing of his cellphone interrupted their little play. He lazily whipped it out of his pocket and checked the screen. "I have to take this," he said just before he sat up on the sofa.

Katherine suddenly felt empty without his head on her lap. She casually brushed off some lint on his dress shirt as he spoke to the caller. The two were speaking in French which she could understand most but she doubted that she could speak them as fluently as before she lost her memory. She was afraid that the second language she knew since she was young was totally lost on her. The phone call didn't last long and when he pocketed his phone, she probed, "You're going to France?"

"Mm. In Nice."

"When are you leaving?"

"Tonight at ten." Damien turned to face her and saw her face fell from his announcement.

Katherine thought that she had time with him tonight, so finding out he was going on a trip sucked. Ever since last night when he told her to "prove it", she had been looking forward to spending time with him. She was actually excited to try new things tonight—until he told her he was leaving.

Seeing that she wasn't saying anything, concern flitted across his expression. "Are you… sad?"

It took her awhile to answer, but when she did, her tone was impassive. "When are you coming back?"

"Just in time for the auction. Earliest will be Friday night. Latest on Saturday noon." He kept his eyes on her face, trying to study the change in her expression. "You're already used to me going away on business trips. What's with the long face?"

"What?" He chuckled. "What are you talking about? Who's avoiding who? Why would I avoid you?"

Katherine crossed her arms in front of her chest and arched her brow at Damien. "Really? You're not avoiding me?"

The smile on his face widened even more when he saw her reaction. "You're cute, Kitten." She pouted at that and he laughed even more. Pulling her to him, he asked, "Come on. What can I do to make that pout go away?" When she didn't answer, he pressed his lips on her jaw and slowly trailed kisses down her neck. "Hmmm?"

She immediately forgot what she was even annoyed about. Every kiss on her skin caused the butterflies in her stomach to flutter, making her ticklish. But of course, she didn't stop him. He pushed her down to the sofa till she laid flat and he was on top of her. Trying to take her worries away, he kissed her mouth softly and gently until he felt her relax under him.

Just then, Katherine's phone on the table rang. They didn't stop and just let the ringing end on its own. However, when her phone rang again, the two of them peered to check the screen and saw Michael Price's name. "He sure has a habit of interrupting us," Damien said, his voice laced with bitterness making her snicker.

"It might be important." She was reluctant but answered the call anyway. Mr. Price informed her that an important meeting from a client was pushed earlier. It was one that Katherine wanted to handle herself as sort of a practice for her. The meeting was in an hour and so she was expected to return to the office soon. 

"I have to go back. It's a meeting with G\u0026G group. We're going to close the deal of a project and yesterday I offered to handle it myself," she said.

"G\u0026G? Wow… That's a huge company. I'm sure you can handle it just fine."

"I have to... Or else they will keep looking down on me."

"They?"

"Some people in the company think I don't deserve the position. And I'm already convinced that I'm not cut out for it." She sighed before pulling a small smile on her face.

"Please. You worked here and I know you're capable. Even if you prefer to hold guns and knives, a true warrior knows when to put them down to use their bare hands. Protect your legacy, Katherine. You make sure they know who you truly are. No one knows you better than yourself, so prove them wrong."

"Thanks for the pep talk. I needed that," she said, her face now brightened up at his words.

…

Young Corporation

Katherine finished the meeting with the client and they would have to wait for a few days for the final decision. When she was on her way back to her office, she bumped into Director Bai, their department director, who asked her to send a few documents up to the CEO's office.

She gladly accepted the task and soon, she reached the top floor where the CEO's office was and found the secretary's desk empty. There was no one else in sight and so she decided to go straight to the door. She knocked and no one answered. Contemplating where she could leave the documents, she decided it would be best to deliver it inside her aunt's office where she thought it was safer. 

Setting the documents down on the mahogany desk, Katherine was just about to leave when she noticed a few crumpled papers around the trash bin. She figured that her aunt was too lazy to properly toss the paper. She picked them up to throw them away but she did a double-take when she read familiar words on the paper. 

Without much thought, she uncrumpled the paper and read the first few lines of texts. She realized that it was an application letter addressed to The Platinum Club which was dated many years ago. This wasn't what was surprising, because there were three more crumpled papers with a similar letter—all of them were written years ago and the most recent one was two years.

Confused, Katherine's brows furrowed as she looked at all the letters in her hand. Why would her aunt lie to her earlier? Deciding that she couldn't stay very long in the office, she kept the papers in her bag and left the room while she continued to think of possibilities to her most recent discovery.