449 A Surprise Gues

Damien didn't know what to think about the new information. The investor who refused to show themselves and only had attorneys who represented them during the contract signing was actually his mother. It was during the time when he was starting Crown Resort Group and his first project was the Bayside Resort. ASLP didn't ask for any ridiculous conditions. Apart from the common terms of having equity shares of the company, they only asked for one thing: To keep their identity as anonymous.

Anonymous angel investors weren't uncommon, but he did find it strange that the much-needed funds suddenly arrived when he badly needed someone to believe in him and didn't even ask for anything in return. He just didn't think it would be her.

It was only the first night that Katherine wasn't around, and it already seemed like he had opened another pandora box.

It was an emotional night for the mother and son. Learning about her being the seed investor gave Damien mixed feelings. He wasn't mad—there was no reason to be. Or probably just the fact that she was there all along but still didn't show herself. However, there was no point going back in circles, so he was glad to learn about this despite how strange things seemed to be at the moment.

It was almost eleven in the evening when Amelia retired for the night and went back to the 61st floor. She invited him to come down and join her for breakfast in the morning if he had the time to drop by before going to work. Damien accepted her invitation and ended the night with a brief hug. So much for first dates.

When his mother left, his penthouse felt rather empty again. Katherine was away on a trip and Bear was with Styles. He chuckled at himself and ran his hand down his face, sighing at the long night he just had. A long but beautiful night.

Damien took a quick shower and decided to give Katherine a call. He had put his phone in silent mode since dinner, so he only got the chance to see her messages then.

[Missing Kitten: How's dinner? I hope you saved me some of the food you cooked. Can it wait until I get back?]

[Missing Kitten: This is what I ate for dinner. Now I'm starting to regret it because I'll miss it when I come home.]

He opened the image attachment and saw several pieces of croquettes on a plate. He chuckled, knowing how she just couldn't stay away from fried food.

[Missing Kitten: Is it stupid that I'm actually jealous right now? You're on a date… T_T]

[Missing Kitten: I know I'm being stupid. You don't actually have to answer that. IMY.]

"Cute." He softly chuckled and not a second later, he called her. There was a shuffling noise on the other line when the call was picked up and he waited to hear her voice. His brows furrowed when she didn't come on the line. "Katherine?"

"Ngnnnh…"

Her long groan caused him to deepen his brows further. "What… Are you okay?"

Damien noticed the sudden light coming from his phone screen that was pressed on his ear. Realizing that she had turned on her video, he turned on his as well. She laid on her side, her camera showing only her face, pillows, and white sheets. She looked beautiful despite being tired. "Hi…" she whispered, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Hey," he smiled back. "Sorry I couldn't respond to your texts earlier."

"That's okay. How was dinner? Did you two have fun?"

He laid on his back and started telling her about his evening with his mother, sharing his thoughts and the new things he learned about her. Every so often, Katherine would nod or hum in agreement while she listened to him. When she stopped responding, he glanced at her video and saw that she had fallen asleep.

Damien felt sorry that he'd spoken a lot and hadn't even asked her how her day was. She seemed to have really worked hard that day for her to be this tired. "Good night, Katherine," he whispered, stroking her face on the screen with his finger before closing their video call.

A minute later, he received a text message from her.

[Missing Kitten: I'm sorry I fell asleep. I want to hear everything again when I come back. I'm glad you two had a good talk. You should read that letter… You can do it, I believe in you. Good night, Love.]

He stared at the message and mulled over what she said. Could he really read that letter? He didn't know how many minutes had passed when he finally pushed himself off the bed and headed to his closet to look for it.

However, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't find the damn letter. He nearly turned his closet upside down. It wasn't until he was about to reach for a cabinet when the realization hit him. He doubled-over laughing at himself, thinking of how stupid he was just now. Of course he wouldn't find the letter here—it was in Crown Resort Group's main office building's penthouse. 

Grabbing a trench coat, his keys, and wallet, Damien headed over to his office. Just as he reached his car in the basement parking, he noticed someone standing next to it. He met his gaze and even if the other hadn't spoken yet, he could tell what he was there for.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as he approached him.

Taking in a deep breath, William yawned and rolled his neck from side to side. "You know what… I actually don't know. I came here with one objective but… I'm starting to second guess."

The cousins stared at each other for a while before Damien let out a long sigh. The letter had to wait… because this bastard was probably here to bargain or threat. He watched William stroke the hood of Katherine's red Lexus that was parked next to his car. 

"Nice car," William commented.

Damien clenched his jaw and reluctantly told him, "Come up. Let's talk at my place."

A slow and dangerous smile crossed William's face as he walked up to Damien. He flung his arm around the other's shoulder and teased, "Ah… Is that how you invite women up to your place?"

And thus, the two men rode the elevator towards the 62nd floor penthouse.