509 Not a Threa

Jade Oriental Restaurant

Damien had arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before receiving Katherine's phone call. He was supposed to meet Mr. Conway fifteen minutes ago but he purposely came in late.

Entering the private room, he found the other waiting while drinking an expensive bottle of wine. Edison Conway was a man in his forties wearing a business suit that's a little small for his size. He was known for being an investor, putting his money on things he doesn't really care about as long as they give him money. He had bought the team a year ago, and now he's selling it.

They greeted each other and exchanged pleasantries, but Damien kept his responses to a minimum—right off the bat, he could already tell that the man before him reeked of arrogance and greed.

Mr. Conway looked so nonchalant as he spoke, though it was quite apparent how awestruck he was for having the chance to meet the Resort King. "Mr. Park, it really is such an honor to meet you today… I didn't know that you were a fan of basketball. So, about the team…"

"We can talk about that later, I'd like to enjoy my steak." Damien took a sip of his wine after thanking the server for placing his plate on the table. He kept his expression neutral even though he was already upset. This man was too chatty. Damien could just do his business and be done with him, but he was also starving and the steak here was excellent. Imported directly from Japan, the high-quality meat was extremely pricey—not that he minded. It's Mr. Conway's treat anyway. He just didn't know it yet.

"Right right…" said Mr. Conway before proceeding to talk about other insignificant stuff.

Then, Damien's phone rang. "Excuse me, I have to take this call. It's my fiancée." He excused himself without leaving the table and answered the call.

Mr. Conway observed Damien while he drank his wine. He had seen the articles about the billionaire and his fiancée recently and he found Katherine beautiful. He assumed that she wanted to meet, judging by Damien's response, but the latter declined her because of their meeting. Smiling, he suggested, "Why don't you invite your fiancée over for lunch? I don't mind."

Damien snapped his eyes at Mr. Conway. He didn't like the suggestion at all. Covering his phone slightly, he looked at the other and heard him say, "My wife is a fan of the two of you. She would be ecstatic to know that I'm meeting you both today." Damien's jaw ticked. He didn't care about the man's wife at all. But after some contemplation, he decided to let Katherine come over.

When she arrived, he met her by the door and introduced the two. Mr. Conway extended for a handshake, but Katherine only smiled and sat down next to Damien. The table was round, yet it seemed like it was a 2 vs 1 situation.

Having had enough, Damien placed a hand over Katherine's under the table before he tossed a folder in the middle of the table, drawing the other man's attention to it.

"What is this?" Mr. Conway asked before picking up the folder. He opened it and his mouth fell open and his eyes grew so wide when he saw a boatload of information about him.

"A gift," said Damien.

"What kind of gift is this!!!" Mr. Conway slammed the folder onto the table. He was clearly nervous and angry. It was as if he just had his last supper before being sentenced to death.

Damien absent-mindedly played with his engagement ring as he leaned forward and stared right at the other's eyes. "Mr. Conway, you may be older than me, but I play the game of deception far better than you do. Not only are you trying to take advantage of me by selling the team for more than half a billion dollars more than you are selling it to others, but you've also been bringing your prostitutes to my hotels." He scoffed. "You see, I don't like it when people take advantage of me… Only my fiancée has been given that right."

Katherine glanced at Damien. She suppressed the urge to laugh—what with Damien and his 'take advantage of me all you want' spiel. Squeezing his hand, she stroked her thumb against his.

"So you're threatening me with this?!" Mr. Conway fumed. No one had ever dared to cross him before.

"Threatening? Oh, no… If I was, you'd be sure to know. I don't need to do that, Mr. Conway. At first, I actually didn't mind giving you a little incentive. But after I discovered what you did…" Damien picked up the glass of wine and finished his drink. "Anyway, my offer still stands."

"But I bought the team for almost the same price last year! What you're offering—"

"...is generous. Considering how much you're stealing from your own team, you would already be receiving enough. Don't be too greedy, Mr. Conway… What goes around comes around…" 

Before the other could even respond, Damien got up from the table and brought Katherine to her feet. Then he addressed the man who was still at the table, shocked and bewildered, "In the future, stay away from my hotels and bring your prostitution business elsewhere. And you can keep those..." He nodded at the photos and files in the folder. "I have plenty of copies. My assistant will go over the contract with you in a while. Oh, and by the way… Thanks for the meal. It's a pleasure doing business with you."

"Tell your wife I said hi," said Katherine.

The two left the private dining room just as Markus entered, leaving Edison Conway confounded in his own mess. The latter had thought he was going to seal the deal and be almost a billion-dollar richer, only to get smashed.

With Damien's arm around Katherine's waist, he led her up to another private room at the other end of the hallway. "I hope you're hungry, I ordered all of their best dishes."

She curved her mouth into a smile, tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you."