Chapter 110 - Smells Like Vinegar

While the shooting was ongoing, Caleb and Katherine met with the investors in the morning and toured them around the resort, making sure they were taken care of. 

What Katherine loved about Crown Resort's location was the vast expanse of the land where it was located. It didn't have any neighboring resorts that could match up with theirs and the only other popular hotel was the Wu Hotel which was already facing bankruptcy. So, even though the resort just opened a month ago, it was doing really well.

Seeing the resort after its opening, the investors were extremely satisfied. They were sure to get their money's worth because they chose to believe in Damien Park. And hearing all the investors' praises about her man, Katherine was definitely proud.

Checking her phone, Katherine noticed that she didn't receive any calls or messages from Damien since yesterday evening. She figured that he must be busy, so she told herself to wait patiently for him  to contact her. 

"Gentleman, it's already time for lunch. Let's go back to the restaurant," Caleb told the investors.

When they arrived at the restaurant, the shooting production staff and the Crown Resort's team were already there and were about to eat lunch at the buffet. The entire time, Caleb and Katherine went around together so they shared a table as well.

"Hi, Vice-President Yoo, I hope it's okay for me to join you," Matthew Jeong said as he came to their table.

"Of course, no problem. Please take a seat." Caleb didn't find any problems with it as Matt was their model anyway. "How was your shooting?"

"It was great. The staff are very friendly although the director is a bit strict, but it's alright. Ms. Jin is very experienced so it wasn't hard working with her."

"Mhmm, Lexi is indeed great at her job," Caleb remarked.

Katherine remained quiet as she listened to the conversation between the two men. 

A few tables away, Lexi shot their table a look and was annoyed that Caleb and Matt were there with Katherine while she was sitting with her personal assistant. She couldn't possibly go over and join them as she didn't want to be associated with Katherine, so all she could do was sulk. 

"I see that you like sushi," Matt commented when he saw Katherine's plate. 

"Ah…" she stifled a chuckle, "I don't eat it all the time so when I get the chance, I tend to eat a lot of it."

Matt smiled, "Even your food choice is similar." 

"Excuse me?" Katherine probed.

"Didn't I tell you before? You look quite similar to my childhood friend. It's a pity though… you would have liked her." Matthew suddenly became sentimental.

Caleb knew what Matt was talking about because Katherine told him earlier when he asked her how she knew the actor. He found it both amazing and too much of a coincidence, so he became a bit wary.

"Katherine told me about your friend. If you don't mind me asking, how did she die?" Caleb asked.

Matthew put down his fork and stared at his plate like he was trying to recall what happened when he was young. "I don't remember much about what happened… I also honestly don't want to think about it because it's just quite sad. There was… an accident in their house and… everyone died." 

Katherine and Caleb exchanged looks. The two of them felt their hair stand upon hearing Matt. Even though he didn't give any details, just the idea of what happened to that poor girl's family, gave them the chills. How tragic.

"What's the name—"

"Jeong and Jin, kindly finish up your food so that we can start the shoot. We need to make use of the sun," said one of the production staff.

"I'm done." Matthew got up from his seat and excused himself. "Thank you, Mr. Yoo… I'll see you later, Katherine," he flashed his signature smile at her before walking away.

"Tell me you did not fall for his smile like his fans... wait are you his fan?" Caleb wondered and observed Katherine's reaction. True enough, he saw a tinge of blush on her face and he chuckled. 

Katherine threw a cap bottle at Caleb in which he skillfully caught with his hand. "Emma is the true fan… I, on the other hand, only admire his work."

"Mhmm…" He snickered. "How about I tell you a little secret?"

She raised a brow and waited for him to continue.

"I have never seen Damien jealous until you came along." Caleb took a sip from his bottled water.

Katherine found it hard to believe, everyone would get jealous at some point in their life. "Isn't that far-fetched? He dated before me… didn't he?" 

"Oh yeah… but I've never seen him get affected like he gets with you."

She furrowed her brows and probed, "Not even with…"

"Not even with Lexi, nope. I told you… Damien didn't love her. And like they say, where there is no jealousy, there's no love."

"You said all of you grew up together… he should have at least have felt something?" Katherine didn't know why she was pushing it, she found herself laughable. 'Are you actually wishing that he had feelings?'

Caleb sighed, "Okay, let's just say… maybe he did love her because we all did. Lexi was like a sister to us. It's just... for Damien, he probably loved her, but he was not in love with her. Do you get what I mean?"

"I think so…"

"Wait, we're getting side-tracked… Right, as I was saying, I've only seen him get jealous when it comes to you. So… you should be careful." Caleb got up from his seat, leaving Katherine all confused.

"What are you saying? How could you leave and just end it like that? You should elaborate, you know?" Katherine tried catching up with Caleb's long strides out of the restaurant.

The day was almost over and the shooting also came to an end. Katherine was speaking with a CRG staff while Caleb went to make room arrangements for the investors. 

"Ms. Katherine…" Matt came up to her from the side. He had already changed into a pair of pants and a plain black shirt, giving him a bad boy vibe. "I was wondering if you have any plans for tonight?"

"Um… not really. Mr. Yoo and I are going to go back to the city when everything here is settled," she replied and started walking towards the lobby where she was going to meet Caleb.

Matthew walked with Katherine. "I see… I'm actually going to attend a birthday party of a co-actor of mine. If you're okay with it, I'd like to invite you to go with me."

Katherine was surprised. A popular actor actually invited her to a celebrity's party? She had not seen Emma yet and she already had tons to tell her friend. She wished that Emma was there with them so she could introduce the latter to Matt.

"I don't know… I don't really go to parties." Katherine softly chuckled.

Meanwhile, a black Aston Martin just parked at the parking lot. The man got out of the car clad in a navy blue suit and walked towards the lobby. Damien came straight from the airport and figured he would surprise Katherine by coming home earlier as originally planned.

Just as he stepped into the lobby, Lexi Jin called for him. "Damien, you came." 

"Mm," he briefly nodded and walked away.

"Are you looking for Katherine? She's with Matt. They've been hanging out all day…they seem pretty close." Lexi purposely chose her words to spite him. If he sees them together, that would cause problems, right? She laughed inwardly.

Damien only paused for a second before he continued to walk. And as he alighted the steps towards the beachfront, he saw Katherine walking with Matthew. He narrowed his eyes.

As if fate was trying to toy with him, he saw Katherine accidentally step on uneven ground and twisted her ankle. "Ah!" she yelped.

Matthew who was walking beside her, caught her instinctively — his hands were holding both of her arms. "Are you okay?" he worried.

"Yeah… I'm okay, thanks." She tried to step her foot flat on the ground and felt a sting but she bit her lip in order not to wince.

"You should watch where you're walking." A man's voice came from the side and when Katherine looked up, she saw Damien hastily walking towards her.

"Da– Boss, you're back!" she exclaimed, a smile instantly broke out on her face upon finally seeing him after a few days of being away from him.

As soon as Damien arrived in front of her, he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, cupping her face with his hand and pressing his lips to hers. 

Katherine froze. There were still several people around them and Damien just decided to kiss her in front of everyone! With Matthew still an arm's length away from them!

Her eyes widened in shock before they involuntarily closed and she succumbed to his kisses until he finally let her go. 

"I missed you," said the jealous man.