Chapter 199 - A Packed Day

Wednesday, August 29

"I just got off the phone with Nana. We're going to have dinner later at the mansion," Damien said as soon as Katherine entered his office. She had a cup of coffee in her hand and gave it to him.

"I see… Will your sweet uncle and humble cousin be there?" She grabbed his black coat from the hanger and helped him put it on, brushing his sleeves off with a lint roller.

Damien chuckled. "Unfortunately, yes, with his wife too." He had his arms raised while Katherine did her magic on him, making sure he looked impeccable as he needed to appear in front of some very important people in less than ten minutes.

"That sounds fun." She frowned briefly just before she composed herself. "Shall I grab a bottle from your wine fridge for dinner then?"

He lifted his chin up while she fixed his tie on him and he couldn't help but smile and hold her by the waist. "Yes, good thinking. Bring the Lafite, it's Nana's favorite."

Katherine patted the knot like she always does and gave him a once over. Raising her hand, she brushed his hair gently in place and leaned in, taking a whiff of his perfume.

"Are you smelling me?" He raised a brow in confusion.

"Mhmm. Need to make sure you smell good too." She chuckled. "I'm going to sit next to you. I have to make sure it's going to be a pleasant experience."

Damien was adamant about having her next to him wherever he goes for the last two weeks that she was going to be his secretary. So she will be there for all his meetings. For some reason, his eyes drifted to her legs and he frowned. "You're wearing pants."

"Yup." She looked at him in the eye seriously. "No fooling around today."

A wide grin formed on his face and he drew her closer to him, pressing her against him. "Okay. tomorrow then?"

Pressing a hand on his chest to keep some distance, she reached for a few folders on his desk and slapped it on him. "Maybe." Wiggling out of his embrace, she started pushing him towards the door.

Katherine grabbed her laptop from her desk and followed him inside the elevator where she gave him another once over and found his dress shirt poking from the side. She swiftly tucked it in his pants as they rode down the elevator, smoothing his outfit.

"How do I look?" he asked, slightly turning towards her.

"Like a billion dollars." She smiled at him.

Leaning in, he planted a kiss on her lips just before the doors opened. "Thank you," he said with a sigh. He was surely going to miss her.

"My pleasure." Katherine stood straight and gestured towards the hallway. "After you, President Park." 

Damien stepped out of the elevator, his expression stoic and powerful as he passed by some of his employees who greeted him as he walked towards the meeting room with Katherine following him from behind. Her immaculate appearance and graceful posture made a lot of women around them envious of her being next to their CEO. They could only dream.

Katherine and Damien entered the meeting room with their heads held high, ready for a packed day.

…

At lunchtime, Katherine was in a restaurant with Emma. It had been a while since they last saw each other because Emma had a new job in a different city and she was in Harbor City just for the day so they had to see each other.

After catching up, they started talking about Katherine's plans on taking up a course to refresh her knowledge about the degree that she had before losing her memory. After that scary session with Jeffrey a few days ago, Katherine wondered if studying was going to help her recover her memory. Everything was still scary for her but she wasn't going to back out from it anymore.

"It's too bad your old college shut down… It would've been better for you to go there," Emma said as she put a piece of cake in her mouth.

Katherine shrugged. "Even if it were still running to this date, I don't think I will go there. It's quite a distance… Damien would never allow me to go so far away. He wants me to be near. So I only have options in this city."

"Hmmm… Well, your grades were good and you've also self-studied in the past few years. I'm sure the good universities around the area will be happy to have you." Emma's smile was wide and her eyes started to water.

"What's happening? Why are you crying?" Katherine was alarmed and reached across the table for her friend's hand.

"Nothing. It's just… I'm so happy for you, you know? I've always thought about how I can help you but I never really did anything for you. But look at you now… You're living in a really nice house. Which by the way, you haven't invited us yet." They laughed at that. 

"You're marrying a gorgeous man who's not only extremely rich but also very kind and very good to you. You're even going back to school again. Your life has turned around so much and I'm just glad that you're happy… and smiling."

"What are you talking about? I smiled before…" 

Emma shook her head, wiping the happy tears from her eyes with a handkerchief. "Not like this. I've always known you were beautiful, Kath. With your life before meeting Mr. Park, you didn't shine at all. You were alive… but you weren't really living. Like a walking dead. Now, you're glowing… radiant… gosh, I can't believe this but I could have a girl crush on you."

The two of them laughed and spent another hour talking some more. Katherine was so glad to see Emma that afternoon — a fresh break for her — after being around wealthy people so much, seeing her old friend made her feel grounded. 

…

Park Mansion at six in the afternoon

The old Madame was very excited to commence talks about wedding preparations that she was smiling the entire time. Nana even introduced a wedding planner to Damien and Katherine as soon as they arrived. 

Nana was thrilled to know that the wedding would be held in France and she started enumerating the different things that needed to be taken care of. Damien and Katherine were both overwhelmed but they couldn't say no to Nana, seeing as she was so excited about everything as if she was planning her own wedding.

Katherine remembered Alianna's warning about this but honestly, she was thankful for it in a way because she didn't think she could do it alone. 

Nana sat at the head of the long table. On her right was Frederick Park, his wife Dorothy, and William while Damien and Katherine sat to her left. 

Nana held Damien's hand, smiling to him as she said, "You have no idea how happy I am that the two of you are settling down. I have been waiting for this day to come. I just wished your father was here to see this day, Damien."

He and his father had their differences but he had a lot of good memories with him when he was still alive. Without saying anything, he could only nod to his grandmother, squeezing her hand and patting it before they continued eating.

Frederick Park had an unreadable expression on his face. He cleared his throat and picked up his glass of wine, taking a sip before saying, "I can arrange a meeting with the family lawyer to visit you in your company for the prenuptial papers." If he couldn't talk his nephew out of this marriage, he might as well make sure they are going to sign a prenup agreement.

Hearing this from his uncle, Damien's brows furrowed. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at his uncle, dropping his fork and knife. He took a swig of his own wine and with a stern voice, he answered, "No. There will be no prenup."

Damien and his uncle glared at each other, the rest of the people in the room could feel the temperature drop by the second.