—Present Day—

San Francisco, California


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One week later...

"To my best friend, and the only friend I've ever met who values honesty as much as I do." Hanbin raised a glass into the air and smiled at me. "How's that for my speech?"

"You don't have to give a speech at my awards ceremony, Han." I smiled as I shut the door to my office. "You're just there as a guest in my honor."

"Oh." He laughed and set the glass down on my desk. "Well, congratulations on being named San Francisco's Top Tech Man of the Year for the sixth year in a row. How does it feel?"

"Worthless."

"Ah." He smiled at me. "You know what that means, don't you?"

"That they need to start giving this award to someone else?"

"No." He laughed. "It means you've accomplished most of what you'll ever accomplish in life. Now it's time to share it with someone. Maybe you should stop messing around and start seeing someone seriously."

"I am seeing someone seriously."

"Right." He rolled his eyes. "Who?"

Your sister.

I cleared my throat before answering. "We're still in the so-called beginning stages. If we get serious, I'll introduce you two to each other."

"Fair enough." He held up his hands in surrender. "Well, I was just stopping by to tell you congratulations on the award. Should I ask for a favor I need now or after you get back from lunch?"

"Never would be better."

"So, I should go for now?"

"Sure, Han." I laughed. "Go for now."

"I think Jennie is dating someone," he said, his tone completely darker than it was before. "Actually, I know she's dating someone."

Guilt rose up in my throat, and I tried to keep my voice calm. "Does that bother you?"

"Yes and no."

I poured a glass of water and avoided looking at him. "How so?"

"On the one hand, Jennie is still gullible," he said. "She's a hopeless romantic, and I don't want her to get hurt. I know it's inevitable down the line, but she needs to focus on herself right now. She's a terrible ass employee, so the quicker she can earn enough to go back to chasing her own dreams, the better."

"And on the no hand?"

"If the guy is decent, which I'm pretty sure he isn't since she's hiding this from me—" His voice trailed off, and he clenched his jaw. "So, I guess it's a yes. Yes, her dating someone I haven't vetted does bother me. So, can you do me a favor?"

"Already done. Yes, murder is a crime and even you, Kim Hanbin would go to prison for it."

"Funny." He laughed. "Can you just figure out who the guy is and get back to me about it?"

"You want me to spy on Jennie?"

"You've never had a problem doing it before."

I rolled my eyes. "That was different. You were trying to figure out what to get her for Christmas, and I already told you her recent reasons for requesting all those off-days was because she really wasn't feeling well."

"So, do I need to get someone else in your department to do this?"

"No." I couldn't risk that at all. "I'll get on it and let you know as soon as I find out."

"Great." He headed for the door.

"That's the real reason you came down here, isn't it? I asked. "It wasn't about the award?"

"It was both." He looked genuine. "Unless you want me to invite you to join Rosé and I for a boat ride this afternoon."

"Never. No offense."

"None taken." He smiled as he left my office, and I swallowed a growing lump of guilt.

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