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Jason rolled his eyes. If there was one thing he could count on with Naomi, it was that she always knew what he was up to. Sometimes even before he did. “How did you know that?”
“He told me.” Naomi paused for several moments. “Am I on speaker?”
“Of course. I’m driving, remember. So, yes, Seong Hyeon is listening.”
“Oh. Hi, sweetie.”
“Hello, Ms. Bell.” The Song brothers had initially insisted on addressing Naomi as Chief Bell since she was Big Hammer’s Chief Operating Officer, and that’s what they would’ve done when speaking Korean. It had taken a few weeks to convince them that you didn’t refer to someone by their job title in the US unless they were a Doctor or Professor or something.
“Hey. How come he’s sweetie, and I’m just Jason?”
“I think you just answered that question yourself. Look, maybe you should call me after your meeting. I don’t want to distract you when you’re behind the wheel–”
Jason snorted. “Whatever. I’m an excellent driver.”
“No, I think this can probably wait.”
Jason huffed. “Seriously? You called me knowing that I’m driving just to tell me you don’t want to talk to me while I’m behind the wheel?”
“I didn’t expect you to actually answer one of my calls.”
“That’s not fair. It’s been months since I avoided your calls.” Jason snorted. “Besides, I didn’t know it was you.”
“Jason, I–”
“Just tell me!”
“Fine.” Naomi sighed loudly enough to be heard over the wind noise. “You really want to know right now? Your father’s office has been reaching out again.”
Jason quietly growled as he tightened his grip on the wheel. He hadn’t seen or spoken to his parents since the day he’d marched up to his father’s oversized, marble-topped desk and told them he was done with them. He’d expected that would be the end of things. No, that wasn’t true. He’d hoped that would be the end of things. But his parents were who they were, and their tolerance for Jason’s increasing and increasingly obvious disrespect seemed to know no limits. They’d started reaching out after he’d made his first Big Hammer announcement. Of course, he’d already blocked their numbers, but they wouldn’t stoop to reaching out directly anyway. Instead, occasionally, one of his mother’s assistants or someone from his father’s office would contact Naomi to discuss partnering with Big Hammer. And Naomi would politely but firmly tell them to fuck off. But the calls were only an excuse because his father only knew one way to talk to people. Business.
“You should just hang up on them. That’s what I’d do.”
Naomi remained silent for long enough that Jason thought the call had dropped. “Jason.” Her ability to pack an entire scolding’s worth of impact into a single word was always impressive, even if it never worked.
“Even if we were looking for a partner, which we’re not, Brightstar is the last company I’d ever partner with.”
“You know that’s not what this is about.”
“Of course, I fucking know.” Jason swallowed the bile that had started creeping up his throat. Even the idea of talking to his parents gave him heartburn. “I’m not letting you guilt me into going back on my promise to them. And if Gerald Park really wants to ignore the fact that I cut him out of my life, there are a hundred other ways he could reach out to me.”
“So, that’s it then?”
“I’m telling you, just hang up on them.”
“Alright, fine. They’re your family. Far be it from me to tell you how to handle them.”
As if Naomi hadn’t just been doing that. Jason snorted. “Good. And we’re just getting to the hotel, so I gotta let you go. Bye.”
Jason tapped the steering wheel button again to end the call, still fuming. Naomi had warned him that the news could wait, but he’d insisted on hearing it right away. Still, if she hadn’t wanted him to know, she could’ve waited to call him later. It felt like the universe conspired to ruin his mood on an otherwise lovely spring day. Well, it was welcome to try. He shook his head as he pulled up to the valet station at the Sunset Grand Hotel, revving the engine for added effect.
Jason waited for one of the valets to open his door before stepping out of the car.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Park. Welcome back to the Sunset Grand.”
Jason was impressed. He was hardly an A-list celebrity, so it was nice to be greeted by name. Maybe it was due to his status as acontroversial public figure, as Seong Hyeon had claimed. A second valet had opened Seong Hyeon’s door but didn’t offer him a personalized greeting. Jason nodded in thanks as he slipped his valet a hundred. He’d never before had a valet return his baby scratched and wasn’t about to start.
“That was a large tip,” Seong Hyeon shared as they walked under the entrance portico.
