Chapter Three
He lied.
While it was true that he was looking for a good place to get tea, the real reason Matthias had walked into Fiona’s Tea Den was her. He’d been on his way back from lunch with a client when he pulled up to a red light. As he casually glanced at his surroundings, a woman in a flowing multicolored skirt and a bright yellow shirt walked along the sidewalk. The colors really popped against her dark skin. Her hair was big and springy. He only got a side view of her face before he saw her head into the little shop he now frequented.
Matthias wasn’t sure what it was about her that made him want to get a closer look. Against his better judgment, he found a spot to park and headed into the shop. He was disappointed when he found that she was nowhere in sight. He would have walked out but was approached by an older woman with vibrant red hair. He didn’t want to embarrass himself so he ordered something. He did enjoy a nice cup of tea. His mother had been a fan and she used to take him to tea shops when he was younger. It had been their thing, tea, and cakes. As he sat down and waited for his order he noticed the woman on the street come from out the back. She was obviously an employee since she stood behind a counter writing something down in a ledger.
Being in close proximity, he could see that she was quite stunning. He wouldn’t say she was beautiful in the classic sense but she was still pleasing to look at. Her eyes were like big brown saucers with impossibly long lashes. And her lips were plush, with the bee stung appearance that many women achieved in a plastic surgeon’s office. On her, he was certain they were natural. Her nose was broad and round but it fit her face perfectly. Matthias liked the way her curls framed her face like a fine work of art. Her skin was flawless, a rich dark brown with red undertones, like mahogany.
And then it happened. She looked in his direction, but just as quickly, she looked away and headed back to the kitchen. By now, the older woman had come back with his order and his mystery woman never returned from the back. All the while he sipped his tea and ate his cake even though he barely tasted either item. He casually scrolled through apps on his phone, pretending not to notice her movements. When he felt her gaze on him he raised his head in hopes that they would make eye contact but every time he’d look up, she turned away or headed into the kitchen almost as if she was running away.
So Matthias found himself coming back over and over again. Today was the day he’d decided that this would be his last visit. After all, this was pure madness. He and the mystery woman hadn’t exchanged a single word and yet somehow she’d managed to consume his thoughts even when he told himself that he wasn’t interested in a relationship so soon after his divorce. Hell, the ink was barely dry on the decree.
But as he was finishing up his tea, the older woman who he’d figured was Fiona based on his frequent visits had not only introduced herself but also Esther…his mystery woman. That wasn’t the name he’d expected. It was so old-fashioned but it seemed to suit her. Esther had seemed hesitant to join him but the second she sat down Matthias had felt the instant connection, and he’d felt the immediate need to get to know her better. And had it not been for the abrupt business call he’d received, he would have done just that. It did, however, give him the opportunity to ask her out.
This hadn’t been part of his plan when he’d moved to the area to partner with his college buddy Chris. Matthias’s goal had been to focus on business until it became the success he hoped it would be. Besides, after his dealings with Shin-hye, any romantic entanglements had been the last thing on his mind. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to even pursue whatever it was that could possibly be with Esther. He was still raw from his breakup even though it was true that he hadn’t been in love with his ex in a long time. Still, the dissolution of a marriage was a psychologically damaging event in one’s life no matter how much of a disaster it was. It still made him feel like a failure.
But here he was with a date for Friday and for the first time in a very long while he was filled with an emotion he hadn’t experienced in a long time: excitement.
“Are you listening, Matt?” Chris snapped his fingers.
Matthias had been so deep in thought that he’d zoned out while his friend and business partner Chris spoke to him. “I’m sorry, man. What were you saying?”
Chris raked his fingers through his russet hair. “Does it really matter? This is the third time you’ve spaced out since you came back to the office. What’s going on with you? You’re usually more focused than this.”
“It’s nothing, really. Please continue.”
Chris shook his head. “No. I’d rather have your full attention when we’re considering taking on a million dollar risk. I know the plan for us was to start out small and not take this large of a gamble so soon after opening but I think we have something good here. And in order for us to have a proper discussion about it, I’m going to need you to get your head out of the clouds. So first, I’m going to need you to get whatever it is, off your chest.”
Matthias sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “I have a date on Friday.”
“Really?” Chris didn’t bother to hide the surprise in his voice. “You have a date?”
“Yes, why do you find that so hard to believe?”
“Because you’re like steel. Ever since you’ve been back, it’s like you have blinders on when it comes to the opposite sex. The few times we’ve gone out for beers, you have women practically throwing their panties at you but you barely noticed them. In college, you used to be quite the pussy hound. I was beginning to wonder what happened to you.”
“Well, I am recently divorced. And honestly, I’m surprised I have a date myself. I don’t know how much time I can devote to anyone while we’re trying to get L & B off the ground.”
“Then this woman must be special if she’s managed to turn your head.”
“I suppose she has. The only thing I know about her is her name at that she works at a tea shop a few blocks away from here. I saw her walking in one day and followed her. I feel like such a fucking stalker.”
“Wow, so when do I get to meet her?”
Matthias chuckled. “Hold your horses. We haven’t had the first date, much less progressed to meeting friends.”
“I’m happy for you man but I’m sensing there’s another issue here.”
“It’s just…I don’t know if this is too soon. I’ve only been back in the country for a couple of months. I can’t help but think I’m pursuing some flight of fancy.”
“Look, if anyone deserves happiness it’s you. The hell you went through in the last few years would have made any sane man go crazy. When I visited you in Seoul and I met your ex, I thought you were a lucky man and couldn’t understand why you were so stressed. But after being around her for a while, I realized she was like a bird of prey, gorgeous and regal, but always ready to swoop whenever she saw a sign of weakness. It couldn’t have been easy dealing with someone who was looking to undermine you throughout your entire marriage.”
Matthias didn’t like dwelling on his marriage but what his friend had said was true. While he’d been trying to make things work with his wife, Shin-hye had set out to sabotage him. He had been CEO while she worked as one of the company’s directors. Things seemed to be going well. This was by no means Matthias’s dream life or job but he was determined to make the best out of it. It was the reason his mother was able to reunite with her father and it made her happy. Seeing his mother smile again had made it worth it for him.
And then a couple years into running the company, his grandfather had suffered a massive heart attack that he didn’t survive. Though their relationship had started out rocky due to how Matthias viewed his grandfather disowning Eun-hee long ago, he’d come to respect and care about the old man. It was a huge loss for the family and especially his mother. Tragedy had soon struck yet again when Eun-hee was diagnosed with an aggressive form of ovarian cancer. Shin-hye had promised that she would handle the company for him while he focused on getting his mother the best treatment. In that time he’d taken his mother to the best specialists in South Korea. He’d even taken her to Switzerland for an experimental operation. But sadly no amount of medical care was able to save her.
Matthias lost his mother only six months after her diagnosis. He’d been devastated by the loss but through it all, he’d believed that he’d left the company in capable hands. What he didn’t expect was for Shin-hye to use his family’s medical emergency to her advantage.
She’d gone behind his back and talked to his investors, questioning his competency to run Lim Pharmaceuticals. Shin-hye had even gone as far as to question his mental health, all under the guise of a concerned wife. She’d even made it look as if his grandfather had started his company with funds from a notorious crime syndicate. Her strategy had been to put a bug in the board members’ ears to replace Matthias as CEO. This was a particularly egregious offense considering his grandfather passed away and was unable to defend himself against those allegations. The rumors had started to make the board members wary. There had even talk that Matthias was having an affair with his assistant, forcing her to resign. During this smear campaign, Shin-hye was busy tearing down Matthias’s reputation and family’s name, and she was making herself look like the hero by handling all the press to ‘smooth things over’. It was she, in fact, who was having an affair with the company’s finance director.
Matthias, however, didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. He’d fought hard to hold on to the control he was fast losing until he decided he was tired of fighting. The only reason he’d been holding on was pride. There was nothing left for him in South Korea. His grandfather and mother were dead and the company never meant that much to him.
Chris had actually been the catalyst in helping make that decision. His friend had recently left his investment firm after feeling unappreciated and he wanted to start his own company but he didn’t think he’d be able to raise the capital. A lightbulb had gone off in Matthias’s head. So he’d approached Shin-hye with the offer to step down without any further drama. He’d even sign his shares over to her for a fair market price in addition to receiving a settlement from the company for his years of service. Matthias had pointed out the longer he fought for control over the company, their stock would continue to plummet and the board could eventually get rid of her as well if they thought she was involved in the scandal she’d created.
After consulting with her attorney, Shin-hye had been eager to accept the deal with the condition that he pretend that their divorce was an amicable one. One thing Matthias was certain of was that his wife hated people seeing the real her. It wouldn’t do for the public to know that she was a manipulative bitch.
With the money from his shares and the settlement, Matthias had more than enough money to inject into Chris’s venture, so they formed a partnership. So, in essence, his friend had thrown him a much-needed lifeline and because of that, Matthias was determined to make their business a success. That meant that anything else would be a distraction.
Matthias shrugged away those memories. “Well, now that she’s gotten what she wanted, hopefully, our paths will never cross again. Anyway, that has no bearing on the problem at hand. I probably shouldn’t have been so impulsive to ask Esther out.”
“Stop overthinking this. You’re obviously attracted to her, so you asked her to go on a date with you. All you have to do is wine and dine her and see if there was any chemistry. If there is, then you’ll go from there. If there isn’t then at least you’ll know. The business isn’t going to fall apart because you decided to take someone out.”
“I guess so but—”
“But nothing. Just see what happens and have a good time.”
“I guess you’re right,” Matthias finally conceded.
Chris winked. “I usually am.”
~~~~~~~~
“I can’t do this, Fiona. I’m going to have to tell him when he calls, that is if he does call. Maybe he was just being polite when he asked me out.” Esther paced the living room floor while Fiona watched from the sofa with a crooked smile on her face.
“Oh, I’m certain he’ll call.”
Esther halted. There was a note in the older woman’s voice that made it seem like she knew more than she was letting on. “Why are you so sure?”
“Maybe the only reason he’s been visiting the shop is because of you. I went over and introduced myself to him today because I wanted to put the poor guy out of his misery.”
“You’re pulling my leg. There’s no way the reason he’s been frequenting your store is because of me. He said he liked the tea.”
“Right, and I’m a virgin and we both know that’s not true, honey. I may be a bit scattered-brained at times but I miss very little. I notice the way his gaze follows you whenever he visited. That guy has a crush.”
Heat warmed Esther’s cheeks. There was no way someone as gorgeous as Matthias would be interested in her. “You’re making that up.”
“I swear on my late fourth husband that I’m telling the truth. I remember the first time he stepped into the shop. He was looking around for something…or someone. Carla had been at the counter and he seemed disappointed when she took his order. But when you came out to the front, I noticed him perking up. So he was absolutely there for you.”
Esther frowned in confusion. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t make sense?”
“Have you had a good look at him? He looks like he stepped off the cover of a men’s magazine. A man like that could probably have any woman he wants. I don’t understand why he’d be interested in me.”
The smile that Fiona had been sporting fell. “I wish you would stop putting yourself down all the time. Have you taken a good look in the mirror? You’re not exactly an ugly duckling.”
Esther was certain Fiona was just being nice; after all, she’d been told most of her life how worthless and unattractive she was. Mike had certainly drilled it into her head that she was unattractive and was lucky that he’d chosen her. The first time he’d told her that, she’d been devastated. During their brief courtship, he’d made her feel beautiful and valued, but shortly after they were married, he started hinting about all the little things he didn’t like about her until he flat out told her that she was not facially appealing, so she asked him why he was with her in that case. That was when Mike had told her that the only reason why he’d married her was because having an ugly wife meant that she’d remain faithful. It didn’t help matters that her self-esteem was already low from years suffering through her abusive relationship with her parents.
Even if she wasn’t ugly as Fiona pointed out, Esther still didn’t believe she was on Matthias’s level. “Maybe not but like I said, he could have any woman he wanted.”
Fiona slid off the couch and strode over to where Esther stood. Come with me.” She grasped Esther by the hand and led her down the hall to the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror.
“Okay, why did you bring me to the bathroom?”
Fiona pointed to their reflections. “I want you to take a good look at yourself.”
Esther didn’t want to. The only time she felt confident enough to look at herself was when she had a full face of makeup on. She’d already cleaned her face for the day and she felt naked. Makeup was the one thing she was actually good with. During her time with Mike, she’d become an expert at applying it, especially when she had to cover her bruises. She glanced at herself in the mirror and quickly looked away. “There, I did it. What was the point of that exercise?”
“No, I want you to really look at yourself. I want you to see what I see.” Fiona grasped her by the shoulders and turned her around, forcing Esther to look at herself.
Esther lowered her lashes, unable to hold the gaze of the woman in the mirror.
“Maybe you’re not willing to take a good look at yourself but let me tell you what I see. I see big, expressive eyes. You know they say eyes are a window to the soul and I can tell that yours is a beautiful one. It may be a little battered and bruised but if you give it a chance to shine it could really transform you. And I also see an adorable button nose.”
“It’s too big,” Esther muttered, repeating what had been pointed out to her on several occasions. When she wore makeup, she could add contour to it so that it didn’t look so huge.
“I think it’s perfect for you. And these lips. Before you even spout any nonsense about them being too large, do you have any idea how much the cosmetic surgery industry makes each year on lip injections alone? There are women who would kill for what you have. Plus you have this lovely skin. Me on the other hand, I burn if I’m outside longer than five minutes. Sweetheart, you’ve been blessed.”
Esther glanced at herself in the mirror again and tried to see what Fiona did, but all she saw were her flaws, like the hyperpigmentation around her eyes, and the scar above her lip where Mike had punched her in the mouth and his college ring had cut her skin in the process. She really wanted to be the confident woman she pretended to be, but the truth was the idea of being with someone like Matthias scared the hell out of her, not to mention, she wasn’t a free woman.
She turned around and faced Fiona. “Okay, I believe you.” It wasn’t true, however. Esther had said it so that she could end this line of conversation. “Regardless of how I look, as I pointed out earlier, I’m still a married woman. What man would want to be tangled in my mess? I live in constant fear that Mike will track me down. I work off the books for you so there’s no paper trail and I don’t like being around large crowds. That’s way too much baggage for anyone to take on. It just wouldn’t be fair to him.”
“And as I said before, there’s no harm in going out with him to see what happens. It may turn out that you’re not compatible and you never have to worry about him again. But if it’s meant to be, I’m sure he’d be understanding of the situation. Sweetheart, you have to stop thinking negatively and start living a little. What could possibly go wrong?”
“Everything.”