He now owned several popular nightclubs in Koreatown and West Los Angeles, and business was flourishing. He didn’t exactly have a party-animal reputation, but it was his business to ensure that the real party animals had a good time. That didn’t make Grandmother very happy with him, especially since he was running his clubs rather than working at Hansol. But his clubs had allowed him to save up enough money to open CS Productions.
His grandmother, the family matriarch, hadn’t given up on Colin’s joining Hansol one day. So far, she had him on a long leash, but he didn’t know how long she would let him go on like this. No matter how hard he tried to distance himself from Hansol and the Son
g family name, she found ways to hold on to him. In a way, he appreciated that. He avoided all association with Hansol Corporation in public and kept his identity a tightly held secret, but he loved his family and needed to be a part of it.
He revved his engine and drove out of the café’s parking lot with a cheek-cramping grin on his face. Jeannie Choi had optioned Best Placed Bets to CS Productions. He could hardly believe what had just happened. They only had three employees so far, including him, but they were a tightly knit group. They had a critically acclaimed TV series under their belt, but this would be their first full-length film. He couldn’t wait to tell his team members about the news.
Colin had set up the company in a small office in West LA, and he got there in about forty minutes from the suburbs where Jeannie lived. When he opened the office door and entered like a superhero, Kimberly and Ethan jumped up from their desks and ran to him.
“You won’t freaking believe this,” Ethan said before Colin could open his mouth.
“Rotelle Entertainment is looking to partner with a US production company for their first Hollywood venture,” Kimberly blurted as soon as the words left Ethan’s mouth.
“This could put CS Productions on the map.” Ethan was practically bouncing on his feet.
“Totally!” Kim shouted. Then she clenched her hands into fists, and her expression hardened in steely determination. “We have to lock this in.”
Colin still hadn’t gotten a word in. He had very mixed feelings about working with Rotelle Entertainment. Even so, he didn’t want to dampen morale, so he added his good news to the excitement. “I have something that could help with that.”
Both his employees turned to him with blank eyes, as if they’d forgotten he was even there.
“What was that?” Kim said with a confused frown.
Colin chuckled, shaking his head. “Do you remember where I was this morning?”
“Where you were? You never tell us where you’re going—” Ethan gasped. “Jeannie Choi.”
“Spill it, Colin. You can’t keep us in suspense any longer.” Kim looked at him like a puppy hungry for a treat.
“I was keeping you in suspense? You guys wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise.”
“Come on, boss,” Ethan said. “Stop teasing us.”
He sighed in resignation. Hyped up, Ethan and Kim were an unstoppable duo. “She agreed to sign an option with us for Best Placed Bets.”
Much screaming and a group hug ensued. Colin extracted himself and got down to business. “All right. Give me the coherent version of Rotelle Entertainment’s search for a partner. Are they looking in their capacity as a studio, or are they planning to coproduce the film, as well?”
He ran his fingers through his hair and listened to Kimberly’s recap of Rotelle Entertainment’s search for a production company with whom to coproduce a film, which they would then distribute in theaters nationwide. It was a golden opportunity for CS Productions, but goddammit, why Rotelle?
The Song and Park families had a troubled history. The chairman of Rotelle Corporation and his grandmother had arranged for his daughter, Jihae Park, to marry Colin’s cousin, but the engagement was broken when Garrett married the woman he loved instead. In retribution, Rotelle had orchestrated a corporate espionage scheme against Hansol, nearly causing Garrett to lose his CEO position and his wife, Natalie. Colin wholeheartedly despised Rotelle Corporation for that.
But he couldn’t put his personal grudge ahead of his duty to his company. CS Productions deserved this chance. Ethan and Kimberly deserved it. Unfortunately, from what he’d heard, Jihae Park was the creative head of Rotelle Entertainment. Perhaps he’d luck out and find that she’d stayed in Korea and sent her second-in-command to the United States.
“What’s the catch?” Colin said.
Maybe the Rotelle name made him paranoid, but the deal sounded too good to be true. With a great story like Jeannie’s Best Placed Bets, and the clout of a well-funded production company and studio, it meant they really had a chance at coproducing the best romantic comedy out there.
“There isn’t one. Their VP, Jihae Park, has great ambitions for Rotelle’s Hollywood debut, and she wants a production company that knows the lay of the land,” Kimberly said with a shrug.
So much for his wishful thinking. If they got the partnership, he would have to work closely with Jihae Park. And often. Hell. That was going to complicate things. But that was his problem to deal with.
“We should move quickly on this,” he said, heading toward his office. “I want our proposal in front of Ms. Park before the end of the week.”
“Consider it done,” Ethan replied, high-fiving Kimberly. “We got this.”
Colin closed his office door and leaned his head on it. No one knew that he was Grace Song’s grandson. He had no social-media presence other than for his businesses, and he only attended private family affairs. He shouldn’t have to make an exception for Jihae Park and reveal his relationship to the Song family. His family had nothing to do with CS Productions, and he wanted to be judged for who he was, not whom he was related to.
However, if Jihae Park found out who he was, it could jeopardize their project. She would probably misunderstand, and believe that he had deliberately kept his identity a secret from her. People like her believed the world revolved around them, didn’t they?