The Contract: Sunshine (26 page)

“Let it go, Sunshine,” Yoon grumbled at her and rolled away
.
After s
itting on the side of the bed
,
he stood.  “I’m going to take
a shower.  You want to join me?
”

“No, because we will end up getting distracted again and I’m so raw down there now
,
I don’t think I will be able to sit comfortably for a day or two.”  She winced as she tried to s
i
t up in the bed and dropped back down on her back.  “Don’t use up all the hot water
.
I need a good long soaking with the jet streams.” 

“Jet streams,” he repeated.  He gave her a sexy smug grin and it almost made her change her mind and join him; almost, but not quite.  She really was tender down there.

“Get out of here boy with that stuff,” she threw one of the remaining pillows on the bed at him.  “I’m cutting you off for your own good.” 

His dimples flashed as he laughed, kissed the pillow and threw it back at her.
Stupidly with a groan Sunshine fell in love all over again.  She never knew being married could be so glorious. 

Her eyes continued to feast on Yoon’s nakedness as he sauntered into the bathroom leaving the door ajar.  She heard the shower start and scooted off the bed in search o
f
her cell phone.

Finding the phone
,
she turned it on and saw she had three voice messages. 
After d
ialing
,
Sunshine listened.  The first call was her grandmother telling her how displeased she was by her behavior lately.  The next message was her mother ranting about how pissed her grandmother had been that she hadn’t showed up at the wedding reception surprise party she had thrown for her and Yoon.  She finished by asking if she had gained access to her husband’s checking account yet because she was strapped for cash.  No surprises there.

The third call was a complete surprise.  It was Leslie asking to meet her somewhere for lunch.  She didn’t know what was left to be said, but she imagined if she was in Leslie’s shoes she would have a lot to say.  After being with Yoon for this short time she now knew what Leslie had been fighting for.

The least she could do was have lunch with the woman and listen to her because after the meal was over she would be returning home to Yoon...not Leslie.

After seeing Yoon off to work
,
Sunshine took great care in her appearance for her lunch with Leslie.  She was happier than she’d ever been since her father died and she didn’t feel the need to hide it or apologize for it.

There had to be a semblance of irony that Leslie would chose to meet her at the same restaurant where it all began.  As
Sunshine
walked inside
, she noticed
Leslie was there already.  She too was impeccably and expensively dressed, not a hair out of place and makeup perfectly applied.  If the woman had been grieving over her loss of Yoon to Sunshine
,
she was doing an excellent job of hiding it.

Nodding at the
maître d
—
who had no problem recognizing her now that her face had been plastered alongside Yoon’s since their nuptials had been broken by the media
—
upon entering
,
Sunshine followed the waiter to the table located privately in a corner. 

The waiter held out her chair and she sat when she felt the chair touch the back of her knees.  She silently waited as the server shook out the cloth napkin resting on the china plate setting and placed it across her lap
then
placed the folded menu in her hands.  Lastly, with elegant discretion
,
removed the empty plate and adequately arranged her eating utensils for her convenience.

Once the waiter disappeared with their drink order
,
Leslie was the first to speak.  “Thank you for agreeing to meet me here today.”

“I must say I was a little surprised by the invite,” Sunshine admitted.  She thanked the assistant waiter as he filled their crystal goblets with i
ce water.  She took a sip and sa
t the glass back down on the table.

“I know I have no right to ask you to meet me here, but I didn’t know what else to do.  Yoon would be upset if he knew I asked you to meet me here.”  Leslie’s hands clasp
ed
and unclasp
ed
on the table before her.  “You didn’t tell him
,
did you?”

Sunshine stared sightlessly down at the table.  “You didn’t ask me not to, but I didn’t see a reason to make him worry about us getting along.”  She looked up at Leslie.  “We are getting along aren’t we?”

“I concede that you are the woman Yoon wants to be with,” Leslie answered.  “Especially since you’ve seem to have won Mrs. Young over also.  It doesn’t leav
e me much room to fight anymore.
H
owever
,
I don’t know how much longer Yoon
’s
mother is going to be on your side once she finds out what your grandmother is doing to him.”

At the mention of her grandmother
,
Sunshine was on immediate alert.  “What?”

“God,” Leslie shook her head and leaned back in her seat.  “You don’t know do you?”

“Know what?”

“Yoon must really love you,” Leslie began.  “He is about to lose all of his clients because of you and yet, he protects you by keeping you in the dark instead of telling you the truth.”

“But why would his clients abandon him?  Because I’m Black?”

“Because your
grandmother
yields a lot of power, Sunshine and obviously she does not approve of your marriage to Yoon.  She has not only pulled her various significant holdings but everyone that joined Yoon’s investment firm because of her has also started to withdraw,” Leslie explained.

“I can’t believe this,” Sunshine worried her bottom lip.

“Can’t you?”  Leslie asked.  “Is it true you haven’t spoken to her since your marriage?”

Sunshine dropped her head shamefully.

“What did you expect your grandmother’s reaction to such a slight would be?”

“I...I knew she would be upset, but with me...not Yoon.  I wasn’t ready to deal with her yet,” Sunshine admitted.

“It’s not about you anymore!”  Leslie took in a deep calming breath before continuing more quietly.  “You and Yoon didn’t even have the decency to put in an appearance
at
the party she had thrown for the two of you.  I know you are newlyweds but don’t you think you’re being a bit selfish.  You two aren’t your average two consenting adults.  You have corporations with your family names on them and thousands of people relying on your families for their livelihood.”

“I...I suppose I never thought about it quite like that before.”

“Sunshine, do you know that your grandmother also invited Yoon’s parents, their friends and associates?  Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was for someone in his father’s political standing to apologize for his son’s behavior because he failed to put in an appearance at an occasion being thrown in his honor?”

“Oh God,” Sunshine groan
ed
.  She nodded at the assistant waiter as he appeared with the house wine.  As soon as he half filled her wine glass
,
she lifted it
to
draw in its content.  “It was not my intent to inconvenience anyone.  It was to be a
family
gathering and I wasn’t ready for Yoon to meet all of them yet.”

“Your grandmother wants Yoon to end the marriage and because he refusing
,
she’s taking Yoon’s life’s blood from him.”  Leslie turned pleading eyes on her.  “Before his parents find out what is happening to him, I beg you
to
end this and let him go before he loses everything.”

“How do you know all this?”  Sunshine asked.  How could this woman be privy to things that Yoon hadn’t even shared with her?”

“Yoon’s assistant and I are good friends,” Leslie answered.  “
H
e said Yoon hadn’t been to work for a few days and he wasn’t returning his call
s
and
he was at wit’s end on what to do about the clients calling to close their accounts and pull their investments.”

“I see,” Sunshine murmured setting the menu aside.  Her appetite
was
completely gone.  All of this was her fault.  She wanted her grandmother to treat her like an independent woman and she behaved like a child by ignoring her grandmother’s calls in hopes that it would simply go away.

“Sunshine, do you know how many businesses will go bankrupt if Yoon can’t delegate to new investors.  In this city there aren’t many that aren’t influenced by your family’s power?”

“I do understand, Leslie,” Sunshine snapped.  “I will take care of it.”

“Do you love Yoon?”

She looked Leslie in the eyes.  “Yes, I love Yoon with all my heart.”

“Then I know I can count on you to do whatever is necessary to save him,” Leslie state.

“Of...of course,” Sunshine nodded.  “You still love him don’t you?”

“I do,” Leslie admitted.

Sunshine nodded again.  “Leslie, promise me that you will be there for him if he should need someone.”

“Even though he never realized it, I have always been there since I was old enough for him to notice I was no longer a child.”  Leslie smile
d
sadly.   “He may never love me like he does you, but I do hope that at some point he will see how well matched we are.”

“He doesn’t love me,” Sunshine confessed.  “We’re just well matched in bed.”

“I find it hard to believe a man would lose his company over a woman he just had good sex with, Sunshine.”  Leslie pushed away from the table.  “But believe whatever you need to believe as long as you help Yoon.”

“I will,” Sunshine pushed away and stood also.  “I promise you I will take care of this as soon as I leave here.”

“I trust you to keep your word.”  Leslie waved away Sunshine when she saw her hand going in her purse.  “I will leave a tip and tell the waiter we changed our minds.  Thank you for meeting me today.”

“No
, thank you
,” Sunshine murmured.

Numbly sitting in the taxi cab
,
Sunshine dialed her grandmother.

“It’s about time you called me, Sunny girl.”

“Nana what have you done?”

“Ah...I knew that would get your attention if nothing else would,” Sophia Dupree stated.  “I told that man you married without my permission that if he wanted me to take your marriage seriously and give the two of you my blessings
,
you would be at my home for dinner the other night.  I couldn’t believe he would have the nerve to defy me.”

“Nana, Yoon did as you asked,” Sunshine said.  “We were there, but I couldn’t make myself go inside.  I wasn’t ready to face you yet.  I didn’t want Yoon to meet mother yet!”

“If he cannot do as I instruct him to do
,
then he is not the man I thought him to be, Sunshine.  Did you not know he refused to change his last name to Dupree?”  Sophia Dupree tsk
ed
.  “That just won’t do.  I thought we could talk about it.  After all, if he truly loves you
,
why would this be such a difficult request?”

“I didn’t want him to change his name!”  She raised her voice in anger.  “It is my choice to take his name.  You know what else I don’t want?  I don’t want to be your heiress anymore, grandmother.  I’m through with all of this!”

“Are you out of your mind?  Sunshine Sophia Dupree I already have had my lawyer to draw up the papers to have this marriage of yours dissolved.”

“What right do you have to end my marriage?”  To her dismay, her voice broke slightly.

“Listen missy, if you don’t do as you’re told
, I will destroy this man.  D
o you hear me
?
”

“If
you love me just a little bit, N
ana, you will leave Yoon out of this,” Sunshine
’s
eyes filled with tears. 

“I didn’t get this ma
n involved in our private lives
Sunshine
,
you did.  Did you know he has been married before?  Also, did you know in some small capacity he worked for me?  Don’t you think it was a li
ttle convenient that he met you
and married you in such a short time?”

Sunshine knew what her grandmother was implying but she refused to believe it.   She was sure only they knew about the marriage contract for it was a private m
atter between them.  She refused
to rise to the bait and reveal the contract to her grandmother.