Off Limits Attraction--A Glamorous Passionate Forbidden Romance Read online

  “Sometimes impulsivity could make life more fun.”

  “I never considered that a possibility.” She cocked her head and studied him with a bemused purse of her lips.

  “Of course, being impulsive wouldn’t be a good business move, but I think trusting your gut instinct is something else entirely.”

  “Do you think my gut instinct is telling me to say yes?” she asked in a contemplative voice.

  He must’ve been giddy, because he could swear there was a double entendre in her question. “Hell, yes.”

  She raised an eyebrow and a Mona Lisa smile appeared and disappeared from her face. “I like your confidence, Mr. Song.”

  “Thank you. And please call me Colin.”

  “Colin,” she said slowly, as though tasting his name on her tongue.

  Said in that low, sexy voice of hers, it was a miracle he didn’t groan out loud.

  “I’ll take that into consideration, Mr. Song.”

  * * *

  Off Limits Attraction by Jayci Lee is part of

  The Heirs of Hansol series.

  Dear Reader,

  Since I was young, I’ve always been drawn to the allure of books and movies—the glamour, the romance and the escape. What’s not to like, right? In Off Limits Attraction, the final installment of The Heirs of Hansol, I combine two of my favorite things to bring you the story of Jihae and Colin.

  Writing this book always put me in a playful mood. Something about the two of them and the fun and glitz of their world got me carried away. I so hope Off Limits Attraction carries you away to another world and lifts your spirits high. We need that escape more than ever.

  As always, it’s a privilege to have you choose my book. It is bittersweet to say goodbye to the Song family, but they will be in my heart always. Thank you for accompanying me on this journey. And here is to many more book adventures.

  With love,

  Jayci

  Jayci Lee

  Off Limits Attraction

  Jayci Lee writes poignant, sexy and laugh-out-loud romance every free second she can scavenge. She lives in sunny California with her tall, dark and handsome husband, two amazing boys with boundless energy, and a fluffy rescue whose cuteness is a major distraction. At times, she cannot accommodate reality because her brain is full of drool-worthy heroes and badass heroines clamoring to come to life.

  Because of all the books demanding to be written, Jayci writes full-time now and is semiretired from her fifteen-year career as a defense litigator. She loves food, wine and traveling, and, incidentally, so do her characters. Books have always helped her grow, dream and heal, and she hopes her books will do the same for you.

  Books by Jayci Lee

  Harlequin Desire

  The Heirs of Hansol

  Temporary Wife Temptation

  Secret Crush Seduction

  Off Limits Attraction

  Visit her Author Profile page at Harlequin.com, or jaycilee.com, for more titles.

  You can also find Jayci Lee on Facebook, along with other Harlequin Desire authors, at Facebook.com/harlequindesireauthors!

  To Dad.

  Thank you for passing on the writing gene.

  Your amazing talent and love of writing

  has been an inspiration for me. I love you.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Excerpt from Hot Holiday Fling by Joss Wood

  One

  Jihae Park nodded even though she couldn’t hear a word Rotelle Logistics’s CEO and CFO were saying over the din of the helicopter. The two men were fighting to put an arm over her shoulders to lead her away from the gales blowing from the propellers. Ultimately, they both grabbed a shoulder each and rushed her into the building.

  She huffed impatiently as the two men continued to fight for her attention. Her father’s people behaved so ridiculously around her. What would they do in the presence of the almighty Chairman Park? They would probably freeze and pop out an egg. Or they would throw out their backs, bowing so low that their noses bumped their knees. The second option was a definite possibility, but the first one was so much more amusing to imagine.

  In Los Angeles, she was more than the daughter of Rotelle Corporation’s chairman. She was the hardworking and competent vice president of Rotelle Entertainment, and was respected by her employees. She wasn’t just the chairman’s daughter.

  She exhaled and drew back her shoulders. She shouldn’t get herself worked up. It wasn’t worth it. She was probably jet-lagged from her flight to New York last night, and the helicopter ride to New Jersey had been a bit bumpy.

  “It’s a tremendous honor to have you with us, Vice President.” The CEO spoke in Korean once they were inside, bowing ninety degrees at the waist. Well, what a nob. The bowing was fine, but the CFO, a US native, clearly didn’t speak Korean.

  “I’m glad to be here,” Jihae replied in English, giving Mr. CEO a pointed look.

  She generally didn’t mind these visits to various subsidiaries of Rotelle Corporation. It gave her a chance to show them that their contributions mattered. What she did mind was the fact it took time away from her work at Rotelle Entertainment. Luckily, she had competent employees who could cover for her during her trip.

  But her father might not be as fortunate with Mr. CEO. He’d been transferred to the New Jersey office from Korea and would sit as the CEO of Rotelle Logistics as long as he remained in her father’s good graces. Unfortunately for him, her father couldn’t care less about Jihae or her opinions, so the ass-kissing was wasted on her.

  Rotelle Corporation had been founded by her great-great-grandfather soon after the Korean War. Its revenue, reputation and political power had grown exponentially until it had become what it was now—one of the biggest conglomerates in Korea with businesses in various industries including food, pharmaceutics, biotechnology, entertainment, media and logistics. She probably missed one there. Yes. Home shopping. She didn’t know why she kept leaving that one out.

  “Would you be amenable to a quick tour of our office, Miss Park?” Mr. CFO bowed repeatedly to her with prayer hands like a Buddhist monk.

  Why do people do that? Jihae wasn’t even certain where the custom originated. Did it belong to a country or a religion? She’d only seen the prayer-hands-and-bow thing during yoga and at Buddhist monasteries. When people randomly bowed to her that way, she felt mildly confused and quite offended by the caricature of Korea’s culture of bowing at the waist, which was a show of respect used to greet others or to thank them. And it didn’t involve bowing ten times at once like an unhinged marionette.

  With a resigned sigh, Jihae smoothed her hands over her pristine white suit and schooled her expression into a polite smile. The two men were irritating her to an inch of her life, but there was no need to let on.

  She survived the office tour led by the two bickering executives and ate an overpriced meal that didn’t come close to filling her up. After acknowledging their hard work and their important contributions to Rotelle Corporation, she bid them farewell.

&
nbsp; Despite her assurances that she could find her way back to the roof without assistance, both the CEO and CFO followed her up to say their goodbyes. The CFO repeated his frantic bowing and the CEO held his ninety-degree bow the entire time it took her to board the helicopter. Once the helicopter took flight, they switched to waving so enthusiastically that their hands blurred. They soon disappeared from sight.

  Jihae sighed and settled back in her seat, relieved to be finished with her latest heiress duties. The flight back to her hotel in New York City wasn’t long, but she had a hard time staying awake. The remarkable view that revealed itself as they approached the city saved her from falling asleep, and possibly drooling, in the pilot’s presence. That would’ve been very unheiress like.

  The helicopter came to a smooth landing on the hotel roof, and Jihae rushed to the privacy of her room. By the time she let herself inside the presidential suite, she was exhausted and starved. After kicking off her snake-print stilettos, she made a beeline for the hotel phone.

  “Yes, Miss Park.” Her butler picked up on the first ring.

  “Could you send up a double cheeseburger with extra jalapeños, some curly fries and three bottles of ice-cold lager?”

  “Do you have a preference for a specific brand of lager?” he asked with his usual fake not-so-British accent.

  Jihae had lived in the UK for close to a decade and it was obvious her butler never had. But she would never burst his bubble. If he got a kick out of using a British accent on the job, then by all means, why not let him speak with a fake accent?

  “Anything local is fine. Surprise me.”

  She hung up the phone and took stock of her evening. Her schedule was gloriously empty. Since she didn’t need to leave her suite until tomorrow morning, she headed for the bathroom for a proper hot soak. The food wouldn’t arrive for at least thirty minutes, and she was dying to scrub off her makeup and let her hair down. Literally.

  Princess Jihae, as the Korean media called her, hadn’t been born into this world. She’d been meticulously created by the Park family’s PR specialist and stylists when the real Jihae was about seventeen. Her parents needed a persona worthy of being a part of their pseudoroyal family—the almighty jaebul. She had preferred the prior seventeen years of neglect by them compared to the constant reminders of her responsibilities to her family and the importance of maintaining a perfect image.

  By then, she’d already been tall, close to her current five foot eight. They couldn’t work the lovely, delicate-flower image on her, so the team decided she would be presented to the world as the picture of aloof elegance. Other than when she was home, Princess Jihae always wore her hair up in chignons, buns or elaborate updos befitting the occasion. And her entire wardrobe consisted of finely cut clothes in various shades of white—all selected by her stylist during the private shows that fashion designers hosted for her family. She’d fought tooth and nail for her right to choose her own shoes as long as they were appropriately upscale.

  People probably thought she wore a billowy white nightgown with a chignon to bed. Ha! She plopped down on the couch in her French terry joggers and a baggy T-shirt, and draped one leg over the arm of the sofa. Tonight, she was dressed from head to toe in pink. Unsurprisingly, her home-alone clothes were the colors of the rainbow. And her hair was falling freely over her shoulders, brushed but damp.

  She grabbed the remote and raised it toward the TV when a familiar “British” voice said from the hallway, “Your dinner, miss.”

  “Please leave it outside the door. I’ll serve myself when I’m ready. Good night, Timothy,” she said in rapid succession. He couldn’t see her out of character.

  After a slight pause, he replied in a slightly miffed tone, “Very well, miss. Please let me know if you need anything else. Anything at all.”

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  When she heard his receding footsteps, she scrambled off the sofa and rushed to the door to listen for the ring of the elevator. She waited ten more seconds before opening the door a sliver to check the hallway. All clear. There were only three other suites on the floor, but she couldn’t be too careful.

  Once she grabbed the cart, she headed straight for the couch and TV, and opened her first bottle of beer. She closed her eyes and took a long swig of beer. Heaven. With one hand, she clicked until she found the channel showing The Bachelor, and grabbed the burger with her other hand. The first sloppy bite of the juicy, oozing cheeseburger was probably the best thing that happened to her all day.

  By some miracle, she finished her burger without getting any of it on her clothes, and leaned back on the sofa with her second bottle of beer. Her favorite part of watching The Bachelor was the commercials. American commercials were so different from the Korean ones. She loved the outrageous humor in many of them.

  “Tomorrow on Hollywood Insiders,” the voice-over bellowed from the speakers, “does Sandy Lim have a new suitor? The mystery man with his arm full of Sandy has been identified as an up-and-coming film producer, Colin Song. We’ll tell all...tomorrow.”

  Jihae set down her bottle on a coaster and lowered the volume. She reached for her laptop and powered it up. A film producer dating an actress always made her a little wary, but she didn’t jump to any conclusions. After all, love conquers all.

  Oddly, her heart was doing an intense HIIT workout behind her ribs, and she couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was the film producer. He was by far the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. But that was nonsense. She’d only had a passing glimpse of him on the screen. She was just excited about getting back to Rotelle Entertainment business.

  They had been making connections in Hollywood and getting a decent lay of the land, but there was still so much to learn. Rotelle Entertainment had some clout in the international film industry through Cannes and other international film festivals, but she was the first to admit that they were newbies in Hollywood.

  They’d been searching to partner with a US-based production company to even out the handicap. Ego had no place in business, so she’d asked for help where help was needed. Producing and distributing a successful Hollywood film was not child’s play, and Jihae was determined to do a damn good job, which meant she had to find a damn good partner.

  Could Colin Song be a potential candidate? Just thinking about the handsome producer made soft trembles course through her body. He was so gorgeous. Gah. If a glance at him on TV did this to her, she might spontaneously combust if she met him in person. She would never be able to work professionally with him. He would be too big of a distraction.

  But what if his production company was exactly what she was looking for? She should look him up. It would all be for business, of course. She couldn’t discount him just because of his good looks. That wouldn’t be fair.

  * * *

  Springtime in Los Angeles was a ridiculous streak of one beautiful day after another, and today was no exception. It set the perfect scene for the conversation Colin Song was having with the author Jeannie Choi at a cozy little coffee shop filled with fresh flower arrangements.

  “I know you could option your manuscript to another production company or even a studio for much more money, but I believe in your story and your vision,” Colin said, his voice rising with excitement. He always got this way when he spoke with Jeannie about her book. “I want you to have maximum creative control of the script and you will benefit from a higher percentage of revenue from the box office, DVD, TV, merchandise and the works. You just have to trust CS Productions and be a little patient for the payout.”

  “Colin, we’ve chatted a few times now, and I know we’re on the same wavelength,” Jeannie said with laughter in her voice. “Honestly, you had me at ‘maximum creative control.’”

  “You won’t regret this.” He held her hand in both of his and shook it vigorously. “Thank you for trusting CS Productions.”

  “I’m taking a chance
on you personally. I don’t want anyone else leading this production. I want you to remain my main contact person until the end. Are we clear on that?”

  “Crystal.” Colin grinned broadly. He liked Jeannie. She was funny, fair and sharp, and she also had that no-nonsense-mom thing going on. She had three little boys, so she probably couldn’t help it. The woman laid down the law and accepted no half-assed crap. He was delighted to work with her. “We’ll need to partner with a studio for the film’s theatrical release, but I will always be your point person.”

  “That’s what I like to hear,” she said with a wink.

  They walked out onto the sidewalk and said their goodbyes. It wasn’t even noon yet; they’d had to meet before Jeannie’s kids got out of school. Talk about starting the day off on the right foot. This was a huge win for CS Productions, a company he’d been dreaming of starting since he was a high-school kid. With this option, more opportunities would open up for the company, and the momentum could move CS Productions out of obscurity.

  Founding CS Productions hadn’t been an easy road for Colin Song. His first business had been a nightclub in LA called Pendulum. He’d started out working there as a server during college. Soon after graduating with an economics degree, he went on to become a manager. When the owner decided it was time for him to retire, he decided to become a silent partner and gave Colin a chance to buy out a small share of the business.

  Colin had sold off most of his belongings and emptied his savings account to buy in to the business. He worked his ass off to grow the business, and bought Pendulum outright by the time he was twenty-three.

  His grandmother, the formidable Grace Song of Hansol Corporation, had allowed him to become a nightclub owner without censure—not because she approved of his plan, but because she always stood by family. She didn’t approve of his choice, but she’d understood why he wanted to branch out on his own, and succeed through hard work, not through his name and connections. He wanted to be a self-made man who never needed to depend on anyone but himself and prove that he was nothing like his father.