Chapter Three

“Nice to see you up and at work early.”

“Good morning to you too, Nana.” Owen was behind his desk, chair tilted back and swiveled to stare out the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Don’t call me Nana,” Soonja said, closing the door behind her, and walked towards her grandson. He had a cup of coffee in hand, sipping at it with clear distaste. A guilty pool of coffee on the desk provided final proof that the spillage in the lobby was his fault. “Honestly, Owen, I often wonder if you were somehow raised in a barn without my knowledge.” She approached his desk, picked up the discarded paper napkin that had come with the coffee, and wiped up the spill. Owen watched her with a look like a reprimanded schoolboy.

“The basics,” Soonja said, dropping the napkin into the wastepaper bin by his desk. “What will you do when I’m gone, hm?”

“Don’t talk like that, Nana.”

“And I said don’t call me Nana,” she said, raising an eyebrow challenging him to try her patience once again.

“Grandmother,” he corrected, with the first hint of genuine apology. “Though I still don’t know what I’m supposed to have done.”

Soonja was not a woman given to straight answers, especially when she considered them obvious. Instead, she asked, “Is there something wrong with your coffee?”

“They got my order wrong at the place across the street,” Owen grumbled.

Soonja rolled her eyes heavenwards. “So why are you still drinking it?”

“I thought the taste would improve on me if I drank some more.”

“The basics,” she said again.

“And what does that mean, exactly, on this occasion?”

She gave him a patient look, then reached for the telephone on his desk.

“Mary,” Soonja said, “Send out for coffee, please.”

She hung up without waiting for the secretary’s confirmation, knowing it would be done. Owen had slumped into his chair with a hangdog expression. Soonja relented enough to add, “What baffles me is why you would even go into a high-street café?”

“Maybe I just wanted to do something normal for a change?” Owen said, putting his half-empty coffee cup on the desk.

“If you want your life to feel normal,” Soonja started, “then maybe you should find yourself a nice woman to settle down with. Then you can make some good coffee at home together.” She rearranged the assortment of flowers on Owen’s desk until it was more to her liking.

“There we go again,” Owen said with a heavy sigh. “How come all our chats end up with me getting married, Grandma?”

“Well, I am not getting any younger and I want to see you married and with kids. Then I can die in peace.”

“That’s exactly why I won’t do it then.” Owen got up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “So that you don’t die.” He smirked, knowing what his grandma’s reaction would be next as this was his usual comeback whenever she mentioned her death to manipulate him into doing something he didn’t want to.

“Not funny, Owen!” Soonja took a seat in the armchair in front of Owen’s desk.

“Come on, Granny! It’s not like I’m not trying,” Owen said as he returned to his chair. He looked at his granny with an almost apologetic expression. “I just haven’t met anyone special yet.”

“And you won’t…if you continue to date silly starlet wannabes like that latest one.” Soonja wrinkled her nose as though she had just smelled something foul, which only showed her true feelings for Owen’s girlfriend. “What’s her name again?”

Owen smiled at his grandmother’s comical facial expression. “If you mean Jillian…then she’s gone.”

“Good riddance!” Soonja said with clear relief. “I never liked her. She wasn’t the right one for you.”

Owen laughed loudly. “I doubt there is a right one for me by your standards, Grandma,” he said, composed once again.

“Of course, there is.” Soonja beamed as though she had just had a brilliant idea come to her and took her phone out of her pocket. “I met the loveliest woman today, and I think she’s the perfect match for you. I even got her number for you.”

“And what should I do about it?” Owen crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his granny intensely. He loved her to pieces, but he didn’t like it when she interfered with his personal life. And over his adult years, she had tried to do that a lot.

“Call her, of course!”

Owen gaped. His granny obviously believed that this was the most normal thing to do. “That’s insane! I can’t just call a stranger and ask her out. She’ll think I’m a creep who will end up dumping her dead body in a remote ditch.”

“No, she won’t.” Soonja waved her hand to dismiss her grandson’s silly comment. “It will be fine if you just tell her that you’re my grandson. I did tell her I would give you her number.”

“What am I like five, telling people my grandmother sent me?”

Soonja turned serious. “Well, Owen, it’s time you settled down and organized your life so that I can retire and let you take over KimCorp. And unless I see you married” —her voice reached a higher pitch— “I won’t back you up to the board of directors as my successor.”

“You can’t be serious. That’s not fair, Grandma,” Owen replied in disbelief. “I work very hard as you know. I deserve this without your requirements.”

His grandmother’s serious face told him she wasn’t going to back down.

Soonja took a pen and paper and wrote down a phone number. “Her name is Olivia.” She passed him the piece of paper. “Text her now and tell her you’re the grandson of the lady she met today in the lobby. She’ll understand.”

Owen stared at the paper on his desk. He didn’t want to do it, but it seemed he had no choice. His grandma, having practically raised him since he never got along well with his parents, was his favorite person in the world and he didn’t want to upset her. And although he didn’t appreciate the way this was going to happen, he was indeed looking forward to taking over the company and continuing the family legacy. If getting married was what would make his granny give him her seat, then so be it.

Owen grabbed his phone and wrote a quick message. “There! Satisfied?”

Soonja grinned. “Very!” She got up, approached her grandson, and gave him a pat on the back. “I’ll see you at the meeting then. I hope you’ve prepared for the buyout of MeyHam Electronics.”

“Of course, I have. Have a little more faith in me, Mrs. Kim.”

Soonja simply nodded and walked out of the room.

Owen slumped back into his chair and rubbed his temples to release the tension that would surely end with a migraine. He looked at his phone again and thought about ‘unsending’ the message but knew there was no point. Even if it wasn’t this ‘Olivia,’ it would certainly be some other woman that his granny thought was the perfect mate for him. He knew that the “Unstoppable Mrs. Kim,” as the business world had dubbed his grandmother, would not relent until she saw him standing at the altar next to his bride. And even though he didn’t always show it, he was indeed interested in business, and he knew he had inherited his grandma’s flair in it. He knew that running KimCorp was his destiny, and he was willing to do whatever it took to prove it to his grandmother.

He got up, gathered the papers he needed for the meeting and, briefcase in hand, walked out of the office.

***

Two hours later, Owen returned to his office with a huge smile on his face. Everything had gone well, and they had acquired the lion’s share of MeyHam Electronics. He had still hoped they would get the entire stock-in-trade and the goodwill of the business, but old Meyers and Hammerstone, the owners of the company, didn’t seem prepared to leave their seat to someone else just yet. So, for now this deal was enough for Owen and a huge success on his résumé.

He poured himself a glass of whiskey and walked to the window. He enjoyed the view for a minute till he heard his granny’s distinct high-heeled footsteps coming into his office again. He turned around to face her.

“That went well, didn’t it?” he said, smiling.

“Isn’t it too early to be drinking whiskey?” she asked instead of replying to his question.

Owen sighed. “I deserve to celebrate. You should have one with me.” He moved toward the mini bar he kept for himself or to offer clients a drink during one-on-one meetings, but Soonja stopped him.

“I’ll pass. You know I only drink a glass of wine with my meal anyway.” She pointed him to his chair, and she sat down in the one opposite his.

“Is there something you would like us to talk about?” Owen asked.

“Has Olivia messaged you back?” Soonja asked, a hint of hope coloring her voice.

Owen reluctantly took his phone out of his jacket pocket and checked, just to get Granny off his back. “No,” he replied. “And I doubt she will. What sane woman would reply to a stranger asking her out without any prior form of interaction?”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, do I have to do everything myself?” Before Owen could say anything, Soonja took out her own phone and dialed Olivia’s number.

“Olivia, darling,” she said after a moment. “Have you received my grandson’s message? I told him to ask you out for lunch today to thank you for saving me from a nasty fall.” She paused to motion Owen to keep quiet. “Of course, I will join you, dear. Be a good girl and wait for us at Blue Verde Restaurant at the corner of 8th and Oxford…oh, you know where that is…excellent! I’ll give your name to the headwaiter. See you at one then.” She hung up and turned to Owen. “Done,” she said with a satisfied grin.

“She agreed?” Owen asked.

“I don’t think I gave her a choice not to.”

“Are you coming too then?”

“No,” Soonja simply said.

“But…”

She put her hand up to stop him. “Tell her I had an urgent job to take care. And make sure you aren’t late.” She got up and walked out of the office without another word.

Owen stared at her back, baffled. What if this Olivia is ugly? he thought. How long should I stay at the restaurant to appease Grandma?

***

At exactly one o’clock, Owen was standing outside the window of Blue Verde, observing the customers inside trying to figure out which one might be his date. He soon spotted a young lady sitting alone at a corner table. His grandma had obviously arranged it to give them some privacy.

Olivia seemed short, although he couldn’t tell exactly as she was already seated. But he could see she was slim and nicely dressed in a black skirt and an emerald-green shirt that seemed to accentuate the nice chocolate brown of her long, wavy hair. He liked brunettes.

I guess she’s not that bad, he thought. Olivia certainly wasn’t anything like the supermodels he was used to dating, but he liked her simple yet elegant look. She was clearly dressed for office, which meant he was dealing with a person who had a purpose in life other than looking good on magazine covers, like Jillian or his previous girlfriends. Granny could have set me up with worse, he thought, as he opened the door. He entered the restaurant and after a quick exchange with the headwaiter, Owen walked to his table, hoping this would not be a complete waste of his time.