April Loves Black Coffee: First Impressions (41 page)

“I am sure I am not the only one with ambition.” True to the gang lord style, Mayhem chimes in the conversation that Eunhye and Mr. Im are having.

Eunhye glances at me. The motherly instinct in her activates. “Well, my May is certainly making her path in life. She’s a junior in college, and she works two jobs.”

Please mom. I want to remain as anonymous as I can
. But I am sure Mayhem probably has information about me in a file somewhere. I have been around Choi Sangwoo long enough to know that these gang lords have access to information that presidents struggle to obtain.

“College and two jobs?” Mayhem asks as though this is news to him. “What do you plan to do after college?”

Join your rival gang
, my intuition snickers. “I don’t know yet,” is the boring answer I come up with.

Mayhem doesn’t look disappointed with my boring answer. “You can work for me.” He staggers us all. 

“Oh!” Eunhye gasps with delight. She drops the fork in her hand. “That would be wonderful. May!” My mother slaps my shoulder as though we hit the jackpot. She is beside herself at the prospect.

What the hell am I going to do at his financial company? This has to be a joke. I already have one gang leader who is trying to recruit me. I mentally and physically cannot handle another one. I quickly come up with a bevy of excuses. “I don’t think my psychology degree will be beneficial to Jaewon’s company. My field of study focuses on human development and perception, not finance and loans.”

“We give our clients a psychological assessment when it comes to the larger loans. I usually employ in-house psychologists. You never know what kind of people you’re going to get when it comes to money.” Mayhem’s tone clips at the end of his sentence. The look in his eyes smolder at the prospect as if he’s really entertaining the idea. 

I feel an extraordinary sense of self-consciousness. This is worse than sitting in front of a mirror or looking at
a photograph. Being put under the microscope by such an attractive and powerful man is nerve-wracking in every sense of the word. I am tongue-tied and a nervous wreck.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Mr. Im chimes in. His eyes sparkle with eagerness. “Why wait until graduation. I’m sure Jaewon has an internship program right now.”

“I do,” Mayhem replies shortly. The glint in his eyes deepens.

Oh hell no. I am not doing this.
This is worse than peer pressure. This is gang and elder pressure. “I don’t think–” is my feeble attempt to speak my mind.

“Don’t be shy May,” Eunhye admonishes me. “This is the perfect opportunity.” My mother faces Mr. Im and does me the embarrassing favor of explaining my employment history and situation. I am helpless. I want to stop her from going on about it, but Eunhye is like a speeding train when she talks. In the grand scheme of things, this is a great opportunity for me if Mayhem wasn’t a gang lord. But Mr. Im and Eunhye don’t know the truth.

“May, this is a great opportunity to get your foot into the workforce. Jaewon’s companies are some of the most reputable in the world.” Mr. Im burns me with his stare.

How can someone so young own several companies? Not that I remotely entertain the idea of working for him. I simply recall Sangwoo’s words that Mayhem is one of the wealthiest gang lords the world has ever seen.

He’s probably a billionaire
, my intuition sighs. I glance at Mayhem who has a guarded facial expression on. His mouth presses into a hard line. He’s done eating. From the hooded look in his eyes, I know Mayhem is assessing me. I am not going to play into the palm of his hands. I will not do anything in front of Eunhye and Mr. Im without careful calculation.

“I’ll think about it.” I want to make Eunhye happy and Mr. Im feel like he’s making a difference. Little does Mr. Im know, his nephew’s suggestion deploys a death trap for me.

“That’s my girl!” Eunhye wraps her arms around me.

“Excellent.” Mr. Im flashes me a grin.

“We can exchange information after. You can call me when you are ready.” Mayhem’s tone comprises of a heavy bluff and amusement. The murky look in his eyes is daunting to the very last blink.

I’m not going to!
I want to snap at him. Instead, I take the high road because Mr. Im is sitting here and my mother will be more than happy to set me in my place if I act up.

“Thank you.” I pick up my glass of water and proceed to drink. I notice that Mayhem is drinking coffee–one of Eunhye’s most potent dark coffee. I am a coffee lover, but the death coffee he is drinking had my nerves tweaking for hours on end the first time I tried it. One glance at Mayhem’s cup and I know he is close to finishing it off. Maybe gang lords have a very different stamina from us little people. They probably don’t have inhibitions or fears like us mortals.
Like I said, they probably don’t need to use the bathroom either,
my intuition taunts.

“So tell me more about yourself Eunhye. Have you always been a nurse?” This time around, Mayhem turns the table on Eunhye.

My mother blushes at his concern. She is enamored with him. “Well, I started working at this particular hospital when my husband, May’s father, decided to move to Seoul. We–” 

“Mom, I don’t think we should talk about that right now.” I have to intervene. The mentioning of my father hovers like dark clouds over my head. Quite frankly, I don’t think it is any of Mayhem’s business to know personal details about us. If anything, I am protecting the Lee women from the gang lord’s wrath.

My remark stings her, and Eunhye gapes at me. My mother is not in on the Yoon-Jaewon-is-a-gang-lord secret. “May–” She looks hurt that I am objecting to her disclosure.

Shit. I need to get out of here before I turn into a mess.
“Excuse me for a minute.” I stand from the table and make a quick exit down the hallway. The last image I see is Eunhye’s flustered facial expression along with Mr. Im’s confused grimace. I avoid Mayhem’s eyes altogether. My heart pounds in my ribcage. My head is dizzy.
What the hell is going on?
Who does Mayhem think he is coming into my home and getting my mother not only to like him, but to also disclose our personal information? I am beyond disturbed.

I rush into the bathroom and throw water on my face. I don’t even know if the water is cold or warm. My hands are shaking. I cannot handle the pressure of sitting across from Mayhem anymore and listening to him lie through his teeth about being a legitimate CEO for the sake of Eunhye and Mr. Im. The irony and the lies strike me as something wicked and cruel. I have to do something. Will
calling the police help? I am sure he is on their most-wanted list.
He’s probably in with them too.
My conscience takes the opportunity to remind me.

I wipe my face with a fresh towel and resign to going into my room. I can lie that I am not feeling well. I turn off the light in the bathroom and make my way out to the hallway.

“Wait.” Strong, powerful hands grip my wrist. He reaches for me like a shadow embedded in the wall.

“What are you doing?” My back is against the wall as Yoon Jaewon, or as the dark underground world knows him as, Mayhem, leans into me. Casually, he invades my space. Mayhem’s hands
extend against the wall on both sides of my shoulders. He has me trapped and locked in his hold. Mayhem’s familiar and seductive cologne pervades my senses. I close my eyes, believing that it will reduce the dark attraction I have for him.

There have been moments before when I wanted to get a good look at Mayhem, but I couldn’t. Even at the hospital, he was hiding underneath the dark hat. Now that Mayhem is right in front of me, up close and personal, I feel an alarming sense of being enraptured in his presence. The darkest eyes I have ever seen are gazing at me with scrutiny and something else. The knot inside my stomach twists, leaking butterflies and something else.

“Very cozy life you have here. I am sure that Choi Sangwoo would be able to afford a better home for you and your lovely mother.” Mayhem’s voice is cool and guarded. There is dark sarcasm in every inch of his words.

“That’s none of your business,” I snap.

“It’s very much so my business,” Mayhem offers simply. He changes the subject. “I wasn’t looking forward to this lunch, but seeing Choi Sangwoo’s associate is a pleasant surprise.”

Gah
, my intuition gasps loudly. “Surprise? It was a shock for me.”

“You were happy to see me.” Mayhem lifts up a dangerous, overly confident eyebrow.

Oh you have no clue
, my intuition drawls. “Please leave my house,” I tell him curtly. The emotional loop Mayhem’s throwing at me is uncomfortable.

Mayhem’s lips curl into a smile. “Is this how you treat your all your guests? Because if you don’t, it isn’t fair you’re treating me like a pariah when I’m here trying to spend some time with my uncle.”

“Does your uncle know that his beloved nephew isn’t just a simple CEO of a finance company? That his nephew is actually a violent, malicious, vindictive, and crass gang lord who knows no bounds when it comes to morals and the order of life?” I am a spitfire, emotional and slightly disgusted with myself for being fascinated with this man.

“You will keep your mouth shut.” Mayhem presses forward and for once our eyes are at the same level. “You breathe a word to my uncle and I will show you what a true crime lord can do.” The threat behind his voice is real. “Choi Sangwoo is child’s play compared to me.”

My breath hitches in my throat. Every aspect of my body coils at his dangerous tone and robust threat. “So you do have emotions,” I marvel. This is Mayhem protecting one of the closest people to him.

Mayhem’s eyes run along my face. “You have no idea who I am. Don’t try to
guess.” There is a touch of evasion on his part.

“You’ve killed?” I ignore him and ask with vigor.

“Maimed,” Mayhem responds.

“You’ve been in jail?”

“Prison.”

“You disregard the world and its rules?”

“I’m all sorts of bad.”

“Who are you then?” I feel the courage racing through my veins.

Mayhem angles his face to accentuate his jaw. Those penetrating eyes cut deep into the depth of my soul. “You’re not ready for the truth.” He takes a step back from me. He is taller than I remembered. It is wrong for me to feel the electric current running through my body. I want to slap my hands for wanting to touch his face–if only for a few seconds. In that instant, I realize there must be more to Mayhem than the petulant rumors.

“It seems like you and I are meant to meet either way,” I tell him with a bittersweet notion.

Mayhem’s eyes narrow in a speculative manner. I am not imagining it. Mayhem lowers his voice another octave as he agrees softly, “I guess we are.”

A sense of bewilderment slips through me.

“How did you really get involved with Choi Sangwoo?” Mayhem asks. His tone indicates this is a pressing question. “I doubt he picked you out of the dreadful litter he has. I also highly doubt that he put you through his many initiation rituals.”

The ominous feeling spreads in my heart. “Why do you want to know?” The stubbornness in me riddles with contempt.

“Because I can help you escape his wrath before it’s too late.” The darkness in Mayhem’s eyes gives way to something much softer.

My eyebrows come together in question. “Escape his wrath?” It is an interesting choice of words. He transports me back to our moment at the hospital. Mayhem is pushier and more forward than Sangwoo; his cryptic messages are untouchable.

“You don’t listen to warnings and threats very well do you?” Mayhem asks with harsh conviction. Gold armor replaces the elasticity of the conversation. “It’s a shame that you don’t know anything about my world. You need a healthy dose of fear injected into you.”

“Danny tried,” I snap.

“He was never going to really shoot you.” Mayhem stuns me with his confession.

“What?”

“If you’re expecting an apology, you’re not going to get one. You were unharmed. It was Choi Sangwoo who got shot.”

“You really do live in your own world of rationale and logic.” I shake my head at him.

Mayhem ignores my statement. Instead, there is light humor dancing in his eyes.
Oh goodness.
He is super attractive like that. My breath catches in my throat and I am speechless for the moment. “Let me make this clear to you. I can either make your life or ruin it. The choice hangs in the balance,” Mayhem warns with a biting tone.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you are my means to Choi Sangwoo.”

And the true snake reveals its motive.

I am at his mercy. Mayhem cannot play me like this. I refuse to let him. I swallow hard. “I am not some helpless person you can utilize.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“There’s nothing about me that you can take advantage of.”

“I beg to differ.”

I can only gawk at him. “What is it about me that you gang leaders want?!” I exclaim. The burning question finally gushes out.

“There’s nothing more valuable in a person than her ignorance,” Mayhem answers with a low growl.