Chapter 6 - The Society Columnist
The annual St. Jude Children’s Hospital Charity Gala was the kind of event where wealth was worn like armor. Held inside the grand ballroom of the Drake Hotel, the room glittered with crystal chandeliers, champagne towers, and floor-length gowns that cost more than a small car.
Olivia stood in front of the full-length mirror in the hotel’s private suite, smoothing down the fabric of an emerald-green silk dress that hugged her curves with absolute elegance. A delicate diamond necklace—loaned by corporate security, though Jae insisted it was a gift—sparked against her collarbone.
For years, events like this were spaces Olivia only read about in Sunday morning papers while nursing cold coffee in her small apartment. Now, she was walking into them as the head of internal accounting for Park Global Logistics.
And more importantly, she was walking in on the arm of Jae Min Park.
There was a soft knock at the heavy mahogany door of the suite. Olivia took a final breath, checked her reflection one last time, and opened it.
Jae stood in the doorway, wearing a custom-tailored midnight-blue tuxedo that made him look every bit the untouchable titan of industry. But when his dark eyes swept over her, the cool, detached CEO expression vanished entirely.
“You look breathtaking,” Jae said, his voice dropping into a low, husky register that sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.
“Thank you,” Olivia replied, a warm blush dusting her cheeks. “I have to admit, I feel a little out of my depth. I’m used to spreadsheets, not society galas.”
“You belong anywhere you choose to stand, Olivia,” Jae said firmly, offering his arm. “Tonight, let them look.”
And look they did.
When the oak doors of the grand ballroom swung open and Jae Min Park stepped inside, the usual swarm of journalists, photographers, and socialites parted like the Red Sea. Camera flashes went off like summer lightning. Whispers rippled through the crowd as flashbulbs caught the unfamiliar woman walking beside the most eligible, guarded bachelor in Chicago.
May you like
Who is she? Is that a new investor? I’ve never seen her at the country club.
Olivia kept her chin high, her posture immaculate, remembering the day she had marched into Jae’s office in tears. She wasn't the desperate waitress anymore. She was a woman who had earned her place.
