Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

It was a Wednesday and it was the fourth day since Damien left for a business trip. Katherine buried herself with work so that she wouldn't have to think about him a lot. And ever since Damien landed overseas, he had been attending business meetings and visiting his resorts left and right, so he was also busy, but he still made sure to call her before she sleeps.

She was in the backseat of Damien's Jaguar XJ trying to rest her eyes for a while when Felix, the driver that Damien assigned for her, called her attention, "Ms. Miller?"

"Yes?" She straightened up and turned to him.

"It's already noon, should I stop at the nearest restaurant for your lunch?"

Katherine checked the time on her watch and saw that it had just struck noon. She shook her head and softly answered, "It's okay. I need to attend a meeting soon. There won't be enough time if we stop now, but we can have lunch at Atlantis Hotel."

Felix nodded. The man used to serve the navy for a few years before he decided to retire due to personal reasons. He was indebted to Damien, so when he received his request, he was more than ready to accept it. Therefore, apart from being Katherine's 'driver', he was there to keep her safe too. 

Arriving at the hotel located at the heart of the city where she was supposed to meet a client, Katherine entered the lobby with Felix following her a few steps behind.

"There's still an hour before the scheduled appointment, let's go and have lunch first," she said to Felix who nodded in agreement.

She turned on her heel and headed to the restaurant when a male's voice called her from the side.

"Ms. Miller."

The voice of the man that she least wanted to see resounded in her ear, making her roll her eyes and breathe a heavy sigh as she turned to face him with a stoic expression.

William Park clad in an expensive tailored suit strutted towards her. "What a pleasant surprise. Are you here for business or pleasure?" his stupid mouth opened. 

Katherine saw the cocky smile on his face as he looked at her from head to toe with a malicious gaze and she couldn't help but snide, "I take pleasure in telling you that it's none of your business why I'm here."

"Still snarky… I love it," he replied with a chuckle and it made Katherine want to wipe the smug look on his face with her fist. She didn't know why she hated that man so much — it was as if whenever she sees his face, her blood boils instantly.

He did resemble Damien a little, and she could even say that he was a good-looking man, only he was not worthy to be called a gentleman, especially not with the way he was looking at her at that moment.

Two women came to his side, a young one in her early twenties and another one who looked like the younger woman's mother.

"William!" The young woman said as she hooked her arm with William's possessively. 

"Caroline," he greeted her with a smile and turned to greet the older woman, "Madam Young, it's nice to see you again."

Madam Young returned William's greeting while Caroline kept her gaze locked on Katherine and when she could no longer keep her curiosity to herself, she asked, "Who is she?" She nodded at Katherine, her brow raised like she had seen an enemy.

Noticing that there was another person, Madam Young turned her head towards Katherine and her brows knitted as though she was in deep thought.

"Ah… right, this is my fr—"

"We're not friends." Katherine interrupted. William was just about to say she was his friend; how hilarious.

He chuckled and cleared his throat, "Madam Young, Caroline, this is Ms. Katherine Miller, she's my cousin's secretary." 

"Ms. Miller, this is Madam Young of Young Corporation, and her daughter Caroline."

Although she didn't like William, she still gave a bow out of respect to the older woman before she told them, "My apologies, I need to go. If you'll excuse me."

She was just about to walk away when William caught her attention again, "I don't see my beloved cousin with you today… Are you going to eat lunch alone? Why don't you join us instead?"

"No, thanks," she refused right away and left.

Madam Young's eyes were fixated on Katherine as she strutted towards the restaurant. "Will, what did you say her name was?"

"Katherine Miller," he answered. "Do you know her?"

She gently shook her head, "She… just looked like someone I know from the past. Funny, they also have the same first name." Madam Young smiled but her mind had already wandered to her memories from years ago.

"Such a coincidence," William commented and his head turned to where Katherine disappeared.

Seeing that she was being ignored, Caroline pouted and stomped her foot. "Can we eat now, mom? I'm starving." She tugged her mother and William towards their private room on the other side of the floor.

"Right, let's go." 

"Madam Young, I heard that you like Salmon. I ordered one for you today." William gestured for the two women to walk with him.

"Oh, you are such a dear. Thank you, young man." Madam Young kept a small smile on her face though she couldn't help but feel uneasy about that woman called Katherine Miller whom she just encountered.

'There was too much of a coincidence. She looked exactly like her… and the name…' she said to herself. Sighing, she decided that she would have to pay a visit to that man to clarify some things.

…

Royal Penthouse

Evening came and Katherine laid on the bed with some papers scattered all over it. She had a pen in her hand that she used to scribble some notes on the paper and she was feeling slightly sleepy when her phone rang.

Grabbing it from the side, she answered without checking who it was, "Hello." Her voice was flat.

"Are you okay?" Damien's voice sounded from the other line and a smile instantly formed on Katherine's tired face.

"Hi… yeah… I'm just a little tired. How are you?" She asked as she laid her head on the pillow, wanting to rest a little while she talked to Damien.

"I just got back to the hotel. It was a tiring day for me as well." 

"When are you coming home?" Katherine asked without thinking.

Damien formed a wide smile on his face as he slumped on his bed and thought about Katherine, "Why? Do you miss me already?"

Heat crept up on her cheeks and she realized what she just asked. Breathing deeply, she reached for her Damien pillow and hugged it. "What if I tell you I am?"

'It's not like you're going to magically appear in front of me, are you?' she thought to herself.

"Then that's good. Because I missed you too."

Katherine plunged her face on the pillow, smiling silly at the thought of Damien's teasing smile — the one that she both hated and loved at the same time.

"I'm supposed to come back tomorrow. But we ran into some trouble earlier, so… we might have to stay for another day." When he didn't hear a response from her, he continued, "I heard that you met William today."

'Of course, you did.' Felix was very good at his job.

"Did something happen?" he asked.

"No, not really… I just met him at the hotel where I was supposed to meet the client and he was there with Madam Young. Do you know her? She looked important."

There was silence on the line for a few seconds before Damien answered, "Yeah, I know who she is."

"Hmmm… that was it actually. I left right away." Suddenly remembering something, Katherine changed the subject, "By the way… It's Emma's birthday on Friday. I promised her I will have dinner with her and her family."

"I see… I wanted to have dinner with you on Friday. But… I guess it can't be helped."

Katherine immediately felt guilty. "Umm… Emma has met you already, why don't you come with me?"

"It's okay, it's your friends anyway. They might get uncomfortable if I crash the party." Damien checked the time and added, "It's getting late… You should go to sleep."

"Okay, will you let me know if you're coming back tomorrow as planned?"

"Of course. Sweet dreams, Katherine."

The line went off even before she could respond and Katherine couldn't help but worry if there was something that was bothering Damien. Thinking that he might just be tired, she just hoped that he would come back soon. 

Even if he was only away for a few days, the long-distance was just too difficult for her and she was starting to get lonely.

"Tch. You have clearly fallen to the bottomless pit of the game called love, Katherine. You just do not want to admit it."