The unopened gift sat like a quiet challenge in the corner of Claire's desk. The platinum necklace and its clear stone weren't just an accessory. They were a message. And she had left that message unanswered.
By the time she left the office, the city was wrapped in early evening shadow. Traffic lights bled red across the wet asphalt, and the air carried the weight of another storm. Claire didn't care. She walked home without calling for Kangwoo or anyone else from Lee International. Every step away from Evan's control felt like a small victory.
She changed into a soft sweater and loose jeans when she got back, deliberately comfortable, deliberately unprepared for any kind of hotel dinner. The note he had sent was folded inside her drawer, not ripped up but not obeyed either. Her phone stayed face down on the table.
Seven o'clock came and went.
At eight, her intercom buzzed.
"Miss Yoo," the voice of the building concierge said. "There's a man downstairs asking to be let up. Says he's your driver."
Her stomach tightened. "Tell him I'm not going anywhere tonight."
A pause, then, "He says he's under orders to wait until you're ready."
Claire closed her eyes. Of course he did. "Tell him to wait all night then. I'm not coming down."
She hung up before the concierge could answer.
Half an hour later, her phone lit up. This time it wasn't Kangwoo.
Evan Lee Hyunsik.
She let it ring out. She wasn't ready for his voice. The second call came five minutes later. Then a third. On the fourth, she picked up.
"You ignored my invitation." His voice was calm, but there was something under it, a faint edge that could cut glass.
"I didn't ignore it," she said, walking to her balcony and stepping into the cold night air. "I chose not to accept."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not the kind of woman who runs when a man snaps his fingers."
Silence stretched between them, filled only by the faint hum of the city below. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter but more dangerous. "Most people would consider my invitations opportunities."
"I'm not most people," she replied.
Another pause. "No. You're not."
The line went dead.
She stayed on the balcony, staring at the glittering lights, trying to tell herself that she hadn't just made things worse.
The next morning, Claire arrived at Yoo Industries earlier than usual. She had meetings to arrange, calls to return, and a growing suspicion that Evan wouldn't let her defiance slide without a response. She was right.
Kangwoo was waiting in the lobby, perfectly composed as always. "Miss Yoo," he greeted. "Mr. Lee requests your presence in his office."
"I have a full schedule," she said.
"Your schedule has been cleared."
It was pointless to argue. She followed him to the sleek black car waiting outside. The drive to Lee International felt shorter this time, probably because she knew she was heading into another fight.
Evan's office was empty when she entered. Kangwoo closed the door behind her. She waited, standing instead of sitting, her arms crossed.
The glass doors to the balcony slid open, and Evan stepped in from outside, jacket off, sleeves rolled up. His eyes found hers immediately. "You decided to test me," he said.
"I decided to set boundaries."
"Boundaries," he repeated, as though tasting the word. "Do you think refusing me makes you untouchable?"
"It makes me a person, not a pawn."
He stepped closer, the cool scent of his cologne threading through the space between them. "You seem to believe this arrangement will work on your terms. It will not."
"Then maybe there is no arrangement," she said evenly.
For a moment, his gaze sharpened, but then it smoothed into something unreadable. "Every move you make tells me more about you. That is valuable."
"Then you got your information," she replied. "We're done."
But instead of answering, he moved past her to his desk and opened a drawer. He took out the necklace she had refused to wear last night and placed it on the desk between them.
"This was not a gift," he said. "It was a signal. There are people watching you, Claire. People who know you came to my office. Wearing this would have told them you were under my protection."
Her heartbeat stumbled. "Protection from what?"
"From whoever sent me this," he said, sliding a slim white envelope across the desk.
She hesitated before opening it. Inside was a single photograph…her father, again in the hospital bed, but this time the angle was different, closer, as though taken from inside the room without his knowledge.
Claire's throat tightened. "Who took this?"
"That's what I am trying to find out," Evan said. "But it's clear they want you to see it."
She forced herself to meet his gaze. "So now you're telling me I should have worn the necklace."
"I'm telling you," he said slowly, "that in my world, small decisions have consequences. You are already in it, whether you like it or not."
The weight of his words settled over her like a shadow. She didn't want to be in his world. She didn't want to owe him anything. But if someone was watching her father…
Her hands curled into fists at her sides. "I'm not saying yes. But I'm not walking away either."
"That," Evan said, leaning back slightly, "is the first intelligent choice you've made since stepping into my building."
Her spine stiffened. "Don't mistake caution for surrender."
His mouth curved faintly, but there was no humor in it. "We will see."
Kangwoo reappeared at the door as if on cue. "Miss Yoo, the car is ready."
Claire turned without another word, the necklace and photograph still lying untouched on the desk. She didn't need to take them with her. She already knew she wouldn't be able to forget either one.
As the elevator doors closed, she caught her reflection in the mirrored walls. She looked the same as she had yesterday, the same as last week. But she knew better. Something had shifted.
And Evan Lee Hyunsik wasn't done pushing.