Page 44 of Idol Lives
“Look,” Jason impatiently replied. “Let’s just skip past the part where you scold me and get to why you made my bodyguard wake me up.”
Seong Min raised a questioning eyebrow, but Jason shook his head.
Naomi let out a frustrated sigh. “I didn’t ask him to wake you. I asked him to have you call me. There’s a difference.”
“Fine. But we’re already getting off track here. You called because–” Jason trailed off.
“Why do you think? It’s about Brightstar.”
“You’ll need to be more specific,” Jason replied, trying and failing to keep the edge of impatience from his voice.
Naomi huffed. “Okay, fine. It’s that contract audit report from David. After he turned it in, his team somehow found every missing contract addendum.”
“That’s good news, isn’t it?” Jason asked, feeling the beginnings of hope.
“It should be. But Seong Woo and I personally reviewed every one of them.” A nervous tremor crept into Naomi’s voice. “Guess what we found.”
Jason frowned with sudden worry. “What?”
“Nothing, Jason. Not a goddamn thing. A bunch of throwaway clauses–shipping exceptions, customs notices–the kind of boilerplate legal junk no one ever reads.” Naomi loudly huffed. “None of them were the same, and none of them were consequential.”
Jason didn’t understand the problem. “That still sounds like good news to me.”
“Of course, it does. But it doesn’t fit with this place.” Naomi loudly sighed. “I’ve been digging through Gerald’s files. Your father was meticulous. He’d keep receipts for a pack of goddamn printer paper. Then, suddenly, important contracts start getting turned in with missing addenda? It doesn’t add up.”
“Okay. I guess I’m wondering what you want me to do about it,” Jason said, not bothering to hide his annoyance. With everything going on, that was the last thing he needed to deal with.
“I–” Naomi started, then paused. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just looking for support.”
Jason leaned back against the walnut veneer cabinet behindhim, its surface pleasantly cool. “Look. I’m in the middle of an actual unfolding crisis right now. I can’t take my eye off that ball. But you’re in charge there, Naomi. You’ve got the power to do whatever the hell you want. So, call a company meeting. Hire an outside auditor. Shut the whole fucking place down and make everyone turn out their pockets. If you think something’s off, do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of it.”
The call fell silent long enough that Jason thought it had dropped. “Alright,” Naomi finally replied. “That’s oddly comforting. Thank you.”
“Good.” Jason stood. “We’ll be in Taipei soon. Do you want me to call again later?”
“No,” Naomi breezily replied as she recovered her missing confidence. “I’ll handle this. Just let me know when you’re headed back to LA. And give Tae Hyun my best.”
“Will do. Talk to you later, Ms. Bell.” Jason disconnected, his chest still tight with unease. Returning to the main cabin, he found Tae Hyun awake. A flight attendant had brought him a glass of champagne and a steaming towel.
Jason caught the attendant’s eye. “Hey, can I get another Kingston?”
The attendant, an attractive young Latina woman with long, dark hair pulled back in a tight bun, nodded. “Of course, Mr. Park.”
Tae Hyun grinned as he sipped his champagne. “I don’t think I can ever fly commercial again.”
Jason chuckled. “And just a few days ago, you said this was excessive.”
Tae Hyun playfully shrugged. “I’m a global superstar, remember? I can do excessive.”
Jason took his bourbon from the attendant, plopped into the seat beside Tae Hyun, and downed half of it in one gulp. Tae Hyun frowned.
“How many of those have you had?”
“Including this one?” Jason tipped his glass back and drained the rest. “Two. Why? It’s not like I gotta drive the plane.”
Tae Hyun rolled his eyes. “No, but I noticed yesterday that you smelled like cigarettes, too.”
Jason sheepishly nodded. He’d noticed one of the valets loading his luggage at Haneda had a pack and asked for one without thinking about it. He was halfway through it before he remembered that he’d quit smoking. “Sorry. Just the stress, I guess.”
