Inside the grand restaurant of one of the most luxurious hotels in City Z, Charles Kosonen sat alone beside the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the glittering skyline.
The restaurant was silent.
Too silent.
No soft conversations floated through the air. No clinking glasses from neighboring tables. No couples laughing over wine.
Because there was no one else there.
Charles had booked every single table for the entire evening.
And paid for all of them.
Excessive?
Absolutely.
Necessary?
Also absolutely.
For five months, he had searched for Kaija Sepala with a persistence bordering on obsession. The first impression he had made on her onboard the aircraft had already been disastrous enough. The last thing he wanted now was some loud businessman, crying toddler, or drunk couple ruining what might be his only chance to speak with her properly.
He wanted everything perfect.
Or at least controlled.
That alone already made this evening highly unusual for Charles Kosonen.
Normally, he did not care what people thought of him.
Tonight, however—
He cared far too much.
After ending the phone call with Kaija, he had immediately arranged for a limousine to pick her up from the street. Then he returned to his hotel suite and stared at himself in the mirror longer than any sane man should.
The vest jacket came off first.
Too formal.
Too stiff.
Too corporate.
Next, he unbuttoned the collar of his white shirt slightly, trying to soften his appearance without looking sloppy. After that came the cologne.
Unfortunately—
Charles may have overdone the cologne.
By quite a lot.
At the time, it had seemed reasonable.
Now he was beginning to suspect he smelled like the luxury fragrance section of a department store exploded directly on top of him.
Still, there was no fixing it now.
So he sat waiting at the candlelit table with outward calm while internally questioning every life decision that had led him here.
Then the restaurant entrance opened.
Charles immediately looked up.
And blinked.
Kaija stepped inside dressed entirely in black from head to toe.
Black jacket.
Black pants.
Black cap.
Black face mask.
Even her shoes were black.
She looked less like a woman arriving for dinner at a luxury hotel and more like someone about to exchange classified intelligence with undercover agents.
Charles's brow lifted faintly before he quickly schooled his expression back into neutrality.
'Did she come here straight from a covert operation?'
Still—
Even dressed like this, she was beautiful.
Painfully so.
The dark clothes only made her vivid blue eyes stand out more sharply beneath the brim of her cap.
The moment Kaija approached the table, Charles rose from his seat immediately.
"Mr. Kosonen," Kaija greeted politely with a small bow. "Thank you for inviting me to dinner."
"Kaija," Charles replied smoothly. "Please, have a seat."
He pulled the chair out for her instinctively.
Kaija froze.
Not dramatically.
Just enough for Charles to notice.
She stared at him for half a second like she genuinely had not expected him to do something so gentlemanly.
Then, instead of sitting down, she suddenly leaned closer toward him.
Very close.
Close enough for Charles to instinctively take a step backward in surprise.
"Sorry," Kaija said immediately. "You smell really good."
Charles paused.
Then a slow smirk tugged faintly at the corner of his mouth.
Well.
That alone almost justified marinating himself in cologne for the past fifteen minutes.
"I didn't think you would notice," he admitted while gesturing toward the chair again.
"Well…" Kaija finally sat down. "It kind of punched me directly in the face."
Charles nearly laughed.
Nearly.
"Did you put it on just now?" she continued curiously. "I don't remember smelling it on you during the flight."
Charles straightened subtly in his seat.
For reasons he could not explain, he suddenly felt oddly self-conscious beneath her gaze.
"Well, yes," he admitted after a brief pause. "I simply wanted to appear somewhat presentable while having dinner with you."
Kaija hummed thoughtfully while studying him.
Then her gaze drifted upward toward the enormous chandelier sparkling above them.
"See, Mr. Kosonen," she began calmly, "I appreciate the kind gesture…"
Her eyes lowered back toward him.
"But I'd also appreciate it if you got straight to the point about whatever you wanted to discuss privately."
Charles stared at her.
Momentarily speechless.
That was it?
No admiring the restaurant.
No compliments.
No pretending to be impressed by the absurd luxury around them.
No asking about his companies or wealth or lifestyle like everyone else always did.
Just straight to business.
His brow twitched faintly.
Was she naturally this straightforward?
Or was she uncomfortable being here?
In Charles's past experiences, dinner with women usually followed a predictable structure.
They complimented the restaurant first.
Then his appearance.
Then the wine.
Then themselves for the next two hours.
Meanwhile Kaija looked ready to finish this conversation and leave before the appetizers even arrived.
Oddly enough—
Charles found it refreshing.
"I like how straightforward you are," he admitted while signaling for the waiter.
"But perhaps we should order first before discussing serious matters."
"Good idea." Kaija shrugged easily as she accepted the menu. "You picked the place. What do you recommend?"
Charles relaxed slightly into familiar territory.
"The braised duck here is excellent," he replied. "The salmon as well."
Then, after a brief pause:
"I've heard people your age are very fond of boba tea lately."
Kaija's eyes snapped up over the menu instantly.
"Say that again?" she asked slowly.
Charles blinked.
"Boba tea?"
Her expression sharpened with sudden alarming intensity.
"Wait." She lowered the menu carefully. "This place has boba tea?"
"Yes, miss," the waiter confirmed brightly before Charles could answer. "We serve everything here."
Kaija's entire demeanor transformed instantly.
The flatness vanished from her face.
In its place bloomed genuine excitement so sudden it almost startled Charles.
"Then anything is fine for me," she declared cheerfully. "I'm not picky."
Then she turned toward the waiter.
"I'd like one oolong milk tea with brown sugar, grass jelly, pudding, red beans, and white pearls, please."
Silence.
Charles stared at her.
The waiter stared at her.
Both men looked equally overwhelmed.
Charles slowly turned toward the waiter.
"We'll have two braised duck full-course sets," he said calmly. "And two… whatever she just said."
The waiter nodded with professional bravery before escaping toward the kitchen.
Kaija looked deeply satisfied with herself.
Charles, meanwhile, found himself absurdly fascinated.
'She got excited over sugar.'
It was strangely adorable.
The food arrived surprisingly quickly, along with the towering glasses of overloaded milk tea.
Across the table, Kaija immediately looked delighted.
Charles looked cautious.
Very cautious.
He stared at the drink like it might contain dangerous chemicals.
Slowly, he stirred the contents with the oversized straw.
Then he began examining the toppings individually.
"What exactly is this?" he asked while poking suspiciously at a pearl.
"Tapioca."
"And this?"
"Pudding."
"And this black thing?"
"Grass jelly."
Charles narrowed his eyes slightly.
Grass jelly sounded deeply untrustworthy.
Finally, after enough inspection worthy of a scientific laboratory, he took a careful sip.
Instantly, his silver eyes widened.
Then he took another sip.
And another.
Then he tried the pudding.
Then the pearls.
Then the jelly.
With every passing second, his expression grew increasingly astonished.
"Wow," Charles murmured. "This drinkable dessert is… impressive."
Kaija nearly laughed watching his serious billionaire face process sugar overload for the first time.
"It's dangerous," she nodded solemnly. "Especially once you start adding too many toppings."
Charles took another sip immediately.
Clearly, he was already lost.
For the first time that evening, Kaija genuinely relaxed.
Not fully.
But enough.
Watching Charles Kosonen—the cold, intimidating billionaire every flight attendant feared—stare at boba tea like a child discovering magic was bizarrely humanizing.
Unexpectedly cute, even.
Kaija quickly buried that thought before it became dangerous.
After taking a long satisfying sip of her own drink, she finally pushed the glass aside and leaned both arms against the table.
Her sapphire-blue eyes lifted directly toward him again.
Calm.
Curious.
Serious now.
"So, Mr. Kosonen," she said softly, "we've ordered dinner and survived the drinkable dessert experience."
A faint smile tugged at her lips.
"Now may I finally know why you spent five months looking for me?"