I hear someone behind me, but I continue counting the bottles of gin.
Christian was supposed to take inventory last night, but as usual he forgot, and I have to submit the reorder by this morning.
I sigh and write the number in the register while I fix the braid that's slipping out of the elastic.
"Excuse me."
I look up at the mirror behind the counter. Two dark, Asian-style eyes stare at me from a perfect masculine face.
I raise an eyebrow, my usual warning.
But he doesn't look away.
I calmly turn, put down the documents, and approach.
"What would you like?" I ask, while checking my watch.
Ten in the morning.
Seriously?
He bows slightly.
"Good morning. I'm looking for Miss Kim. They told me to ask you."
My smile fades.
"Who are you?"
"Jung Yong-Soo. Lawyer."
"Why is a Korean lawyer looking for my sister?"
"Legal matters, Miss Allen."
The fact that he knows who I am doesn't improve my mood.
"It's a rather delicate and urgent matter. Please let me speak to your sister."
His tone is formal and polite, but I'm not persuaded.
"After what happened, no member of the Kim family, much less their spokespeople or henchmen, will come within a hundred meters of my sister. And they'll have to walk over my dead body! The warning is still valid, and this is Los Angeles, Attorney Jung, not Seoul. Tell that to your 'masters'."
His smile grows wider, though it doesn't fill his full lips.
"I have no masters, only clients," he replies calmly. "I understand the situation, that's why I preferred to come in person. Chairman Kim Ju-Won passed away last week, Miss Allen, and that means your sister is one of the heirs of Kim Financial Group Inc. She has the right to be present at the reading of the will, as the daughter of the late Kim Tae-Hyun."
I'm breathless for a moment: the old 'tyrannosaurus' is dead.
A smile lights up my face, and this time it's the lawyer's turn to raise a surprised eyebrow.
"So karma exists for you too!" I exclaim, amused. "Follow me, I'll lead the way."