She had it coming, that and more. So much more.
But I’d never been the kind of person to rejoice in hurting another.
“I remember a lot more than I care to, Jun,” she said simply, refusing to let those defiant tears fall.
I had to admire her spirit. She was giving as good as she got, but something still didn’t sit right with me about the whole thing. I shook the itch down my spine off like it was nothing and pivoted topics. “What’s good to eat around here? I’m starving, and I don’t feel like eating anything in the fridge.”
“I ordered some burgers and wings from the local hole in the wall about twenty minutes ago. Should be here soon.”
“I hope you got?—”
“I ordered you half spicy buffalo, half the house bbq mix, and extra ranch, just like you like.” She eyed me carefully, like she was afraid I’d bite. “Or, like you used to like.”
I was dumbfounded. That she’d remember my comfort food after all these years, and not only know on an instinctual level that I was hungry, but also craving something familiar, and took it upon herself to?—
“Old habits die hard,” I said instead of all the things circling my brain right then, knowing that nothing that came out of my mouth would be good for either one of us. “Sounds good.”
“I ordered Yejin a burger and some chicken tenders; from what I’m told, all kids seem to like those.”
My head bobbed sagely, not even up to the task of making a snide remark about her lack of knowledge of her own daughter. “She’s not a picky kid. She’ll try anything once, too.” I blinked slowly, the words slipping out under my breath, perhaps a little louder than I intended. “She gets that from you.”
Arista must’ve heard the comment, because I suddenly found myself alone in the kitchen, nothing but the lingering scent of her perfume in the air to keep me company.
And then, there was one.
Chapter
Eleven
ARISTA
“You’re supposedto keep him on schedule and make sure these sorts of things don’t happen!”
I winced as my boss’s voice echoed in the small office, accompanied by the asshole who’d reported me snickering in the background as I was reamed for not reaching out sooner.
It was my own fault. I’d avoided Jun for two days now, and as a result, he’d not only missed an important photoshoot but managed to get into an argument with his stylist over a color scheme for the costumes in his debut single’s video. Now, the poor man had threatened to quit, and I was here, being ripped a new asshole for failing to keep control of my client, instead of smoothing things over so we didn’t have to pivot entirely to a new stylist and theme.
A waste of time.
And of course, it was Andrew who had ratted me out. Andrew, the hand-picked assistant-in-training I’d foisted on Jun earlier this week. I should have known picking an asshole like Andrew to spite Jun would backfire on me. They were all buddy-buddy to each other’s faces, but secretly, they hated each other. He wouldn’t last long, not with a wild card like Jun, buthe’d cause enough chaotic upheaval that it would piss Jun off tremendously. And though that was the goal originally, what I hadn’t planned on was his two-faced bullshit with office politics, and his run-and-tattle personality.
Right now, I wanted to squash that prick under my boot. Unfortunately, I needed this job. And to leave as soon as possible, I’d need to bring Andrew up to speed so that by the time they realized they weren’t suited to work with each other, I’d be far, far away, and well out of reach of the fallout.
A part of me, though, felt bad for leaving Jun with this scuzwad of a dude.
“Are you even listening, Rizzo?”
I shook the cobwebs from my brain and snapped back to attention. “I share your concerns, sir. This isn’t outside of my capabilities, but it isn’t something I’m used to doing every day. There are bound to be a few hiccups. I’ll deal with it immediately.”
“You’d better,” he growled, leaning back in his chair. “Otherwise, you can kiss your new promotion goodbye. I know Steele has you earmarked to head that liaison department, but if you want that seat, you’re going to have to work for it.”
That seat should have been mine years ago. Even in a woman-led and woman-owned company, I still faced daily misogyny. It was bullshit was what it was, but I wasn’t about to go whining to someone about the violations of my rights; from a woman’s perspective, it would be seen as weak and become a target on my back.
Doesn’t play well with others. Inability to solve problems within her department.The list of black marks it would cause on my record with HR went on and on. No, if I wanted to go anywhere in life, I’d need to deal with this on my own, or suck it up and let it slide.
Even if the way Andrew stared down at me made me wanna show him how easy it was to swallow your own balls if kicked properly.
“Secure the stylist and reschedule the photoshoot. If you can’t make it work, I’ll find someone who can.”
