I wasn’t an interpreter. Sure, I was fluent enough in the two main languages here to translate a conversation and facilitate contract negotiations. But I was salaried. I was a senior staff of the foreign liaisons department, for fuck’s sake. There had to be a better option.
What Iwantedto say wasrespectfully, go fuck yourself, I’m not Google Translate.What Isaidwas–
“Sure, I can help with that. Will they need a translator on-site at all times, or just while interacting with staff?”
Way to go, Rizzo. Some conviction and spine you got there.
“They’ll need an assistant on hand who speaks the language, until we can hire out their staff. I assume that’s okay with you?”
The position of department head was opening up soon. I wanted that promotion. And I wasn’t above earning brownie points by playing translator for some random teenage boy from Korea who needed someone to order delivery food and translate interview questions.
Or girl.Women in Korea were just as likely to fall to scandal in the cutthroat purity culture of that market. If a girl got caught kissing a boy, she could lose her spot in the group. That was just the surface. If she ended up pregnant . . .
No. No way in hell we were going down memory lane today.
I didn’t have time to spiral, and I couldn’t afford to show up to this meeting with a new client while shitfaced, which was what I’d end up being if I let the past creep into my present.
We all made mistakes in the past. Some people drank to forget. I drank to numb the pain.
My ghosts always caught up to me in the mirror the following day, though.
I wonder if she still has my eyes?
“I can manage it, yes.”
“Great. You’ll wait for the lawyer’s call and head to the hotel when summoned. And remember, Rizzo. This is a huge opportunity. The company is riding on this new talent pool, and if we can get this client to work for us, it’s just a toe in the door compared to the opportunities that will present themselves.”
She was right. Once the door was open, word of mouth traveled fast. Other models, actors, singers, and idols would learn about the differences in our country’s entertainment world and scene, and those cast out with nowhere else to go would think of us.
It was genius. And who better to spearhead the move than kNight Rising Entertainment?
Two hours later, I held the contract in the folder to my chest as I exited the taxi and struggled not to be swept away by the fierce wind blowing on the tail end of what felt like monsoon season. We were on day eight of straight rain, and I’d be lucky if my road weren’t flooded out tonight. I could check into the executive suite at our agency’s preferred hotel and spend the night in luxury if I couldn’t make it, but at the end of the day, all I’d want was the comfort of my bed and the conveniently stashed bottle of Tanqueray in my nightstand.
Water droplets flung from my watch’s face as I shook it out, checking to make sure traffic hadn’t made me too late.
Oh, good. I’m only ten minutes behind schedule, which leaves me five minutes to prepare before the clients arrive.
I spotted our talent lawyer and a new-ish agent, Fernando, huddled around the executive lounge, a drink in each of their hands.
So much for not drinking on the job.
Men always seemed to think they could get away with anything because of the dicks swinging in their pants. As a woman, I had to work twice as hard to be seen, recognized for my work and not my tits. To see their blatant disregard for professionalism made me want to throttle them both in plain view of the receptionist they no doubt flirted with when they walked in, like they weren’t both married with kids that were very likely not their own. I had a hard time imagining any woman would crawl beneath Fernando for a fuck. Not even for the salary he took home every year, which made my measly paychecks look like play money.
The lawyer, whatever the fuck his name was, spotted me first, pointing in my direction with a sneer and a little wink as he nudged Fernando on the shoulder. I pretended not to notice the interaction and mocking attitude as I strolled over to meet up with them, glad the contract covered the low neckline I’d chosen to switch into after finally ridding myself of that damned itchy-ass jacket. Thankfully, the rain hadn’t made it cold today, so losing the blazer was not only reasonable, it was understandable. I’d forgotten the blouse I put on this morning was missing a button, though, which meant my cleavage was on full display for anyone and everyone to ogle.
Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to endure a teenager staring down my top while we were supposed to be talking business.
There was only so much humiliation I could take in one day for the sake of my job.
“Shall we?” I asked the men, regarding them with my professional smile as they eyed me up from top to bottom.
Fernando held an arm out and waved in the direction of the nearest conference room, and I steeled myself for a conversation between a teenager from another country and two slightly inebriated men, no doubt hours of translating legal jargon in my foreseeable future.
Yay, adulting.
I fucking hated this job sometimes.
Chapter
