"Kai, it's not my fault you've scared off four assistants in two months. That's on you. I'm giving you one last chance here, so maybe learn to control your attitude and be grateful?—"
He stands up, and though he's not tall, he strikes an imposing figure in his perfectly-pressed dress pants, his sharp button-down with the sleeves rolled up, and the tight strap around his arguably impressive bicep. And when he turns his glare on her, I almost feel sorry for her.
But she doesn't look intimidated in the least. And neither does her daughter, for that matter, who until now has been diligently taking notes on her paper.
The girl stands up in her seat and waves the paper in the man's face, her face scrunched up in a frown of disappointment. "Uncle Kai, you shouldn't be mean to my mom. She's thebossaround here."
Kai seems to soften for her, though it's not by much. "I'm not being mean, Yejin. I'm just frustrated?—"
"Miss Denali seems like a nice lady. You should give her a chance."
I'm taken aback. I haven't spoken more than a handful of words since I walked into this room, but she's already made her mind up about me, and is now going to bat against a grown man in my honor.
"I might not be skilled in the art of being a perfect personal assistant," I start, needing to saysomethingto defend my own honor, "but I'm willing to learn, and I'm fast on the uptake."
"I'm sorry, what?" Clearly English isn't his first language, though he's fluent enough in it.
"I'm a fast learner," I explain, turning back to the contract again. "I'm a hard worker. And?—"
I waffle on whether or not to admit the truth, but decide that honesty's likely to get me further than some bullshit pandering to his ego.
"I need this job. Probablymorethan you need anassistant."
He looks me up and down as I stand and offer him my hand, contemplating how he reached this point in his life, no doubt. Joke's on him, becausesame, buddy."Are you sure you can handle it?"
"I can certainly promise to do my best," I say truthfully. "That's all I can say for sure, but I don't play around."
And I might've noticed the clause in the contract that says if I last longer than a week, I get a sign-on bonus that'll be enough to cover the back rent I owe my landlord.
Kai reaches out and gives me his hand in return, and we shake on it. "Sign the papers, and come with me. Your first day starts now."
I rush to jot my name on the dotted line, promising to get my pay details to Arista later, and then I'm practically dragged out of the room by the man who is now my immediate boss.
I'll do this job if it kills me. And at the rate I'm going, with his headstrong attitude and fast pace, it just might.
chapter three
Kai
I don't knowabout the new girl they've given me as an assistant, but I owe Jun one, and by extension, his wife, so I don't have much room to argue. All I can do is hope for the best and expect the worst as she lets me drag her along down the corridor and out the front lobby to the waiting car.
I didn't even give her time to properly read her employment contract. Too bad. I sincerely hope there wasn't something in that document that she needed to see before she made her decision.
"So, you're desperate, huh? Fall into some financial strain?"
I know I sound rude, that my voice carries a level of cynicism that isn't professional, but she takes it in stride. I'll give her this: she's got moxy, and she's not letting my attitude fluster her.
"I've been between jobs for awhile," she says with a frown as she slides in next to me in the backseat. "It takes a lot of money to live these days, let alone live comfortably, and unfortunately, my nest egg wasn't enough for more than a week or two of our usual standard of living."
Our?I look at her hand, but there's no ring, which means either she's not married, or she's not broadcasting it. I'm not sure which, and I frankly don't care. As long as she does her job.
I hand her the tablet that my last assistant left behind, swiping my finger across the screen as the car pulls away from the curb. "This is yours now. It contains everything you'll need to keep my life in check. The calendar links to my phone, and you can link yours as well, if you'd like. The passwords are all the same, and the email is simple—you'll find it all on the main screen. Feel free to change the pin code to lock the device to something you'll remember, and?—"
I stare at her, really stare at her for a second, but she seems to be taking it all in stride. EIther she's tuning me out, or she's actually committed to this. Only one way to find out.
I give her everything at once.
"You'll find the contact information to my agent, my assigned lawyer, and all my professional connections on that thing. In the file folders, you'll find all you need to know about things like endorsements, appearances, interviews, and the lot. The procedures for those can't really be learned on the fly, so you'll need to read the memo the last girl left in the notepad app. Allegedly, it's from the first assistant, who wrote it when she decided she wasn't going to work out. The guy after her may or may not have added things. I didn't bother to read it."
