Daisy snorts, kicking his chair lightly. "I gave him a whole lecture. Emotional damage and everything. Now he loves you." She pauses, grinning. "For like… two days. Max."
I shake my head, laughing under my breath. I don’t answer, because my dad clears his throat. "And you still want to go into education?"
I stiffen. This man. Here we go.
"If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have spent four years studying it. Or looking into ways to grow in it."
He laughs. Actually laughs. "You know the salary will be miserable, right?"
Daisy groans. "Dad, he just got here! For God’s sake."
I clench my jaw. "Yes, I know," I say, my voice sharper than I planned. "And trust me, I’d rather live with less doing something I love than be a depressed, miserable man with cash in my pocket."
He exhales, disappointed.
"And you’re forgetting," I add, "I’m the one managing the hotel in France. The last one we opened. And the one in Spain. So I already help."
Mom turns from the stove and raises a hand. "He’s right, Charles. Enough. Leave it for the meeting. Now sit. Eat."
I exhale hard and pull off my glasses, rubbing my eyes. I start passing around plates.
Daisy nods. "By the way, how’s Sophia?"
"She’s good," I say quickly. No way I’m mentioning what happened earlier. It’s embarrassing enough as it is.
Jin scoffs. "Still can’t believe you got a girlfriend."
Here we go again. I already miss the old Jin.
I shoot him a glare. "And I can’t believe anyone willingly talks to you." Jin rolls his eyes.
We eat. We clean up. And finally, I collapse onto my bed. Being sun-drunk and food-drunk at the same time? Elite.
I close my eyes and let go.
…
I wake up to the sound of knocking.
No, more likepoundingon my door. My eyes snap open. I blink at my phone screen.
7:02 PM. Before I can react, my bedroom door swings open and my mother steps in.
"Ten minutes. Be ready. We’re leaving for the meeting." She looks stressed, and that stresses me out too.
"And dress properly. This is important." I sigh as she leaves, rubbing my face before pushing myself up. Great.
I flip through my options, knowing anything too casual will get me another lecture. I settle on a fitted charcoal-gray blazer over a crisp white button-down, pairing it with dark slacks and polished black shoes.
It’s sharp but not too much. Formal enough to look like I care, but not enough to suggest I actually do.
Stepping in front of the mirror, I run a hand through my straight, light-colored hair, slicking it back just enough to look put together. A quick adjustment of my glasses, and that’s as much effort as I’m willing to put in.
Corporate hostage chic.
Love that for me.
"Let’s get this over with," I mutter to myself. As I step out of my room, I catch sight of Jin at the dining table, eating what looks like his second afternoon snack. He glances up at me and smirks. "Wow, you actually clean up nice. Trying to impress someone at your little cult meeting?" I don’t even slow down. I just lift my middle finger as I pass.
