“I’ll ask around,” Wyatt says, leaning back in his chair. “We might have something I overlooked.”
“I can also see what’s out there,” Kim says. “Put out some feelers.”
“OWM might have something,” Pascal says. “I can ask Hilary.”
My heart warms at the support and love coming from my friends. I made the right decision in coming to L.A. No one’s trying to sabotage me, and I have a group of people who are going to do their best to ensure I succeed. I must’ve done something right to have such amazing friends. Maybe even saved a nation in a past life, because friendships like these are priceless.
My phone pings. I pull it out and see a text from my brother. Annoyance bubbles. What does he want now?
–Eugene: Ms. Kim is reassigned to PR and Mr. Choi is with internal audit.
I glare at the screen. Really? This is ridiculous. Ms. Kim’s not interested in public relations. Her dream assignment is a junior assistant position for an executive. And Mr. Choi told me his least favorite subject in high school was math. Besides, he’s an active guy. Internal audit must be his idea of hell.
Normally, Eugene is much better about dealing with people than this. He doesn’t believe in making people do what they don’t enjoy. So he has to have made these ludicrous assignments to smear salt in my wound. To show how he’ll treat anybody who used to work for me or is loyal to me.
Eugene may be in line to inherit control of the Hae Min Group, but he didn’t achieve his success by being soft. And he knows every one of my buttons.
Asshole.
Maybe I should’ve napalmed him before leaving the country.
–Eugene: I also changed the passcode to your condo. Thought you should know so you don’t get locked out of your home.
Wow. Unbelievably petty. Good thing I’m not there anymore.
–Eugene: You’re always welcome to move back to the primary residence.
And have Mom and Dad slide dossiers under my door every morning? No, thank you.
–Eugene: Or you can simply meet Dossier #89 tomorrow at noon for lunch. You can pick the venue. He’s still single. Here’s the updated valuation of his real estate and forex portfolio. He is one of three main contenders for taking over his family’s business. His father’s health is suboptimal, mother passed away last year and no sisters. So no in-law drama to worry about.
My jaw slackens. No in-law drama? Does he think it’s about in-law drama?
I mean, yeah, that can be a problem. I’ve seen couples in Korea divorce over it, and I don’t blame them, because I wouldn’t want to put up with that kind of situation myself. But I’ve never said anything about potential future in-laws. If Eugene put half the effort he dedicated to this bullshit into what I told him I wanted, I wouldn’t have fled to L.A.
“You look like you want to murder somebody,” Ivy says.
“It’s my brother, being a dick. Give me a sec so I can respond to him.”
I stretch my arm out and take a quick selfie. I check the photo. I’m smiling, my eyes wide and happy. Okay, it’s more like happy because I’m too angry to let you know I’m mad, but it works. That plus the one I took on the plane with a glass of champagne should be perfect. And because I’m feeling extra petty, I change his name to Asshole on my phone. It suits him better than Eugene.
–Me: Sadly, I can’t see Mr. 89 because I’m in Los Angeles. Tada! And you’re too late because I already took all my stuff out of the condo! Also, you’re a total jerk for punishing Ms. Kim and Mr. Choi. They will do better elsewhere, which you absolutely know because you read their résumés before dumping them in PR and internal audit. Shame on you.
I add the selfies to my text.
–Asshole: Ha! I knew it! You ran to your friends. You can’t do anything on your own because you need somebody to take care of you.
–Me: Spending time with my friends isn’t being helpless. You would know that if you had any friends. Anyway, I’m going to hang out here and get a job in L.A., where you can’t sabotage my efforts.
–Asshole: I’m reporting you for working illegally.
Hahaha. Doesn’t he know better than to make such an idiotic threat?
–Me: Lucky for me, I have a work visa.
The Hae Min Group’s lawyers took care of the paperwork to get me a work visa because the Ivy Foundation is starting to give support to musicians in the U.S. as well. They thought it was inadvisable for me to do the work for the foundation under a travel visa.
–Me: Have fun explaining to Mom and Dad how you drove me out of the country, making it functionally impossible for me to meet any of the remaining dossier bachelors. Oh, and have fun managing the Ivy Foundation!