Page 5 of Fallen Starboy

Chapter

Three

ARISTA

With Jun’s departure, I was now left with the two men who hated me the most: Minseo, and Yang-Jin, his best friends. Also my sworn enemies, if the looks on their faces were any indication.

I heaved a sigh and turned my back on them. I was not about to pander to these two when they’d been nothing but pointedly hostile toward me since they realized who I was.

A hand fell on my shoulder just as I started to walk away, pinning me in place though here was the last place I wanted to be right now. I didn’t move, but his voice was clear behind me, filled with anger and barely contained animosity.

“There’s gotta be someone else,” Minseo growled at me, “someone who’s not?—”

“Who’s not me?” I waited patiently for an answer I already had. Of course they were irritated with the situation. But at the end of the day, it didn’t matter. They weren’t staying, and I wouldn’t have to deal with them once they got back on their plane and went home.

Just Jun, and?—

And our daughter.

“I’ll talk to the label and see if I can arrange a replacement.” I didn’t think they’d bite that hook, but it was worth the shot. “Anything else, Minnie?”

His growl reminded me of one of their debut albums, when Yang-Jin and Minseo had both growled and howled in the background during the chorus for effect. When they performed it on the stage, they barked, sending the crowd reeling.

Their presence off-stage was just as intimidating.

Unless, of course, you knew them and their real selves. Which I did.

“You can drop the bad guy act, Minseo. I know better.” My eyes cut to the left, catching his sneer before he managed to wipe it off his lips. “How long are the two of you here?”

“Til tomorrow,” Minseo said, just as Yang-Jin muttered “through the weekend.”

I quirked a brow. “Having a misunderstanding?”

Their faces mirrored each other as they went into defensive mode, hiding their lies under silence. That was fine; they could play this game with each other. I had big girl shit to do.

Like my normal job. The one that just so conveniently got me as far away as possible from my ex, and the daughter I abandoned.

“Sorry, boys, I’d love to stay and chat, but I have important shit to do, so if you don’t mind—” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, swiping the screen over to search through my contacts list. “I’ll be going.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Minseo erupted, rage etched into every line of his body. “Walk away again. You’re good at that, aren’t you?”

Like a dagger straight in my heart, he wounded me with no concern for my emotions. It didn’t matter if he didn’t know the truth, he thought he did. And the truth he knew wasn’t the right one, but it was the only one, and I wasn’t fond of the idea of shattering his delusions.

If they hated me, it made it all easier. There wasn’t room between hatred and resentment for me to catch feelings or get attached.

“Yeah, sure, I’m good at that,” I muttered, shaking his hand off my shoulder. “So let me do what I do best.”

I marched off before either of them could say another word.

The next two days passed in relative silence.

On day three, however, I got a call from my boss, inviting me to join her for an impromptu meeting with the department head.

Like any good employee vying for a promotion, I didn’t bat an eyelash before marching my ass into that conference room ten minutes early, ready for anything.

Okay, so anything was an exaggeration, as it turned out. I wasn’t prepared to see the other person in the room.

Jun.

His eyes found me the second I walked in, then cut away, staring pointedly out the window at nothing.

My boss, whose job was about to be open once he worked out his remaining days to retirement, sat in the chair at the head of the table, his lips pursed as he watched the client—or prospective client.

I still hadn’t heard whether or not he’d signed the altered contract.

As a matter of fact, I’d thrown myself into other jobs over the weekend in the hopes I could forget all about the awkward reuniting with my ex in the hotel conference room.

The other person in the room was Ms. Steele herself, holding what looked like one of our run-of-the-mill contracts.

But why was she here? The head of the agency rarely got involved, and certainly not with things as mundane as a contract negotiation.

She held out a hand and motioned for me to take a seat next to Jun. I wasn’t about to disobey, but the way his whole body tensed as I lowered myself into the chair to his left didn’t go unnoticed.

I held my breath, waiting to see what this meeting was all about. If Jun was here, then it wasn’t about a promotion.

“I hear you’re gunning to take Ryan’s seat when he goes into retirement, Rizzo. That true?”

I dared to glance in Ms. Steele’s direction. “That’s correct, yes.”

Her brow quirked in shock, perhaps at my candor, or perhaps the balls it took to outright claim your ambitions, even in today’s career world. “And you’d do anything to secure that position, I assume?”

That was the million-dollar question. I could go any direction with the answer, but from one woman to another, I didn’t think she was looking for the standard answers that men in my position would give. I leaned into the female stereotype and opted for funny.

“Well, I draw the line at sleeping with you, Ms. Steele. You’re attractive, but unfortunately, not my type.”

The answering smile on her face, accompanied by the choking sounds from the men in the room, told me I’d picked right.

“You’re cocky, sassy, and confident. I like that about you, Rizzo.” She tapped those expensively manicured nails on the table, then stood, marching over to the window where she could look down on the rest of the city like a queen did her subjects. “So I’m going to make you the offer of a lifetime.”

The chair creaked a bit as I leaned back in it, crossing my arms. “I’m listening.”

“Our newest addition to the agency, Mr. Kim Seo-Jun, needs a temporary all-rounder. You know the ins and outs of operation at the management level, according to your original resume you submitted to us when you were hired, isn’t that correct?”

A lump the size of Texas appeared in my throat. “It is.”

She turned her back to the window, glancing between me and Jun. “And you, Mr. Kim, don’t have a current manager, agent, or assistant, nor do you like the candidates I’ve presented to you.”

He nodded, his eyes guarded, hands in his lap, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

“I think Rizzo here could fill those roles perfectly and aid you in the transition from foreign idol to a branded talent, at least until you’ve found a suitable candidate.”

Now, it was my turn to fidget. “Ma’am, all due respect?—”

Ms. Steele held her hand up, effectively cutting me off. “I am aware there is some history between you two. As a matter of fact, that’s part of the reason I think you’re perfectly suited to this job.”

Jun and I exchanged a look of pure horror. How could she know ? —

“After all, you interned with his debut band. You know his habits, his likes and dislikes, his strengths and weaknesses,the way daily life as an idol operates. Plus, you’ll be able to weed out prospective staff applicants and find ones that suit his personality and work style.”

The tension dissipated from my body. She didn’t know we—that Jun and I—about ? —

“All I’m asking for is a couple of months. Do the job well, and the position you’ve got your eye on as head of foreign liaison is yours.” She examined her nail bed with disinterest. “Unless you think you’re unsuited for the job for some reason.”

“I’ll do it,” I whispered, already hating that I was so desperate for that position that I would willingly walk into a hell of my own creation, sit down in the sand pit, and build a fucking castle. “When do I start?”

Ms. Steele’s smile spread across her face in a manner reminiscent of a crocodile preparing to eat something half his size.

“Today.” She tossed me a key on a stretchy band, nodding sagely.

“I’ve sent you the address of his new temporary residence.

The estate has been cleaned and outfitted to suit your daily needs.

You will temporarily reside in the main house, and you will need to be available at all times for any of his needs. ”

Now it was Jun’s turn to grin wickedly. “All my needs? Surely you don’t expect her to handle the mundane things.”

“As your interim head of staff, she will see to the task of screening and vetting applicants for the positions you need filled. I was informed you brought your own head of security, but nothing more.”

“Correct.”

“Then I’ll have the agency’s people send him the proper paperwork to be put on the payroll.”

With that, she marched out the door, my boss hot on her heels, leaving Jun and I alone in the room.

Suddenly, the air was thicker than chowder that had gone cold. I couldn’t breathe, for fear that I might choke on my own tongue, or the words lurking on the tip of it.

Jun slammed a fist down on the desk, swearing in both English and Japanese, his native language. I only knew what he’d said because he’d used it differently when things weren’t so volatile between us.

“I can’t believe I’m stuck with my?—”

His eyes were wild and pupils blown wide as he turned on me, all the animosity that’d built over the last seven or so years coming out in full force.

I knew it was inevitable, but here wasn’t the place to do it.

These walls had ears, and if the agency got wind of our real relationship from seven years ago?—

Well, I could kiss that promotion goodbye. And quite possibly my career.

I slammed my hand over his mouth and shoved him against the wall, forcing him to stand still and pay attention to me. He growled like an animal as I leaned in and whispered in his ear.