Kim’s phone pings, and she picks it up to check the message. Her eyes brighten. “Oh, talk about serendipity!”
“What?”
“There’s this guy Benedict I’m friendly with, and he sent out an SOS to a bunch of us. He says his boss is looking for an assistant.”
“That doesn’t sound too terrible,” I say slowly. I’ve seen how Ms. Kim works. And I know how other executive assistants employed by Hae Min work. I can probably manage that, as long as it isn’t too senior a position. Or somebody asks me to make a PowerPoint presentation, because that’s always been above my skill set. Or Excel. Excel is what happens when Satan and Silicon Valley have an oopsie baby after a one-night stand they don’t want to think about.
Kim’s phone pings again. She frowns. “Hmm… This explains why he hasn’t found anyone yet.”
“What’s wrong? Is his boss the devil’s first born?” I ask.
“No. It’s a temp position. Only for two months. Who wants to cater to some celebrity’s crazy impulses, only to be discarded after eight weeks?” Kim sounds insulted.
But my curiosity is piqued. “A celebrity? Who? A guy? Somebody super hot?”
“Can’t say. It’s completely confidential. You also need to sign an NDA.”
“Ooh. So secretive.” I grin. “I can do that. Besides, eight weeks is perfect.”
“Why? How are you going to prove to your family anything in such a short period of time?” Ivy says.
“Because.” I tap the table. “The whole point of cutting me off is to get me to marry. Eugene’s not going to want me to get caught up in an actual career. What if I like it so much I refuse to come back? I’m already twenty-nine, you know.”
Jo looks at me like she doesn’t get it. “So? Twenty-nine isn’t too late to start fresh.”
“But twenty-nine is one year away from thirty. The goal is to marry me off before the big three-zero.”
“I don’t want to sound rude, but your brother’s weird,” Evie says.
“He is, on this point,” I agree. “But even if it takes a little longer than eight weeks, at least this gives me something to put on my résumé other than the Ivy Foundation experience. So I think it’ll be fine. I’m not going to be picky about it. Besides, I get to work for a celeb.”
“Just don’t fall for him,” Kim says. “Assistants falling for their bosses? Never ends well. And one of this guy’s former assistants found herself in jail.”
“Jail? Didn’t they run a background check?”
“She was fine until she started working for him. Then she fell in love and decided it would be a good idea to break into his house at night while he was asleep and seduce him. She jumped on him buck naked and cracked one of his ribs.”
“Oh my God, that’s crazy.”
“Like I said—doesn’t end well.”
“Not to mention, so unprofessional,” Nate says, wandering into the room. He puts an arm around Evie’s shoulders.
We all stare at him. He stares back. The fact that he doesn’t get the irony of his statement is stunning. But then, that’s the Sterling family for you. To them, what they want is what they’re entitled to, and logic and shame are for other people. Nate embodies the Sterling spirit well, probably even better than his brother.
“Uh, you married your assistant,” Evie points out. “Me.” She’s still normal because she became a Sterling through marriage.
“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t count. I fell in love with you first.” He kisses her temple. “Totally different.”
Evie flushes, while we all look at each other and laugh. Nate just shrugs.
Tony comes into the room.
“What are you doing back?” Ivy asks. “I thought you were playing pool.”
“He lost,” Tony says, pointing at Nate.