Contractually Yours

CHAPTER 31

Taehyung

John Highsmith says it won't be a problem to get The Hollywood News to cough up the source for the photos they got. They're a bunch of spineless weasels who'll cave at the first threat of losing everything.

"If they don't cooperate, proceed with the lawsuit," I say.

I end the call and return to the documents on the Cartier Bvlgari collaboration, which are spread out on my desk. The initial projections and timeline are aggressive but reasonable. But the execution is off. Delays. Delays. More delays. Bad communication. Mishaps.

At least Lisa's team did a decent job of logging all the issues in chronological order, so it's easy to see what's gone wrong so far. A lot of them are problems that could have been avoided if Lisa had more experience and a better team. Like that jackass who talked to her with utter disrespect. He can't be the only one in the organization with an attitude. He might have started out as the sole asshole, but one bad apple tends to ruin the whole barrel. It's especially true when the person in charge is soft. Which Lisa seems to be.

Perhaps it would be better if she stepped down as the CEO, got away from the pressure to perform and got some experience under her belt before taking up the position again. I want her to succeed, but she won't if she keeps going this way. She'll get pushed out for failure or burnout.

The key is how to tell her without pissing her off. Jungkook blew up when I told him he needed to learn the business by working at one of Cartier's retail locations. His ego couldn't handle it—he was better than that. I don't think Lisa has an impossible ego, but she might be hurt or come to resent me.

I make a mental note to come up with a diplomatic way to approach this, then get up from my desk for my lunch meeting with the central regional retail manager for Cartier. He's in town on business and wants to catch up in person.

As I head out, I notice a finger painting pinned to one of the cubicles. Underneath the painting is a framed photo of a couple and a baby. I sweep my eyes along the other cubicles. Small stuffed animals. Some plants. And lot of photos featuring families or significant others.

My desk doesn't have anything like that. But then, I never had a reason to put anything on it except for a small clock and calendar.

I pull out my phone.

–Me: Seojoon, can you send me the pic you took of me and Lisa?

–Seojoon: Sure. By the way, you can thank me. I take great photos, even if the subject isn't cheetahs in heat.

I roll my eyes. Seojoon often says cheetahs wait for no one. He's obsessed with them.

–Me: You should write a book about them. You'd finish it in no time.

–Seojoon: I'm not writing cheetah porn. They deserve dignity.

Like getting photographed while they're doing it in the wild is dignified...?

Seojoon sends the pic. Lisa is adorable in it, her eyes a little wide with shock, but her smile is gorgeous. It's perfect for my desk.

Now that I think about it, Lisa probably doesn't have any photos of us, either.

I Google for a frame and find a crystal and silver one that's perfect. I forward the picture to Christoph.

–Me: Print this in high resolution. Two copies.

–Christoph: Any particular size in mind?

–Me: 4x6.

Wait, that's too small. I want to be able to see Lisa's smile clearly.