Temptations

Pt. II

"This is good," Won finally said and Eun Sang let out the breath she was holding.

She had controlled all her urges to fidget with the hem of her dress and to wait patiently as he read her proposal for the Jeguk Group luncheon. Most of the details had been ironed out and from the vague directions she had gotten from Won, it seemed to fit his motif

Not to say that she had done all the work herself. There were many an afternoon that she called Secretary Lee to complain and ask for help because she had no idea what to do. Not to mention Tan was still like an overgrown child when it came to ideas for these things. His only suggestion was that it would be fun if it were held at a theme park.

"Thank you," she murmured.

He pressed the button on the intercom and spoke, "Secretary Lee?"

Two seconds later the man arrived and she turned to greet him. He bowed low to her. "Yes?"

"If Cha Eun Sang needs anything, you are at her disposal," Won commanded.

Her eyes rounded and she interjected hurriedly, "I'm sure Secretary Lee has tons of other things to do, I can manage fine!"

Secretary Lee held his breath in fear as the two locked wills for a moment. Even though Won obviously had the upper hand, Cha Eun Sang's fierce personality was not to be messed up with.

He looked at her over the top of her report and huffed. "Other events have an army of organizers."

That eased the tension in the room and Eun Sang nodded gratefully, "ah, thank you." She had been working with the current household staff in order to put together the report, but it was difficult. Most of the staff who had been around during the Chairman's time had been replaced and the Chairwoman's household was exclusively managed by her. They were largely inexperienced in throwing such luncheons. Having Secretary Lee would be a boon, as he would have access to a much larger pool of resources.

"We will discuss this later for some minor detail changes," Won said.

"Your appointments are all booked up for the next week," Secretary Lee interjected smoothly, "perhaps the following week?"

Eun Sang frowned, going to the office for these small issues was such a hassle, not to mention they lived in the same house. Quite frankly she would just prefer an e-mail then. She offered an alternative solution, "what about over dinner tonight?"

Won studied her face for a minute and asked bluntly, "are you asking me to dinner?"

She huffed a bit and tried not to laugh, "of course not. What would your brother say?"

He laughed before agreeing whole-heartedly, "I will see you in the cellar for dinner, then. I will call ahead."

When he started discussing other things with Secretary Lee, Eun Sang simply bowed and let herself out. Coming to Jeguk Group was usually for Won's convenience and a way for her to get out of the house. A few employees in the inner circle greeted her as she left the lobby.

Joon was waiting for her outside with the car.

"Let's stop by a café on the way home," she told him, flashing him a soft smile.

Joon knew exactly where she wanted to go. All of the household staff was aware of Eun Sang's rather limited schedules and activities. They respected her privacy and there was nothing Kim Tan was able to do to make them less loyal to her. Perhaps the only person they were more loyal to was Kim Won, but even that was dubious.

He dropped her off in front before parking the car on the side. He knew that Eun Sang enjoyed spending hours talking to the proprietress about all sorts of things. However, it was not his place to know who she was talking to or why. For his own job security, Eun Sang had insisted on not telling him, lest Tan have any reason to fire him. The best part of his day, though, would be when she returned to the car.

"Good afternoon, dear," the older woman brought out a selection of Eun Sang's favourites.

Eun Sang rose and gave the older woman a hug and greeted her fondly, "it's good to see you again. I hate to ask you for a favour, but…"

The older woman sat down once she saw the Jeguk envelope on the table. "It is that time of the year again, isn't it?"

"Young Do would probably disapprove but I didn't know who else to turn to. Won has given me access to his Secretary, but everyone I know lacks experience." Eun Sang was apologetic but the older woman brushed off her concern.

"It is in the past, what I did while married to his father. I certainly have years of experience as a young girl anyways from my mother," she immediately put Eun Sang at ease. "Besides, if anything it was good training for learning how to run my own coffee shop."

"Thank you so much," Eun Sang beamed back at Kyung Ran.

Eun Sang returned to the Jeguk compound hours later, tired but optimistic about throwing this luncheon. In one hand was a small, white take out box and in the other a to go coffee cup. She kindly handed them over to Joon, who smiled and bowed low before opening the car door. "I got you three desserts. One for your daughter and wife as well, you said they preferred matcha flavoured desserts last time, yes?"

Joon was touched that his mistress would ever remember these things. Even if they did not, he would have never told her other wise. "Yes, they do, thank you. They will be so pleased that you would remember such things."

The drive back was quiet, but she could observe his happy posture. Her thoughts drifted back to her discussion with Kyung Ran. To fail would be to fail the Jeguk name and despite her untrained background she was not about to let down her new family. It was also about personal pride as well. She would show them that even without their training she could thrive.

She put down her purse and unpinned her hair. The portfolio of notes was left on her dresser table. She removed a lot of her make up and changed out of her more formal suit. Eun Sang preferred to dress more casually around the house. She entered the modest-sized walk in closet and distractedly chose a soft, baby pink fluffy cashmere sweater reminiscent of Kim Tan's during their high school years. Donning it, Eun Sang undid all her jewelry save the emerald pendent Won had given her out of the Jeguk family collection. She grabbed a pair of jeans and the transformation was complete. She felt more like herself now.

Tan always made her wear suits and dress up in the most expensive clothing, sort of like his mother had. Eun Sang preferred not to, but luckily only had to conform when he was home.

A maid interrupted her musings, "The Master is leaving the office now."

Without missing a beat, Eun Sang nodded, "the usual for the two of us served in the cellar, please?" The maid nodded and bowed despite Eun Sang being in the other room. She had an easy job tonight, a bunch of street vendor stall favourites and a liberal amount of soju.

Didn't get to the exciting bit yet, but let me know what you all think :3