Kiss & Clientele

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Pounding through the lobby of HYPE's state of the art facility, Halston had come prepared for a fight. Unable to sleep, she had created a small presentation filled with statistics regarding her first week as senior manager. Both listener and viewer ratings were up by nearly 15% since her arrival. Not to mention the glowing reviews from stylists, producers, and on-set staff. Even the comments on social media were largely positive, fans repetitively mentioning that the group looked happier. It was true, she missed home, but if she was going to go back it would be of her own accord. Not because she wasn't cut out for this industry.

Taking the elevator to her floor, she collected herself and blocked out the last little bit of Nora. As the distance between herself and the conference room closed in, there was one final exhalation before pushing open the door.

"Wallstreet..." Having arrived early, he was the last person she wanted or expected to see. Sitting her stuff down at the head of the table, she exasperatedly responded.

"Can I help you, Mr. Seo?" The dry, flat tone of her voice irritated him slightly as he leaned back with his feet propped on the table's edge. The woman he caught in his apartment and the woman before him now were as different as night and day.

"Good morning to you too, Halston."

"I ask that we cut the small talk and get to the point." Sitting down, she directed her focus solely to him. Her stance prompted him to sit up from his reclined position and return the directness.

"Okay then," her heart raced along with his words, "I just wanted to follow up regarding last night's...event." The roll out of his intentions for the conversation were not surprising. It didn't mean that she was looking forward to the process of having to defend herself though.

"Seeing as nothing happened, it seems to me that this discussion is pointless and unnecessary." Each word came out sharp and full of venom like a snake's bite. The rebuttal brought the rapper to his feet as he hurried toward her. When he crouched down next to her, she reeled backwards in shock.

"Drop the act." He whispered. "I came here because the group wanted me to relay a message." He looked at her with annoyance, but there was also something else there. Some kind of fiery ambition. It led her to believe this fight could be more of a challenge than she anticipated. All this time she thought they were getting along and working well together, when it was all a plan to bring her down. Well played, she thought as he continued on. "While I find you to be bossy and obnoxious," he said with a half-hearted smirk, "everyone else really likes you. They felt like it was important for you to know that you don't have to worry about anything." The expression on her face caught Changbin off-guard. Though he didn't think it was possible, her skin paled out even more as her eyes seemed to double in size.

Here she was thinking he had come here to ruin her! He never ceased to surprise her with his one-on-one conversations. Refusing to drop her defenses so easily, she interrogated further.

"What are you getting at?" The suspicion in her gaze ate away at him. For some reason, it bothered him that she was so apprehensive.

"We know this..." Gesturing at her designer clothes and briefcase, he pointed out everything that mader her Halston. "All of this, it isn't you. We are all willing to work hard for you, and keep whatever interactions you have with us between us." Not knowing what to do or how to respond, her eyes darted around the room. In doing so, she noticed the CCTV cameras positioned along the corners of the ceiling. Thus explaining his crouched position and hushed tone. He was keeping their conversation from the prying eyes and ears of the elites.

"You've helped us a lot, and we want to keep you around." She cleared her throat and retrieved a notepad from her bag. On it she wrote: Thank you, let's all talk later? He nodded with understanding.