Enchanted

45

"I don't think this is a good idea." Seth muttered bitterly from the back seat.

"I mean I don't care as long as there are girls there but Seth's got a point. I don't think Lina is ready for this." Yoon crooned from beside him.

"It's been two weeks and I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you all act like I'm not right here when you talk about me." I sighed.

"I'm sure Lina will do great." Tristan commented, one hand on the wheel.

I was riding shotgun but I might as well have been invisible.

"Guys, TSY Attorneys is still a new business. The five employees we have are antsy enough. Springing up a random intern on them three weeks after opening isn't exactly going to assure them their jobs are safe and steady." Seth argued.

I groaned. "I told you I-"

"We're the bosses. We make the rules. Besides those five people know we'll be recruiting new workers for the next couple of months. I'm still trying to get Charly to join us. He's under-appreciated at Romes and once he joins, we'll have an influx of job applications. No one will care about little Lina here. She doesn't even have a degree. They'll think of her as free labour." Tristan countered, stopping at a traffic light.

Yoon grunted. "I mean we're funding her education until she graduates so she can work for us. Seems more like a permanent fixture as opposed to free labour. Sharon will probably think she's fucking one of us."

This is why I hadn't even agreed to their offer in the first place!

"Woah, that's not what I meant. If Sharon thinks anything, I'll get rid of her myself. I meant, we can't just spring it up on them now. Not like this. Let's wait until the new year, hold a board meeting and tell them then. For now, we'll say she's an applicant and she wanted to see the place for herself." Seth sounded so passionate about this, I was surprised he didn't explode.

His face, at the very least, had turned as red as my dress.

"That's not going to help with the rumours, Sethy. She's showing up with the three of us. They'll think we gangbanged her or something. I told you she should've come alone with me. Better they think she screwed me, the best looking out of all of us as opposed to all three of us. Much more tasteful." Yoon gave me a suggestive wink.

I was too far to slap him so I opted for flipping him off instead.

Tristan shook his head. "No. Seth, you're right. We won't introduce her as an intern. But we won't introduce her as anything either. Tonight, she's our friend. Yoon, you better not make any suggestions because if anything, she'd pick me over you. We'll deal with the rumours when they come. There's no point stressing over it. Now, come everyone. It's a Christmas party! Let's see some smiles!"

"Just for the record, I didn't agree to the conditional bursary." I pointed out.

Yoon scoffed just as Seth leaned in towards me from his seat in the back. "Then you're stupid. In this arrangement, you get a free ride through school, an internship that mostly requires you to be a paperweight for a bunch of lawyers but will still help you in your degree and a guaranteed job afterword. For five years, or at least until you manage to pay the company back for your education."

"It's basically a slave contract." I argued.

"I thought you were into that." Yoon crooned.

Seth elbowed him so I didn't have to.

"Besides," I went on, "this hardly benefits you guys. The company just started. I doubt you have any money to pay for all my school expenses. Yeah you'll get it back but after a long time. It just isn't worth it."