Chapter 2 What are you asking me to do

Chapter Two

A few months earlier:

It was the end of the workweek. I exclaimed, 'Thank God it's Friday!' as I sat at my desk in my office with a stack of files facing me. I hadn't gotten to work before I looked up and saw my boss standing in my office doorway. I wanted to groan with annoyance. Sure, he was the man who paid my salary and had been good to me over the years.

But his mere appearance in my office first thing in the morning only meant he was about to ask me to do something. I can tell by how he strolled into my office and sat directly in front of my desk. Ever-so-slowly his eyes canvas over my face. His eyes told me everything. He's thinking, 'just one more time, Peta, or I promise, Peta, this will be the last time.' I knew I was right on point with my assessment.

"Good morning, Peta," Mr. Legacy greeted me, smoothing his crimson-red silk tie in front of him.

"Good Morning, Mr. Legacy," I replied.

"I see you are busy, but we need to talk about a serious matter that has come up."

I thought, 'if you see I'm busy working, why are you interrupting me? Ooh, if only I could utter those words out loud. Whether I was busy or not. It wouldn't matter. I always dropped whatever I was doing and gave the man my undivided attention. His almost complete disregard for me was the norm. How I felt didn't matter to this man. I always went along with whatever it was he wanted.

Not only because he was my boss, but it was expected. The man came from a long line of women who have catered to him all his life. First, he came from his mother's overindulging arms and then straight into the arms of a young and eager-to-please wife-a woman who made him feel like heaven-sent was God's gift to the female population.

Mrs. Legacy divorced her husband soon after they hired me after she made it a point to train me herself. And Shortly after their divorce, somehow, my boss expected me to pick up the torch and do the things Mrs. Legacy had done for him.

At first, I thought this job was a blessing, but I soon learned it was a curse; Mr. Legacy performed his award-winning Oscar performances at being heartbroken over his divorce, playing on a young, innocent girl's emotions. I sincerely felt sorry for him, and somehow, without realizing it, I'd slipped right into the pattern of expectancy that all the other women before me had created. I soon learned I was there basically to do whatever he needed.

The beautiful Mrs. Legacy was still employed at the company when I was hired. She took me under her wings, making me feel special as she groomed me to perfection, knowing she had an ulterior motive. Unfortunately, I was so naïve that I didn't realize I was being trained to do what she had done for her husband all these years. Mrs. Legacy knew she had plans to divorce this man and leave the company.

Connie Legacy perfectly orchestrated that I would be the one to pick up where she left off. Credit to the woman. She was brilliant! She could care less if her husband died from a broken heart. All Ms. Legacy was concerned about was securing her shares in the company. She knew he would be happy if he had someone to cater to him and knew the company would prosper even after she was long gone.

Mrs. Legacy made sure he had someone else to do his dirty bidding, the role she had played at Legacy Entertainment for years. His wife ensured Mr. Legacy would have another woman to fall back on. Therefore, Connie's bread and butter would flow into her bank account.

I shook the thoughts away. I was getting angry. So, I told myself to focus on the man sitting before me by asking.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Legacy?" But, for now, I had to let the past remain there.

"SB-Group. Do you know who that is?

I figured I probably should, but it felt like someone was hammering into my temples right now. I usually would give it more thought. But things being as they were, I didn't even try. The only thought and action I wanted to take were to scream in Mr. Legacy's face.

'Get out of my office!'

Instead, I smiled, trying to control my tone as I replied, "No, should I know who they are, Mr. Legacy?"

Mr. Legacy raised a thick brow, probably at the spike in my tone and the anguish behind my fake smile. But he didn't mention it. He ignored any discomfort I had, as always. I wasn't even surprised by it. My wants and needs were always secondary.

"Mr. Kim Seungchan runs SB-Group, one of the biggest entertainment companies in Asia, and he is thinking about crossing over to America. They are already popular in the UK, and I want Legacy to have a large piece of that billion-dollar pie! We are the number one empire entertainment company in America! So I want us to be the first to help SB-Group get the exposure here in America!"

I sat there watching my boss talk excitedly with his baritone vocals. At the same time, he strutted his six-foot frame and broad shoulders in front of my desk like some billionaire peacock! With his head held high, he exuded conceit whenever speaking about himself or anything about his business.

Only a few questions floated around in my head, letting the rest of whatever he said go in one ear and out the other. Where was this speech going? And how much longer will I have to be tortured by it? And most importantly, how and what part would he'd ask me to play in this grand scheme?

"Peta, so what do you think?"

"Oh, what did you say?" Peta asked as her brain had shut down while he was bragging.

"You need me to call them and set up a meeting so you can give a pitch to their company?"

Mr. Legacy smirked, leaning over my desk. "Peta, this is suited much more for you than me."

When I looked up at Mr. Legacy, I hadn't seen him this excited about anything in a while. I'd stopped what I was doing, tried to ignore my headache, and listened attentively to what he was about to say. First, was he about to give me a promotion? Had the man finally recognized the true talents and abilities that I offer to this company?

"Peta, I'd like you to take care of Mr. Kim. I've already taken care of everything you would usually do to get Mr. Kim to come to the States. So you don't have to worry about that part. But I do need you to do the rest."

"The rest? What does that mean, Sir?"

"I want you to entertain the man. He's 65 years old and thinking about retiring soon.

So, this will probably be his last big business deal. So, let's send him out in style! Give him something to remember. How Legacy empire is the best! While he's sitting in his rocking chair back home when he's retired."

"I'm not quite following you, sir."

"Wine and Dine, the old man! Roll out the red carpet, treat him well, and give him female companionship. Heck! I don't know, Peta, think of something! Do whatever he needs to be encouraged to sign on the dotted line."

The joy I felt thinking about being promoted seemed to have died instantly. Instead, my heart ached at the thought of what he suggested I do. My emotions got the best of me as I stood behind my desk.

"Mr. Legacy! I can't believe you are asking me to seduce this man!"

"Who said anything about seduction? I'm simply asking you to work closely with the man. You know, leave him feeling good. Look, I know, I've asked you to do some things in the past. But I've also treated you very well here at Legacy. So I promise Peta, this will be the last one, and I'm going to throw in a hefty bonus. I have faith in you. I know you can do it because Legacy Depends on you. And you know, I depend on you too.

I'll give you the weekend to develop a solid plan on how you will proceed to get him to sign with us. He has our competition trying to court him too. But he's giving us the first shot. No pressure Peta, but make it feel natural and sweet for the man, so he won't be able to resist."

Mr. Legacy winks at me as he leaves out of my office. I slammed my hand down on the stack of files, so agitated and appalled. All other thoughts fled as I grasped what my boss asked me to do if I marched into his office and told him no! I could lose my job, and lord knows I need this job if I'm ever going to get away from here and start my own business someday!

What should I do?