Something More

Chapter Ten

Kate walked into Jennie's office with Jisoo trailing behind her. "Ms. Kim is here to see you."

Jennie nodded and Kate walked out. "Where's Ms. Manoban? I wasn't notified that I'd be meeting with you instead." Jen crossed her arms and stood tall behind her desk. "Is she avoiding me or something?"

"Why would she be avoiding you?"

Fuck. Would Lisa have told Jisoo they kissed? Jisoo would have asked her something different if she knew. "I thought I might have done...um, said something to offend her."

"How surprising," Jisoo mumbled.

Jennie bristled at that. Jisoo didn't know her or her relationship with Lisa. Not that there really was one. "Did you have something to say?" Jennie snapped and didn't let Jisoo answer. Instead, she came back with more anger since that seemed to be what everyone expected out of her. "This is the second occurrence of a switch. I just think it would be a little more professional for Lisa to show up when she said she would. If this is the level of—"

"Her dad just died."

Jennie's arms dropped to her sides instantly and her shoulders deflated. "When?"

Jisoo visibly swallowed before clearing her throat. "A few days ago."

Poor Lisa. A barrage of questions flooded Jen's brain. What happened? Was she okay? Should she call or text to check in on her? But Jennie didn't let herself ask a single one. She didn't know Jisoo, and it seemed clear that Jisoo didn't know about anything between her and Lisa. Jisoo would probably think it was weird or creepy for her to ask any of that, especially if Jisoo had the image of her as a bitch. Jisoo also seemed to be upset and she didn't want to make that worse either. So, all she said was, "Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Jisoo took a breath and slowly released it. "Now if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to go over the menu one more time so we can set up the options you and your mother will want to taste."

"Yes, of course." Jen gestured to the conference table. "Please have a seat. Did Kate offer you something to drink?"

"She did. I'm fine." They sat at the table and Jisoo pulled out a stack of papers. "It's a nice touch having their pronouns on their nameplate. I didn't notice that last time. Was that their doing or yours?"

"Mine. I respect my employees. I'm not a complete asshole."

Quietly, but not quietly enough, Jisoo mumbled, "Could've fooled me."

"Excuse me?" Jen asked.

Jisoo stared for a moment. "Nothing, Ms. Kim. Shall we look at the options?"

Jennie waited a beat, taking her time to size Jisoo up more than she had the first time they met. Jennie sat back in her chair and replied, "Very well. Show me what you've got."

Jisoo laid out the menu options and a small photo album. "There will be some passed hors d'oeuvres during the cocktail hour. Then we will have a four-course meal. You will need to choose three salads and soups, four entrees and sides, and two desserts." Jisoo opened the photo album. "Here are some examples of how the various options have been plated in the past. Does that sound okay?"

"Yes, please continue."

Jisoo began describing each option with a passion that Jennie found rare nowadays when people were talking about their work. With each new dish, Jennie's thoughts turned further away from food and more toward Lisa and how she was handling her father's death. From their short interactions, Jen knew Lisa cared for people deeply, and when it came to caring for a father, she figured it would be off the charts, which meant that Lisa probably wasn't doing very well. She wanted to call or text, do something and check in with her. But she didn't feel like she had a right to do that. Lisa clearly didn't want Jennie in her life as more than a client. Maybe it would be best if Jen didn't cross any sort of line. But she also couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that that was the wrong choice.