Something More

Chapter Fourteen

Lisa adjusted her bag on her shoulder outside Jennie's door. When it opened, Lisa eyed her from head to toe, loving the fact that Jen seemed to have the slightly rumpled, end of the workday wardrobe on. She wore skinny, black dress pants and a white long-sleeve button-up with the sleeves rolled up and the top few buttons undone. Her feet were bare, toenails painted a dark purple. As Jen ushered her into the condo, Lisa placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"Hey, you," she whispered.

"Hi. Glad you could make it."

"How was your day?" Lisa asked as she placed her bag on the island.

Jennie took a loose hold of Lisa's fingers in her own. "Busy like always. We have this campaign for a sports drink company that my team has been working hard on. Client seems difficult to please, so every time we think we have it nailed down, they tell us just how wrong we are. Then it's back to square one."

Lisa tapped her finger to her chin. "Hmm. Sounds familiar. I just can't place it," she said with a grin.

"Are you trying to say something about me, Ms. Manoban?"

"You? No. Well, not anymore," she said with a wink. "Your mother...that's a different story."

Jen scoffed. "Tell me about it."

"Wanna get that stuff out of the way? Then I'm all yours."

"Really? All mine, huh?" Jennie asked with a lift of her eyebrows.

"For dinner. I'm all yours for dinner."

"Mmm. Tasty."

After replaying her words, Lisa covered her face with her hands. "Shit, that came out all wrong."

Jen chuckled. "I have no problem with how it came out. Looking forward to it, in fact."

"Stop." Lisa playfully shoved her away, pulling a folder from her bag. "Let's get to work."

"Fine. Wine?" Jen asked as she held up a bottle.

"Please."

Jennie poured them each a glass and took a seat on the stool next to Lisa.

"First, your mother gave me the final guest list, and she said she didn't have any changes since her last-minute additions from a week ago. Think that's the truth?"

"With my mother? Probably not."

"Perfect," Lisa mumbled. "Well, we'll be prepared in case she surprises us with additional guests. Now, let's move on to timing."

For the next thirty minutes, she went over every detail of the party with Jennie. She made a few notes to share with Jisoo, but everything seemed in order. Lisa gathered her papers into a neat stack and placed them in her bag. "Okay, I think that's it. If you have questions or adjustments you'd like to make before next Saturday, then let me or Chu know. Sound good?"

"Yes, thank you. I'm sure I'll be fielding a million questions from my mother during the week. Hopefully she won't have any outrageous last-minute demands. But she's known to have them," Jen said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Ready for some takeout?"

"That sounds great. What are you thinking?"

Jennie rummaged through a drawer and held up a few menus. "We've got a diner, Chinese, and Italian. What's your poison?"

"How about Chinese?"

Jennie tossed the other two menus back into the drawer and held out the Chinese menu to Lisa. "Let me know what you'd like."

Lisa held Jen's gaze firmly and lifted a shoulder. "Surprise me."

Jen took in a quick breath and bit the corner of her lip. "I will," she whispered, heading back to her phone.