Protect Her, My Heart

to be on the receiving end of a smile

"Miss Manoban? Can I talk to you for a second?"

Lisa walked back out of the bathroom into which she'd tried to escape. Chances were, she had done something wrong again and she really had no nerve for that today. Still, she put on a smile and expectantly looked at Miss Kim.

The brunette smiled back and gestured at a chair opposite of the table. With a raised eyebrow, Lisa sat down.

"What would you say if I gave you a 50% raise?"

"Uh... what the fuck?" Lisa spluttered out before she could stop herself.

Jennie's friendly face changed into an annoyed eyeroll.

"I mean uhm... I mean I would say: why?" Lisa tried to save the situation but clearly failed to do so.

"I was thinking about not hiring a new babysitter for Ellie and wanted to ask if you would take up that task? I finally decided to fire Miss Hirai and instead of looking for someone else I thought I would ask you first. Of course, the substitute would still be available so you wouldn't have to do it all on your own. You simply would have to spend time with Ellie in the afternoons until I get home from work. Your work hours would be increased and your payment as well, obviously."

Lisa didn't answer right away. It didn't happen every day that someone wanted to pay her so much money for doing something she enjoyed doing.

"I have seen you and Ellie together. She's clearly fond of you and it's hard to find someone she opens up to. And you seem to know what you're doing most of the time."

Jennie's voice suddenly shifted. She sounded unsure, as if she'd just heard her own thoughts out loud for the first time.

"You know I'm not a babysitter, right? I'm not trained to work with kids," Lisa answered after a few long and silent seconds.

"I know, but there are some things in life that you can't learn. Some things that you're simply good at. And believe me when I say you're really good with her."

Jennie's lips spread into a smile and Lisa was taken aback for a second. It felt so foreign to be on the receiving end of Jennie's smile. There was a sparkle in her eyes that replaced the usually dark glare.

Slowly, Lisa nodded. It would mean more work for her, but basically it was what she already did most of the days here but this time with payment. And she had to admit that she was starting to really treasure that little girl.

"If you're interested, we can try it out for a week again and then you can decide," Jennie rushed to say. "You can also say no. I don't expect anything from you."

There was something weird about her voice again. Something that seemed to slip through a lot more lately. It almost seemed as if she was... pleading? As if she didn't want anybody else near her daughter but Lisa. (Or she just didn't want to start looking for someone else cause she was a busy woman, but Lisa liked her first thought better.)

"That sounds like a plan," Lisa quickly answered before Jennie's face could fall even more.

///

Lisa spent her morning reading through yet another binder about Ellie. This woman was definitely overprotective of her daughter but considering her public image, it probably wasn't so wrong to be. There wasn't even enough time to finish it before she had to go pick up Ellie from kindergarten.

"Hey Ellie, how was your day?" she asked and took the girl's backpack from her.

"I played outside with Theo. He's so good on the jungle gym. It's like whoosh and he's on top already," she giggled as she tried to show the sound with her hands. "I wanna be as fast as him."