JENNIE
"Knock, knock," I say, standing outside Lisa's office Monday morning, suddenly strangely nervous to be within a five-foot radius of her.
Lisa hunched over a massive stack of papers, looks up with her light brown eyes, and my stomach kind of lurches to the floor.
"Jen. Come in."
I smile, melting just a fraction. "I just wanted to show you the mock-up designs for the Addison campaign."
"That was quick."
Lisa stands and switches on the lightboard, taking them from my hand. "I love what you've done here."
"I can make some changes with the placement of the furniture."
"No, I think it's perfect. Perhaps just ask Theo to increase the point size on the logo." Lisa hands me the designs. "Then send it straight through to Adam Huston for sign-off."
"Okay. Too easy." My eyes fix on the brochure in her other hand. "Oh, cats."
Lisa rubs her brow. "Yes. You wouldn't know any cat sitters, would you? My usual sitter, Maya, has just embarked on a three-month cross-country road trip of the US with her boyfriend. My father and his wife have sprung a visit on me. Apparently, their bedroom flooded because she failed to recall she had a bath running. They've insisted on staying for a few days, and Felicity breaks out into a rash -"
"I'll do it."
Why is my mouth moving?
The sun is behind her, and when she looks at me, the light catches her eyelashes. "You?"
"Yes," I gulp. "I love cats. We look after Lorenzo, my landlord's cat, but Mario is back from Italy now. Anyway, I'm trustworthy. I gave back your sweater -" I stop.
"Debatable."
My cheeks go beetroot, and I laugh awkwardly. "Hardly going to throw a cat in the washing machine, am I?"
"I should hope not. PETA would be all over you." Lisa lets out a breath. "You know, that would be... " She gives me another look. "Wait. It's very last minute. Are you sure?"
"Uh-huh." I nod.
Lisa blinks a few times, almost in disbelief. "Okay, well... great. I'll pay you extra, of course, and get him dropped off to you after work with food, bed, toys, et cetera. Oh, plus some aromatherapy oils for when he goes a little berserk."
I scrunch up my forehead. "Aromatherapy oils? Has he got a problem?"
"Oh, no. But we all know how cats become possessed at three am. I mean, he certainly has a lot of energy. Last Christmas, he climbed the Christmas tree, flipping it onto the iron, and it might've started a small fire." Lisa meets my slightly panicked eyes. "Oh, he's doing so much better with the oils. Especially the lavender and cedarwood blend. You just have to spritz his bed."
I nod. "Right."
"Louis has become -" She stops when my eyebrows practically disappear in my hairline.
"Louis?"
"He was a gift from Chu post-breakup. I could hardly rename him, or I would have."
I try to hide my giggle, and she grins.
Well, this is annoying.The playfulness in her expression, her unwavering affection for Jisoo and Louis. Lisa is turning out to have layers, and not at all like I imagined.
I tap my designs against my hand. "Right, on that note. I better get back to work," I say, turning on my heel.
"Thank you, Jennie."
