The next morning, Lisa arrived at Jennie’s office—fifteen minutes early—determined to start fresh. She had spent the entire night preparing, going over the company protocols, memorizing Jennie’s preferences, and even practicing different ways to introduce herself. All of that, she was sure, would make her second day less disastrous than the first.
As she stepped off the elevator and into the nearly deserted top floor, she felt a pang of satisfaction. Not a minute late. She had even beat Jennie to the office, or so she thought.
The moment Lisa walked past Jennie’s office, she spotted her through the glass walls, already seated behind her desk, meticulously typing away. Her hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail, her black blazer crisp and perfectly fitted. She looked like she had been there for hours, though it was barely 8:45 AM.
Of course, she’s early. She probably sleeps here, Lisa thought.
“Good morning, Ms. Kim!” Lisa chirped as she poked her head into the office.
Jennie didn’t look up, still focused on her screen. “I expect the conference room to be ready in twenty minutes. We’re hosting a video call with the board in Hong Kong, and I don’t want any errors today. Make sure the AV works correctly this time.” Her tone was as cold and precise as ever, as if Lisa hadn’t just offered her a friendly greeting.
Lisa bit back a sarcastic reply and instead gave a cheery nod. “Got it! Crystal clear. No projector blunders today, I promise.”
Jennie’s fingers paused briefly on the keyboard, as if acknowledging the comment was a waste of time, before resuming her work without a word.
Great talk, Lisa thought with a sigh. She scurried off to the boardroom.
---
The boardroom was in better shape than the day before, Lisa noted, mostly because she had preemptively checked every possible issue earlier. Still, she ran a quick test of the video call system just to be sure. Everything seemed to be working fine—until it wasn’t.
The screen flickered, then froze on an unflattering image of Jennie from yesterday’s meeting, caught mid-sentence with her mouth slightly open.
Lisa blinked at the screen in disbelief. “Oh no. Oh, no, no, no.”
She frantically tried to reboot the system, muttering under her breath, “Come on, don’t do this to me. Not today. Anything but this.”
Jennie’s face stared back at her, pixelated and stuck in an expression that could only be described as ‘judgmental.’
Lisa tried hitting a few buttons, pulling up the control panel to reset the software, but the screen stubbornly refused to cooperate. She swore it was mocking her.
Footsteps echoed from the hallway, and before Lisa could fix the problem, Jennie appeared in the doorway. Lisa froze, trying to block the screen with her body, as if that would somehow prevent Jennie from seeing it.
“Is everything ready?” Jennie asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as they flicked to the side of the room where the screen flickered with her frozen, pixelated image.
Lisa plastered a smile on her face, trying to act casual. “Totally! Just... uh... running a final check to make sure everything’s... smooth.”
Jennie stepped past her, glancing at the screen. Her eyebrow lifted as she took in the glitchy image of herself, and for a moment, Lisa was sure this was it—the end of her very short career at Kim Industries.
“This is what you call smooth?” Jennie’s voice was ice, cutting through the air.
Lisa chuckled nervously. “Well, technically it’s *frozen*, but we’re working on that! Don’t worry, I’m all over it.” She frantically pressed more buttons, hoping something—*anything*—would work. The screen stubbornly remained frozen.
Jennie sighed, crossing her arms. “I thought I made it clear that there’s no room for errors here, Ms. Manoban. If you’re not up for the job—”
“Oh, I’m totally up for it!” Lisa interrupted, turning around with the kind of optimism only the doomed could muster. “I thrive under pressure! This? This is nothing. Just a small fire.”
“Small fire,” Jennie repeated, her voice dry. “We’re about to video call with our board of directors, and you’re comparing this situation to a ‘small fire.’”
Lisa forced another smile. “A *manageable* small fire. You know, like... lighting birthday candles. Not the ‘evacuate-the-building’ type of fire.”
Jennie’s unimpressed gaze lingered on her for a beat too long before she shifted her attention back to the screen. “Fix it,” she ordered, her tone making it sound less like a suggestion and more like a life-or-death command.
Lisa nodded rapidly and grabbed the remote, hoping to reset the entire system this time. After a few agonizing seconds, the screen finally blinked back to life, displaying the welcome screen for the video call software. Lisa couldn’t help but pump her fist in silent victory.
“There we go! Smooth as butter,” she announced, grinning as though she’d just defused a bomb.
Jennie remained impassive. “Good. Now, double-check that the connection with the Hong Kong board is stable, and ensure there are no more ‘birthday candle fires’ before the meeting starts.”
Lisa resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the jab. “Got it. No more fires. Consider me your very own in-house firefighter.”
Jennie ignored the comment and turned on her heel, heading back to her office without another word.
Once she was out of earshot, Lisa let out a deep breath and leaned against the wall. “Great job, Lisa,” she muttered sarcastically. “Day two and you’re already flirting with disaster.”
---
By noon, the video call had gone off without any further hitches. Lisa managed to avoid catastrophe, though the entire time, she could feel Jennie’s icy presence looming over her like a dark cloud. Even when Jennie wasn’t looking at her, she felt like she was being watched, evaluated, and silently judged.
When the meeting finally ended, Lisa cleared the boardroom, tidying up the space and trying to de-stress after another tense morning. As she was stacking papers, Jennie appeared again, standing at the door.
“Ms. Manoban,” Jennie said, her voice even and cool as ever. “I’ll need you to handle something else for me this afternoon. There’s a dinner event tonight with potential investors. You’ll be accompanying me.”
Lisa blinked, nearly dropping the stack of papers. “Wait. Me? Accompanying you? To a fancy dinner?”
Jennie’s eyes narrowed slightly, as though she couldn’t believe Lisa would question her instructions. “Yes. Is that going to be a problem?”
“Oh, no problem at all!” Lisa quickly stammered. “I just didn’t expect... you know... to be the plus-one to your very important business dinner.”
“You’re not a plus-one,” Jennie clarified icily. “You’re my assistant. I expect you to be professional, efficient, and, preferably, invisible.”
Lisa gave a mock salute, though she toned it down quickly when she realized Jennie wasn’t one for playful gestures. “Got it. Professional and invisible. I’m basically a ninja.”
Jennie didn’t react to that. Instead, she handed Lisa a small envelope. “Here’s the invitation with the details. I expect you there by 7:30 sharp. Do not be late.”
Lisa took the envelope, nodding earnestly. “I’ll be there early. Fifteen minutes early,” she promised with a slight smirk.
Jennie’s lips twitched, almost as if she were about to smile—but then she turned and walked away before Lisa could be sure.
Lisa watched her go, letting out a low whistle. “Man, that woman is a glacier.” She glanced down at the invitation, then back toward the door. “A very gorgeous, terrifying glacier.”
Continue...
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Beneath the Ice
HumorLalisa Manoban had her life mapped out: gain real-world business experience before taking over her father's conglomerate. When she lands a job as the personal secretary to Jennie Kim, the sharpest and most feared CEO in the industry, she thinks she'...
