Beneath the Ice

Chapter 9

The Monday following the Gala, Lisa arrived at the office with a renewed sense of determination. Sure, the event had been stressful, but she had survived—not only that, she had fixed things. She was feeling confident, maybe even a little too confident.

But as the saying goes, pride comes before the fall.

Lisa had barely made it to her desk when Jennie called her into the office. No pleasantries, just the usual clipped, “Ms. Manoban, now.”

Taking a deep breath, Lisa walked into Jennie’s pristine office, bracing herself for whatever new challenge was about to be thrown her way.

Jennie, of course, was already working, looking up only briefly when Lisa entered. “There’s a merger meeting this afternoon,” Jennie said, her voice as cold and efficient as ever. “I need you to prepare the files and arrange for the department heads to be present. We’re meeting in the boardroom at 3:00.”

Lisa nodded quickly, pulling out her phone to make notes. “Got it. Files, department heads, boardroom. Anything else?”

Jennie paused, her gaze flicking up to meet Lisa’s. “And I’d appreciate it if you avoided any... unusual incidents this time.”

Lisa blinked. “Unusual incidents?”

Jennie’s expression didn’t change. “No flying phones. No misplaced documents. And certainly no cats on the projector.”

Lisa’s mouth fell open in mock offense. “I’ll have you know, that cat was adorable. I’m just saying—people love animals. It was probably the best part of the presentation.”

Jennie didn’t even blink. “Ms. Manoban, do I need to remind you that professionalism is non-negotiable?”

Lisa gave her a sheepish grin. “Nope! You’ve made that crystal clear. No cats, no chaos. Got it.”

Jennie returned her attention to her computer, clearly dismissing her. “Good. I’ll see you at the meeting.”

Lisa walked out of the office, grinning to herself. Sure, Jennie was strict, but there was something almost entertaining about how seriously she took everything. It was like trying to impress a statue made of ice—impossible, but kind of fun in its own terrifying way.

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The rest of the morning went smoothly, or at least as smoothly as things ever went for Lisa. She managed to get all the department heads on board, prepped the files for the merger meeting, and even triple-checked the AV equipment to make sure there would be no surprise cat photos this time.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, Lisa was feeling good about the meeting. She grabbed her tablet and headed for the elevator, ready to get everything set up in the boardroom.

But, of course, nothing ever went according to plan when Lisa was involved.

As she stepped into the elevator, she hit the button for the top floor and leaned back, tapping idly on her tablet. Just as the doors were about to close, someone else stepped in. Lisa glanced up, and her stomach did a little flip.

It was Jennie.

Lisa quickly straightened, awkwardly clutching her tablet like it was a shield. “Oh, hey! Heading to the meeting?”

Jennie gave her a cool glance. “Obviously.”

Right. Dumb question, Lisa.

They stood in silence as the elevator ascended, the soft hum of the machinery the only sound. Lisa fidgeted, glancing at Jennie out of the corner of her eye. How did Jennie always manage to look so composed? It was like she had a force field around her that blocked out all forms of chaos—and Lisa was all chaos.