Lisa & Rokko - Missed Chances (english version)

Chapter 4

It had been several days since Lisa had reappeared at Kerima. She was just coming home after a long day. As usual, she was the first one at the company in the morning and the last to leave in the evening. Just like before, work was a very good distraction from her other worries. As long as she focused on the company's problems, she didn't have to face her own.

She entered her room, which was illuminated by the moonlight, and set her bag and jacket down. Without turning on the light, she slowly walked toward her windowsill and sat down on her usual spot, just like every evening. Carefully, she took out her phone and opened the contact entry for Rokko's number. This was something she did very often, not just since she returned here, but throughout all the years before. She had never been able to bring herself to delete his number. But surely he had changed his number by now, right? After all, it had been almost a decade since she last dialed it. Since then, she had never dared to contact him again. Not only did she have no right to bother him after everything that had happened, but she also had never had the courage to do so.

Even now, she lacked the courage. She didn't know what she should say if he answered. But what if he didn't answer, or perhaps someone else did, because Rokko had long since changed his number? What would she do then? Or, even worse: What if he answered and hung up the moment he realized it was her on the other end? He would have every right to do so. But as long as she didn't know what would happen, she felt safe, because, with all the uncertainty, the idea of contacting him still felt possible in her imagination. She sat there for a while, lost in thought.

She would never find out if she didn't try. Before she could even fully realize her own actions, she had already pressed "Call." With every beep of the phone, her heartbeat increased in speed. As she sat there with the phone to her ear, her gaze suddenly landed on the clock on the wall, which, thanks to the bright moonlight that night, was illuminated enough to remind her of how late it actually was.

She immediately decided to hang up. No matter who the number belonged to, this was not the right time to find out. She had just made the decision to hang up and try another time when the beep on the other end stopped, and a voice spoke up. "Rokko Kowalski," came the voice on the other end, a voice she knew all too well. Lisa was unable to respond, no matter how hard she tried; the words were stuck in her throat. "Hello???" came the voice after what felt like an eternity of complete silence. She realized she had to say something now, or he would hang up again, and she was sure she wouldn't find the courage to call him again. "Rokko..." was all she managed to say. It was a start, but by no means enough to say all she longed to tell him. But how could she put all those important things into words? "Lisa?" came the voice of her ex-fiancé, sounding both surprised and horrified. Now or never: "Please don't hang up. I urgently need your help. Kerima is in the biggest crisis in years, and without you, we can't get out of it. Kerima needs you. I need you," came Lisa's desperate plea. She took a deep breath. She hadn't said any of the things that had been weighing on her soul for years, things that would require a lengthy explanation and thousands of apology drafts she had been working on in her mind over the years, but at least she had managed to say something. She had been waiting for a response to her plea for some time now, but there was nothing. The line was dead silent. "Rokko?" she asked uncertainly. Suddenly, she heard a beep – he had hung up.

A Week Later

Since her phone call—or rather, her monologue with Rokko a few days ago—there hadn't been a minute when she wasn't thinking about it.

How selfish and foolish she had been. She gets the once-in-a-lifetime chance to finally explain everything to him and, at best, ask for his forgiveness, and what does she do? Out of fear, all she does is ask him to save the company of the man she left him for. Great job, Lisa, she thought as she sat alone in her office. Her desk was once again piled high with business documents that she still needed to go through to get a full picture of the company's financial situation. But even she was starting to feel overwhelmed by the amount. She ran her hands through her hair and then grabbed her blue sunflower mug. If she wanted to get through the stack of files in front of her, she desperately needed more coffee. She tried to distract herself from the Rokko topic and focus back on work. She stood up and made her way to the catering area to grab some more.

"Hello, sweetie, nice to see you finally taking a break," her mother greeted her.
"I'm not taking a break, Mom, I just need coffee."
Helga looked at her daughter with a concerned expression.
"Aren't you going to eat something? I can make you a sandwich, or we also have fresh fruit if you want something lighter."

Lisa, who had her back to the Kerima reception area, just shook her head.
From where she was standing, she didn't see the elevator door open, and she didn't see who stepped out. She walked back towards her office with her coffee in hand. Without looking up from her path, she quickly disappeared and therefore didn't hear the surprised voice of Max, who, unlike her, had noticed the person entering. "Mr. Kowalski?"