Lisa & Rokko - Missed Chances (english version)

Chapter 4

Unfazed by the curious looks and whispered conversations, Rokko walked with determination towards Petersen's office. Petersen understood immediately and followed him. On the way, he turned to his new assistant: "I don't want to be disturbed for now."
Then he followed Rokko into the office.

Almost all the employees present had gathered in small and larger groups.
The employees who had worked with him during the time when he was Kerima's PR manager informed those who had joined later about every little detail of the broken engagement and the relationship drama surrounding Lisa, Rokko, and the former junior boss.

Just as he was about to close the door, Mr. Seidel Senior entered. "What's going on out there? With all the commotion, you'd think the Pope had just marched in here with one of our models," he offered as a possible explanation for the unusual excitement of the usually more focused staff, until his gaze finally landed on Kerima's former PR manager.

"No one has ever compared me to the Pope," he replied with a brief, almost nonexistent smile. "Mr. Kowalski." "What have we done to deserve this honor?" asked Friedrich, clearly surprised. "I heard Kerima is in trouble." "You heard right. We've had a tough time and, I'm afraid, more of it lies ahead." "And that's exactly why I'm here." Friedrich and Max exchanged a questioning look. "What do you mean by that?" A faint glimmer of hope was in his voice. "I'll help you." Max let out a joyful laugh, while Friedrich was speechless. "Under a few conditions," added the advertising expert. "What conditions are we talking about?" Max asked.

As Lisa focused on her work, oblivious to the events that could be crucial for the company's future, a knock on her door interrupted her, and Helga entered.

"Lisa, sweetheart, I'm going to the market to ensure my temporarily replacement has everything she needs for the next two weeks. Should I bring you something?"
"No thanks, Mom, I don't need anything," she declined, already turning her attention back to her work. But when she heard her mother's steps getting closer and then stopping in front of her desk, she looked up at her with a questioning gaze. "Uh, Lisa," Helga began. It was clear she didn't know how to approach the topic.

"Is everything really okay with you?"
"Yes, yes, of course, what could be wrong?" came the overly cheerful and quick reply. Helga studied Lisa's face closely, as if the answer to all the secrets and worries that her daughter seemed to be hiding could be found in her reaction. "It's just... you haven't visited us in such a long time, and then suddenly you show up at our door, and you're completely changed. You don't seem particularly happy, and now you're throwing yourself into work." When Lisa just avoided her gaze and didn't answer, she quickly added, "Please don't get me wrong. I'm so glad to have you back with us, but you seem like something is bothering you. Did you have a fight with David? Is that why you're here without him?" It took a few moments for Lisa to think about how she could respond.
"Everything's really fine, but you know what's going on here. I don't have any choice but to dive into work."
"David and I had more than enough time to relax." She briefly referred to her soon-to-be ex-husband to distract her mother from the assumptions she was making.

Helga realized there was more to it but knew she wouldn't get anything else from her daughter right now. So, she gave up for the time being.

"Well, if anything is troubling you, you know you can always talk to me and your father."

"Yes, I know, and I'm really grateful for that." Helga smiled at her daughter once more before leaving her office. The unmistakable worry that her mother unsuccessfully tried to hide with the smile dissolved Lisa's concentration into thin air. So, she pushed her chair back from her desk, grabbed her scarf and coat, and left Kerima heading towards Jürgen's kiosk.

Both of them looked expectantly at Rokko, eagerly awaiting his response. "I'm only here temporarily. Once the company has recovered from the worst and is back on track, we will part ways again. I need regular working hours. Some days, I need to leave early in the afternoon. I won't let myself get consumed by the chaos in this company again. But other than that, I'll do my best to help you and the company. And the last and most important condition: I don't want to work with Lisa or David, as far as it can be avoided." Both Max and Friedrich were surprised by his demands. They had expected anything, but not that he would set such modest conditions. "When can you start?"

As the doorbell of the small kiosk rang, Jürgen turned around to greet his customer. When he spotted his best friend, he couldn't help but grin. Lisa didn't visit him as often anymore, unlike when she worked as David's assistant, probably because she was no longer unhappily in love with her boss, and thus had little to report or complain about, which had typically been the reason behind her constant visits.

But compared to the many years he hadn't seen her, with their communication limited to a handful of letters and a few sporadic phone calls, mostly on birthdays and holidays, it was a stark contrast and a welcome change. "Lisa!" he beamed. "What do I owe this honor?" He immediately grabbed a cup and poured her some coffee, which she graciously accepted before sitting down on the bench. He joined her moments later, carrying his own cup of coffee, and sat beside her. Despite Jürgen's expectant look, her eyes stayed on the warm drink in her hand for a while before she lifted her gaze and began to speak.

"My mom is worrying too much about me. I think she realizes something's not right." Jürgen raised his eyebrows. "You've been here for weeks with no sign of David or any mention of him. What did you expect? That they'd think you're in some kind of happy long-distance relationship where you see each other every few years? Especially since it's obvious to anyone that something is weighing on you."
"You're right, but what am I supposed to do?"
"Have you tried the truth? I've heard that helps," He couldn't resist a sarcastic remark. "I just don't know how they're going to react. You know my father thinks highly of David, and my mother... I just don't want them to worry." "Well, they obviously already are. There's only one way to find out how they'll react: you need to tell them."

Talking to Jürgen helped her see things more clearly. Just like when she returned to Berlin and Kerima, she had been stopped by her fear of the unknown consequences from taking action. And where that could lead was clearly shown by her marriage to David.
She didn't want to act impulsively again, like she had with Rokko. So, she chose to leave things as they were. But her parents didn't deserve to be worrying about her without reason, especially since she wasn't dealing with her nightmarish marriage anymore, but with how her life had turned out and the dreams that had been crushed.

Lisa had her hands in her coat pockets as she walked back to Kerima. She took her hands out of her pockets and loosened her wedding ring, which she still wore for appearance's sake, before looking at it for a moment. The ring and the weight of the memories attached to it weighed heavily on her finger, constantly reminding her of her bad decision. As she entered the Kerima elevator, she didn't realize that her past love, which had once been the answer to all her problems and fears and the main source of her happiness, was much closer than she ever expected. At the same time, that very person was waiting for the elevator to come so he could go home after his successful conversation. When the elevator arrived, he got in. At the same moment, when his door closed, the door of the other elevator opened, and Lisa stepped out. Today was not yet the day when she and her life would find their way back to happiness...