Jennie stared at Jisoo, her mind reeling. The head editor had caught her in the hall just outside Taehyung's office and stopped to tell her that she had just gotten off the phone with Lisa. She wanted to discuss the possibility of doing a book-signing tour, but she wanted Jennie to fly to Jeju to explain the particulars.
Jennie couldn't believe it. She didn't believe it. Why was she sending for her? Perhaps the Manoban blood bank had run out of blood, some bit of her mind whispered snidely, and she winced in pain. It didn't matter why she wanted her to go to Jeju. She couldn't do it. She wouldn't survive another encounter with her. At least her heart wouldn't. She wasn't at all sure it had survived the conference. It was still battered and bloody.
"I'm awfully busy, Jisoo. Couldn't Taehyung fly up there in my place? Maybe he could take over Lisa altogether, in fact," she added hopefully. "It would probably be for the best. I don't think I can handle Lisa."
"The hell you can't!"
Jennie whirled around as Jimin moved up the hall to join them.
"If there's a possibility we can get the woman to do that tour, you're going. The expense of your flight there and back is minuscule compared to how much that book chain was willing to put out for this tour. And the opportunity for publicity is incredible. It means articles in newspapers of every city the tour hits, maybe even television interviews. If you want to keep your job, you'll get your tail on the next available flight and convince Pranpriya to do this tour."
Jennie didn't bother correcting Jimin about Lisa's real name. She was too busy considering quitting. Unfortunately, she couldn't afford to quit. She had bills to pay. Taking her silence for acquiescence, Jimin harrumphed and turned to stalk back up the hall to her office.
"It'll be fine," Jisoo assured her with a pat on the arm. Then she too went back to her office.
"So, Lisa is finally sending for you."
Jennie turned to find Taehyung standing in her office doorway, smiling.
"Just to discuss the book-signing tour," Jennie said in dismissal. He headed for her office.
Taehyung snorted with disbelief and followed. "Yeah, right. Like Lisa Manoban will do a book tour. Forget about it. She wants you."
Jennie sat down at her desk with a sigh. "Close the door please, Taehyung. I don't want everyone to know about this." She waited until he had closed the door, then said, "She doesn't want me."
"Are you kidding? The woman's crazy about you."
"Yeah," Jennie muttered dryly. "I could tell that by the way she's been calling and sending me flowers."
Taehyung sat on the corner of the desk and shrugged. "Hey, you're the one who sneaked out of our suite like a thief. You've gotta figure she might hesitate, maybe think you're the one not interested."
Jennie stiffened. That thought hadn't occurred to her. Hope reared its pitiful head. "Do you think so?"
"I'd stake your life on it."
Jennie blinked, then gave a half smile. "My life, huh?"
"Yeah." he grinned and shoved himself off her desk, walked to the door. "Well, I'm ninety-nine percent sure, but I'm not suicidal. Better you than me if I'm wrong." Then he left.
Jennie watched the door close behind him, then peered at the paperwork on her desk. The conference had put her behind. She'd tried to catch up on returning, but was so distracted she seemed to just be slipping further behind. She wasn't going to get any further ahead now, either. Not till she found out where she stood with Lisa.
