JenLisa Shots Collection

A Boss, A Mentor, A Lover 1.1

lisa g!p

Lisa

I was 23 when I landed my dream job at ADM Advertising and Marketing, a national firm. I had graduated from college over a year previously so I was getting pretty desperate to find a job to further my chosen career, one that didn't involve waiting tables or mowing lawns. My first boss, the guy who hired me, was on his way out the door, just months from retirement. When he left, a co-worker in my department took over his job as director and became my boss. Her name was Jennie Kim, and I was happy that I'd be reporting to her.

She had treated me well in the several months since my arrival, and I believed she'd make a good supervisor. She'd been with ADM for five years and had impressed management from the day she started. Her promotion was inevitable, and she was earmarked to continue her rise through the company.

Jennie was six years older than me, but never came off as condescending or haughty, even though I was a bit green, this being my first corporate job. Over the next couple of years I tried to learn as much as I could from her and my co-workers. I grew into a reliable idea and creative guy, and I learned pretty quickly. When they finally let me begin pitching concepts to both current and potential clients, the true art of our jobs, I was generally cool under pressure though a bit timid. I needed to learn aggressiveness.

This, Jennie decided, was her responsibility and she took it upon herself to take me under her wing. "Manoban," she said one day after a client meeting, "you've got a lot of potential, but you need more balls. I'll teach you. From here on out, you're going to meetings with me." It was this kind of good-natured ribbing and tough love I'd come to expect from Jennie. She was definitely tough as nails and expected everyone who worked with and for her to be the same way.

She wasn't unfair by any means, but she had no problem ripping into people if they didn't perform up to potential. She'd never chewed me out for anything before, perhaps she'd given me some honest criticisms here and there, but she never called me out, embarrassed me or questioned my intelligence. Instead she allowed me to mature in my role, without undermining my confidence.

Because of this, I respected Jennie a great deal. And I got a lot better at my job while she was mentoring me. Over the next year and a half, I attended every client proposal meeting with her. At first I was a bit intimidated, but soon enough we built a work report that was something to be reckoned with.

Our success rate slowly grew through the roof. In high-pressure meetings, Jennie would play the role of aggressor while I'd temper her hard-ass routine with wit and humor, putting clients at ease. The result of this good cop/bad cop routine was that clients knew we had good creative ideas with their best interests at heart, but we also meant business. So we consistently got great results and made damn good money for the company.

"Lisa, I gotta tell ya, you're getting better every day," Jennie said to me as we were leaving a particularly good initial meeting with a potential client. "Thanks Jennie," I replied, "I really feel like I'm getting the hang of this."

"Oh great, only took you, what, four years?" Her ball-busting had become more frequent the more successful we were. I didn't mind it at all. I had really grown to like Jennie, and truly there was a lot to admire about her. She was a great boss, a good motivator with solid instincts who was loyal to her team. She was driven and also took good care of herself. She exercised regularly, packed a healthy lunch for herself every day, and consistently had great energy and mental strength. She was average height, about 5'2". Her exercise regimen left her toned and sleek, but not in the least bit unfeminine. In fact, she had soft curves, especially in her waist, hips and backside.