Tulips and Roses

Chapter 5, Decisions

"Design three!"

"No."

The women had been arguing for hours. Lisa came in at seven o' clock on the day Jisoo had scheduled her meeting with Rosie. She had already apologised to the the companies she had missed due to her friend's stubbornness. Every time she said any of the options, Lisa would always respond with 'no'.

Jisoo did not have time for this, even with an assistant to pick up the slack, she would be buckling down on reports she missed for the next week. Her trusty helper Jennie decided that her bosses endless argument was more important that her work.

Jisoo rubbed her temples, "What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing, I like number three too," Lisa responded.

Jisoo wanted to slap her, "Good. We're done."

The dancer smiles, "No. We're not." She turned her head to face Jennie, "Can you go outside for a minute please?"

Jennie nodded, making her way to the exit. Once she left, Lisa turned back to Jisoo, "So?"

The business woman crossed her arms, "So what?"

She leaned on the table, "How has your florist been?"

"My florist? You're the one who hired her," Jisoo snapped.

"Don't think I didn't hear about that little meeting, Miss Kim," Lisa smirked, "She's growing on you."

Jisoo scoffed, "You were supposed to have this sorted last month! I'm making sure it gets done."

"So that's why you kept the business card..."

Jisoo froze, knowing that she had been caught. She took the first and second designs and placed them into the paper recycling bin next to her seat. When she looked back at Lisa, the girl was doing everything in her power to stop herself from laughing.

"If you say anything-"

"Why would I?" Lisa smiled, "This is so much better."

There was a knock on the door. A red cheeked Jennie pops her head through, very giggly. The florist had arrived. The two came in, Jennie ecstatic, Rosie mildly uncomfortable. Lisa seemed disgruntled by the whole thing.

The business woman sat up in her chair, "Jennie, how long has she been here?"

Instantly, her assistant's smile was gone. With a mutual understanding, Jennie apologised and left. Lisa excused herself to the bathroom. That left Jisoo and Rosie to themselves.

After a minute or two, Jisoo cleared her throat, "Why don't you take a seat."

Hurriedly, Rosie walked over and sat in what was Lisa's chair. Jisoo pushed the chosen design towards the florist's end of the table. Glancing, Rosie smiled, "I hoped you would pick that one."

Jisoo nodded, "It's quite beautiful."

For a minute the two girls sat in silence; Rosie examining at the sketch, Jisoo taking in Rosie. The business woman had noticed that she was nearly wearing the exact same thing as before, the only difference being that the flannel was blue instead of green. They both suited her.

Rosie pointed at a part of the arrangement, "I don't like that, it needs to be changed."

"Oh," Jisoo looked down to see Rosie pointing at a lily.

"What do you think?" Rosie inquired, trying to make sense of it with her experience in flower arranging.

"Maybe a rose? It would be pretty," said Jisoo, who has no experience with flower arranging.

Rosie smiled softly, "Maybe," She said, "But we should try to keep it on theme."

"Why aren't roses in the theme?" Questioned Jisoo.

There was a moment of silence. Rosie's eyes darted round the room, avoiding Jisoo's powerful gaze. Her fingers intertwined with each other, then released. In her curiosity, Jisoo placed a hand on top of her restless ones, removing it shortly after. She could feel tingles in her fingers. Rosie's hands had stopped fidgeting.

Finally, Rosie took in a breath, "I can't afford to buy that many in," she confessed, "Especially in that colour, I would have to out source them from a much more expensive vendor."

"You're not paying, I am," Jisoo said, triumphantly, "Are there any more changes?"

"N-no?"

The business women smiled, "Then we're done-"

"What about me?" Lisa called, entering the office, clearly in a much better mood, "Jisoo, you cruel being, what did you change on Rosie's lovely design?"

She stood by the door, hands in her hips. Clearly, something had cheered her up. Lisa strutted towards the table like a runway model, her steps demanded silence. The dancer stood behind Rosie's chair, resting her hands on the back of the seat. Lisa waited for a response, Rosie stayed quiet.

"Lilies are out, I want roses," Jisoo summarises.

"Do you?" Lisa smirks, "What did Rosie think about this?"

"I asked for her to make the change," She said softly.

Lisa took her hands off the seat, moving round to the chair next to Rosie and sitting down. Crossing her legs, she smiled at Jisoo, "I like roses too."

I like it when you're silent, thought Jisoo, shooting a quick glare at Lisa. She returned her gaze to Rosie, who seemed to be enjoying the interaction. When Rosie caught Jisoo staring, she coughed, "I'll have a prototype ready to be presented this time next week."

Jisoo nodded, satisfied. Lisa frowned, "A whole week? How will we cope without you here? No, that's it, you're coming. There's a party I'm throwing," with a moment of realisation, she turned to face Jisoo, "I'm having a party, " she turned back to face Rosie, "It's on Saturday, starts at ten thirty, I would love for you to attend."

Rosie blushes, "Oh, okay."

Jisoo studied the two if them, looks like I'm going to a party.