Tulips and Roses

Chapter 12, some changes

Jisoo was overjoyed. For three days, she had been in regular contact with Rosie. She had repeatedly apologised for not calling, in all honesty, she was just too busy. Things had returned to normal for her and she was making sure that there were absolutely no slip ups, from anyone. Not to mention she still had those audits to worry about. But, for the most part, her business and employees were thriving.

The only person who was truly suffering from this was Lisa. Because of her new association with Jisoo's work life, the dancer had to clean up her act. It lead to a sharp decrease in her parties and she had to actually check who showed up to them. She was livid.

Unluckily for Jisoo, Lisa had formally arranged a meeting with her for the first time, meaning that she could not simply remove her from the building, which had been done before. Lisa sat in front of her, tapping her foot, arms crossed, "I'm not taking the pictures down."

Jisoo peered down at the photos on her desk of her friend in a drunken state, she had them prepared just to prove a point, "Why do you even want them there?"

"It's when I'm having fun," Lisa raised an eyebrow, "Do you remember what fun is, Miss Kim?"

The business woman frowned, "They're just photos."

"Their just photos!" Lisa repeats, "What goes on my Instagram is none of your damn business."

"Except," Jisoo dragged three of them to rest directly next to each other in front of Lisa, "I'm in the background. That feels like my business."

Lisa sighed, "But you're laughing... those ones are old photos."

Jisoo gave her a small smile, "I know you have them saved on your phone."

"You know me too well," Lisa read Jisoo's gaze, realising she was not going to win this battle, "I'll take down the ones you're in, that's it."

"An excellent start," Jisoo sorted through them, finding all seven of them, "These are your problem ones."

Lisa nodded, taking a photo of them on her phone so she would remember, "Are we done then?"

Jisoo leaned back in her chair, "This is your meeting, Miss Manoban. Are we done?"

Lisa smiled, "How's Rosie?"

Jisoo gaped at her, "Excuse me?"

Lisa's smile grew, "So you did find her number then..."

Jisoo decided to keep quiet on the fact that Rosie had called her. She nodded her head, "She's doing well," Lisa tried to force more out, but Jisoo ignored her, "I think we're done here."

Annoyed, the dancer rolled her eyes, "We better not be."

Jisoo suppressed a smirk, "There is one thing..."

"What?"

The business woman glanced over at her assistant, who had been hard at work, the two made brief eye contact before Jennie returned to her screen. Jisoo rested her gaze back onto Lisa, "My assistant will be shadowing you for a while."

Lisa's eyes widened, "I'm not a babysitter."

"She's older than you, and more than capable of looking after herself," Jisoo defended, "She will help you adjust to some changes your about to accommodate."

"Why does anything have to change?" Lisa complained.

"You're a dancer, not a sorority girl," Jisoo snapped, silencing her friend. Jisoo calmed down, "You're one of the best performers out there and barely anyone sees it. I want the world to recognise you and your skill."

Lisa nodded, defeated, "So do I."

Jisoo felt her voice become quieter, "Jennie can sort through your lists, organise your schedule and make sure you have time to eat and sleep. She will be invaluable if you let her." She glanced over at her assistant again, "Besides, she's at the very least more mature than you give her credit for. Especially if you're the other party involved."

Jennie, who had remained silent throughout all of this, piped up, "Do I get a say in this boss?"

"No," Jisoo responded flatly, "You are to remain by her side for the next couple weeks, no excuses."

Jennie muttered something Jisoo could not hear before responding with, "Fine."

With that, Lisa rose from her seat and left the office, smiling briefly at her friend, still conflicted with her decisions. The door closed quietly. The assistant stopped typing.

Jennie leaned back in her seat, "I don't want to go."

"I know."

Jennie crossed her arms, feeling undermined with Jisoo's decision, "My work is here, I'm payed to do better things than party lists and schedules."

"Where are you going to go with that outlook?" Jisoo scolded, "Lisa needs an adult to help her grow up and I considered you to be one."

Jennie dropped her tone, "I am."

"Good," Jisoo pulled out a folder from her desk drawer she needed to review, "You begin tomorrow."

Jennie groaned in frustration. Jisoo let out a quiet chuckle at her assistant's silliness, "If it's any consolation, I didn't want to have to pick you," She confessed, "But I know you're the only one around here with the guts to get people moving, no matter who they are."

"So you do notice," Jennie tried and failed to stop a smile form, she paused for a moment, "I'm glad to know you care." She admitted.

"We were raised together, why wouldn't I? You're like a little sister," Jisoo muttered the last bit so Jennie would not hear, "I know it was you who gave Rosie my number."

"Sorry?" Jennie called.

Jisoo cleared her throat, "You're smarter than most people realise."

Her assistants smile grew, "That I am."

The two continued to work in a comfortable silence, Jisoo realising that there is a voicemail on her phone from a particular florist. As much as she wanted to share this moment like a teenage girl, Jisoo had to at least pretend like she had a solely business related relationship with her assistant.

Though it took some time, Jennie eventually had to leave to go visit the other building. As soon as she left, Jisoo opened the message, holding the phone to her ear.

"Hi Jisoo! I hope you're having a good day," Jisoo smiled, she loved that accent, "Things are slowing down here and I was wondering if you were free for lunch tomorrow? I could pick you up at the office, or maybe you could come get me? Let me know. I'm gonna go, it's a bit weird talking to myself. I hope to see you soon, bye."

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