Jennie's POV
By the time we both take a shower and lie back in bed it's almost four in the morning.
"I have to be up in an hour," I groan against her chest.
"You could sleep until seven thirty and still make it on time," she reminds me. Rushing my morning doesn't sound very appealing, but I do need the sleep. Thankfully, I took that nap, so I hopefully won't be dead on my feet during my first day of actually working at Vance.
"Mmm . . ." I mumble against her skin. "I'll fix your alarm," she says and I drift off.
MY EYES ARE BURNING from lack of sleep as I try to curl my unruly hair. I line my watery eyes with brown eyeliner and put on my new ruby dress. The neckline is square and just low enough to accentuate my bust without being immodest. The hem ends just above my knees and the small brown belt across my waist gives the illusion that I took longer to get ready than I actually did. I consider putting on a little blush, but thanks to my night with Lisa, my cheeks are still glowing. I slip into my new shoes and check myself out in the mirror. The dress is quite flattering, and I look better than I deserve. I glance over at Lisa wrapped in the blanket on my tiny bed, her feet dangling off the edge, and I smile. I wait until the very last minute to wake her. I consider not waking her at all, but I am selfish and want to kiss her goodbye.
"I have to leave," I say and gently shake her shoulder.
"I love you," she mumbles and puckers her lips without opening her eyes. "Are you going to class?" I ask after I kiss her.
"Nope," she says and rolls back over.
I place another kiss on her shoulder and grab my jacket and purse. I want to crawl back in bed with her so badly. Maybe living with her wouldn't be so bad; we spend almost every night together anyway. I shake the thought from my head. It's a bad idea; it's too soon. Too soon.
Still, I spend the entire drive imagining getting an apartment with Lisa, picking out curtains and painting walls. By the time I hit the elevator at Vance, I've already picked out the shower curtain and bathmats, but when the elevator reaches the third floor a young man in a dark navy suit steps on and breaks my concentration.
"Hello," he says and reaches for the elevator buttons. Seeing that the button for the top floor has already been pushed, he leans back against the wall of the elevator.
"Are you new here?" he asks. He smells like soap, and his eyes are a crispy blue, which is a strange contrast to his dark hair.
"I'm just an intern," I tell him. "Just an intern?" He laughs.
"I mean, I am an intern, not an actual employee," I correct myself nervously.
"I started as an intern a few years ago and was hired on full-time. Do you go to WCU?"
"Yeah, did you?"
"Yep, just graduated last year. Glad that's over with." He chuckles. "You'll like it here."
"Thanks, I already love it," I say as we step off the elevator.
As I go to turn the corner, he says, "I never caught your name."
"Jennie Ruby Jane Kim, Jennie"
He smiles and with a small goodbye wave says, "I'm Taehyung. Nice to meet you, Jennie."
The same woman from yesterday is at the desk and this time introduces herself as Kimberly. She smiles, wishes me good luck, and gestures toward a table full of food and coffee. I smile and thank her, grabbing a sprinkled donut and a cup of coffee before I head back to my office. On my desk I find a thick pile of paper with a note from Mr. Vance telling me to begin my first manuscript and good luck. I love the freedom of this internship—I can't believe my luck. Digging into my donut, I pluck the note off the paper and get to work.
The manuscript is actually really good, and I can't seem to put it down.
I'm only a third of the way in when the phone on my desk rings.
"Hello?" I say, then realize I have no clue how to answer my own office phone. Wanting to sound more grown-up, I add, "I mean, Jennie Kim's office." I bite my lip and hear a small laugh on the other end.
"Ms. Kim, there is someone here to see you. Shall I send her in?" Kimberly asks.
"Jennie. Call me Jennie, please," I tell her. It seems disrespectful to have her call me Ms. Kim; she is far more experienced and older than me.
"Jennie," she says, and I can picture her friendly smile. "Should I send her in?" she asks again.
"Oh yeah. Wait . . . who is it?"
"I'm not sure . . . young woman . . . um . . . she has tattoos, lots of tattoos," she whispers and I laugh.
"Yeah, I will come out to get her," I tell her and hang up.
That Lisa is here both thrills me and scares me. I hope everything is okay. When I walk out into the lobby she is standing with her hands in her pockets and Kimberly is on the phone. I get the feeling that she is only pretending to be on the phone, I can't tell for sure. I hope that it doesn't seem like I am taking advantage of the great opportunity Mr. Vance has given me by having visitors on my second day.
"Hey, is everything okay?" I approach her.
"Yeah, I just wanted to see how your first full day was going." She smiles and rolls her eyebrow ring in her fingers.
"Oh. It's great I—" I begin, but stop when Mr. Vance strides toward us. "Well . . . well . . . well . . . Come to grovel for your job back?" He smiles wide at Lisa and pats Lisa on the shoulder.
"You wish, you old wanker," Lisa says, laughing, and my jaw drops. Mr. Vance chuckles and raises his fist before playfully nudging Lisa in her ribs. They must be closer than I thought.
"So what do I owe the honor? Or are you here to stalk my new intern?" He looks over at me.
"The second. Stalking interns is my favorite pastime." I look back and forth between them, unsure what to say. I love seeing this playful side to Lisa; it doesn't come out much.
"Do you have time to get some lunch, if you haven't already?" Lisa asks me. My eyes dart to the clock on the wall; it's already noon. The day has gone by quickly.
I look at Mr. Vance and he shrugs. "You have an hour each day for lunch. A girl's got to eat!" He smiles and says goodbye to Lisa before disappearing down the hall.
"I texted you a few times to make sure you got here, but you didn't answer," Lisa tells me when we step onto the elevator.
"I haven't looked at my phone, I got sucked into a story," I tell her and I reach for her hand.
"You're okay, right? We are okay?" she asks, her eyes locked into mine. "Yeah, why wouldn't we be?"
"I . . . I don't know . . . I was just getting worried because you weren't answering me. I had thought . . . maybe you were starting to regret last night." She looks down.
"What? Of course not. I honestly didn't check my phone. I have no regrets from last night, not a single one." I can't hide my smile as the memories invade my thoughts.
"Good. Well, that's a damn relief." She lets out a breath.
"You drove all the way here because you thought I was having regrets?" I ask. It's a little extreme, but flattering all the same.
"Yeah . . . well, not completely. I also wanted to take you to lunch." She smiles and lifts my hand to her lips.
We step off the elevator and walk outside. I should have brought my jacket. I shiver and Lisa looks over to me.
"I have a jacket in my car. We can grab it, then walk around the corner to Brio—it's really good." We walk to her car and she pulls a black leather jacket out of her trunk, which makes me laugh. She must have an entire wardrobe in there. Ever since I met her she's been pulling clothes out of that trunk.
The jacket is surprisingly warm and smells like Lisa. It engulfs me, of course, so I shake my arms to push the sleeves up.
"Thank you." I kiss her on her jaw. "It looks good on you—perfect fit."
She takes my hand as we walk down the sidewalk; we earn a few strange glances from the businessmen and -women on the streets. Sometimes I forget how different we appear on the outside. We are polar opposites in almost every way, but somehow it works for us.
Brio is a small but quaint Italian place. The floor is covered in beautiful multicolored tiles and the ceiling is a mural of heaven, with chubby smiling cherubs waiting outside white gates, and a pair of angels—one white and one black—locked in an embrace beyond them. The white angel seems to be trying to pull the other through the gates to the other side.
"Jen?" Lisa says and pulls me by the sleeve.
"Coming," I mumble and we walk to the table, which is set in the back of the restaurant. Lisa sits in the chair right next to me instead of across, pulling her chair closer and resting her elbows on the table. She orders for both of us, but I don't mind since she's been here before.
"So you and Mr. Vance are really close, then?" I ask.
"I wouldn't say that. But we know each other well enough." She shrugs. "You seemed to really get along, I like seeing you that way."
The hint of a smile tugs at her lips and she puts her hand on my thigh. "Do you now?"
"Yes, I like to see you happy." I feel like there is more behind her and Mr. Vance's relationship than she is telling me, but for now I am not going to push it.
"I am happy. Happier than I thought I would be . . . ever," she adds. "What has gotten into you? You're getting soft on me," I tease and she chuckles.
"I can knock over a few tables, bloody a few noses to remind you," she says and I push my shoulder into her.
"No, thanks." I giggle.
Our food arrives and I thank the waitress. The food looks amazing, and I inhale the great aromas before taking a bite. Lisa ordered us some sort of ravioli, and it's delicious.
"Good, huh?" she brags and fills her mouth with food. I nod and do the same.
After we're finished, Lisa and I bicker about who is going to pay for lunch, but she ends up winning.
"You can pay me back later." She winks behind the waitress's back.
When we walk back to VP, Lisa follows me inside. "You're coming up?" I ask her.
"Yeah, I wanted to see your office, then I will go. Promise."
"Deal," I tell her and we step onto the elevator. When we reach the top floor I give her, her jacket back and she shrugs it on. My eyes widen at how hot she looks in the leather.
"Hey, it's you again." The guy in the navy suit says as we walk down the hall.
"And it's you again." I smile.
His eyes dart to Lisa, who introduces herself.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Taehyung; I work in finance." He give a little wave, then says, "Well, see you around," and walks away.
When we walk into my office Lisa grabs my wrist and turns me to face her. "What the hell was that?" she spits out.
Is she joking? I look down at my wrist in her hand and take that as a no.
Her grip isn't tight, but it holds me in place. "What?"
"That guy?"
"What about him? I just met him this morning in the elevator." I pull my wrist away.
"It didn't seem like you just met; the two of you were just flirting in front of me."
I can't help it, but I let out a laugh that's more like a bark. "What? You're insane if you think that was flirting. I was being polite and so was he. Why would I flirt with him?" I try to keep my voice down. Causing a scene will not be good for me.
"Why wouldn't you? He was nice and clean-cut, suit and all," Lisa says.
I realize that she seems more hurt and worried than angry. My instincts tell me to cuss her out and tell her to get the hell out, but I decide to take a different approach. Just like when she was breaking things at her father's house.
"Is that what you think? That I want someone like him, someone unlike you?" I ask in a gentle voice.
Lisa opens her eyes wide, taken aback. I know she expected me to blow up at her, but this change of pace slows her down and she contemplates what to say next. "I don't know . . . maybe." Her eyes meet mine.
"Well, you're wrong, as usual." I smile. I need to talk to her about this later, but my need to make sure she knows she has nothing to worry about overpowers my need to correct her.
"I am sorry if you think I was flirting with him, but I wasn't. I wouldn't do that to you," I assure her. Her eyes soften and I bring my hand up to her cheek. How can one person be so strong yet so weak?
"I . . . Okay," she says.
I laugh and caress her cheek. I love catching her off guard. "What is he, when I have you?"
Her eyes flutter and she finally smiles. I am relieved that I am learning how to disengage the bomb that is Lisa. "I love you," she says and presses her lips to mine. "I am sorry for blowing up like that."
"I accept your apology; now let me show you my office!" I say in a cheery voice.
"I don't deserve you," she says quietly, too quietly. I choose to ignore it and keep my uplifting attitude.
"So what do you think?" I beam.
She chuckles and listens intently as I show her every detail, every book on the shelf and the empty picture frame on my desk.
"I was thinking I want to put a picture of us here," I tell her.
We have never taken any pictures together, and the thought hadn't even crossed my mind until I placed the empty frame there. Lisa doesn't seem like the type who would smile for a camera, even on a cell phone.
"Oh. I don't really do pictures," she says, confirming my thoughts.
But when she sees I'm a little embarrassed by being shut down, she strains to say, "I mean . . . I guess I could take one. Just one, though."
"Let's worry about that later." I smile and she seems relieved.
"Now can we move on to how sexy you look in that dress. It's been driving me crazy since I got here." Her voice is a full octave deeper and she takes a step toward me. My body heats immediately; her words never cease to unravel me.
"You're lucky I didn't open my eyes this morning. If I had . . ." She traces her fingertips along the neckline of my dress. "I wouldn't have let you leave."
She brings her other hand to the hem of my dress and caresses my thigh.
"Lisa . . ." I warn. My voice betrays me and comes out as more of a moan.
"What, babe . . . you don't want me to do this?" She lifts me up and sits me on the edge of my desk.
"It's . . ." My thoughts are clouded by her lips against my neck. I dig my fingers into her hair and she nips at my skin. "We can't . . . someone could come in . . . or something." The words are jumbled and don't make much sense. She puts her hands on my thighs and opens them farther.
"There is a lock on the door for a reason . . . I really want to take you right here, on this desk. Or maybe against the window." Her mouth travels lower on my chest. The idea of what she is proposing sends electricity through my body. Her fingers brush over the lace on my panties and she sucks a breath through her teeth.
"You're killing me," she groans as she looks between my legs to see the white lace set I bought yesterday. I can't believe I am letting this happen, on a desk in my new office on the second day of my internship. The idea thrills me as much as it terrifies me.
"Lock the—" I begin, but we are interrupted by the shrill ring of my phone. I jump straight up and scramble around the desk to grab it. "Hello? Jennie Kim speaking!"
"Ms. Kim. Jennie," Kimberly corrects herself. "Mr. Vance is leaving for the day and is on his way to your office," she says with a hint of amusement in her voice.
I flush and thank her. Clearly she can sense how irresistible Lisa is to me.