LISA
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Last night had been going great until Jennie had gone borderline catatonic on me. That woman was such a mystery to me. One minute, she was smarting off to me, as if she were the queen of the world and everyone else were just her minions. Then, she would surprise me and could be tender, even sweet, like when we talked about my dad. It was evident that the real Jennie was hiding behind the protective Jennie. As crazy as it was, I really liked them both.
When we kissed, I'd gotten to see the hot, sexual side of her. That side was my favorite thus far. Her body had melted to mine, and I couldn't wait to claim it. It was like she craved my touch. I sure as hell couldn't get enough of hers. But when I laid her down on the couch, things had gotten weird. The moment I'd put my hand in her shirt to touch her breast, she'd rolled her eyes back and turned into a ragdoll.
It had completely freaked me out. When she started gagging, I'd feared that she had been having a seizure. The tear that had escaped her eye had given me a brief glimpse into the woman that'd been protected by the icy, tough exterior. And fuck if I didn't want to protect her too. She'd not wanted to talk about whatever it was that had upset her, but I would get to the bottom of it. I needed to find out who hurt her.
The phone ringing pulled me from my thoughts of Jennie. "Lisa speaking."
"Lisa, it's Joel. Lou J doesn't like your offer. He said you were lowballing him and it was insulting. He wants us to meet with him and his lawyer in person. I know his lawyer and he's a hardass. They won't leave until they get what they want. Just make the deal, Lisa."
My blood started to boil. I absolutely hated this fucker, Lou. How could my dad have even considered doing business with such a scumbag? Most people would have just handed over the money that was requested so that it would all go away, but I wasn't most people. I was a stubborn ass.
"Fine. We'll meet, but I'm not giving in to his full request. We've worked too hard to keep Dad's company running for some asshole to come in and wipe us out of all our capital. Set up the meeting. I'll meet with him and his lawyer."
After Joel hung up, I stormed around my office. Dad had really screwed us all over when he took the chickenshit way out. Clearly, between Nadia and these shady business deals, he had been in way over his head.
Thanks a lot, Dad.
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Later in the afternoon, I got a pleasant interruption.
"Lisa, hi," Jennie greeted, walking into my office. I grinned at her as she closed the door behind her. She looked especially pretty today but I couldn't figure out why.
"You look nice today, Jennie." She blushed but waved me away as she set some papers on my desk.
"Well, Stan wasn't happy about last night. He decided to take it out on me this morning by nitpicking everything I did. I just need you to sign a couple of these forms."
I scribbled my name on all of them and stood. She looked at me like she was warring between kissing me and running away. Before she could choose the latter, I strode over to her and cupped her chin in my hand. Lifting her face to mine, I bent over and softly kissed her perfect lips.
Like always, she melted in my arms, which gave me the confidence to continue. Our kisses became more frantic and hurried. Her small hands slid into my suit jacket and rubbed over my shirt. All I could think about was how I wanted her touching my bare skin.
I broke the kiss and moved my lips down to her neck. When I sucked gently on it, she moaned and her nails dug into my back. Groaning at how turned on she was, I continued kissing and sucking her neck, looking for the places that drove her the wildest. Once I found a spot near her ear that made her pant like a dog and mewl like a kitten, I paid special attention to it.
Her hands slid up to the shoulders of my jacket and jerked it down. I shrugged out of it and yanked off my tie. My mouth found hers again, and I felt her hands go to the buttons on my shirt, quickly undoing each one. When she finished, I helped her pull it off of me. She pulled away to look at my bare chest. When her eyes met mine again, they were full of heat.
Her hands tentatively touched my chest. She was so innocent-looking and unsure. I put my hands around her and grabbed her ass, hauling her to me. Her hands instinctively snaked around to my back. When I lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around me. I walked us over to the wall and rested her against it. We continued kissing, and her body slid down, rubbing against my hard cock. She moaned at the touch, and I nearly came in my pants with need.
Before we continued, I needed to know what last night was about. I pulled away from her to look into her eyes.
"Jennie, what happened last night?"
Her innocent, sexy look transformed into a hard one.
"It was nothing, Lisa. Are you really choosing this moment to discuss it?"
"Jennie, you mean more to me than a casual fuck. I want to know what makes you tick. What excites you. What upsets you. Last night, you shut down emotionally. I need to know why."
She glared at me. Her chin quivered for the briefest of moments but stopped when she bit her lip. Her face was a lot more expressive than she probably thought it to be. Finally, she dropped her legs and pushed me away.
"I need to get back to work."
She stormed out of my office and left me half naked, with a hard-on, but most importantly, disappointed. Whatever it was she was holding back, I would make it my life's duty to figure out. She was worth it.
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JENNIE
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"Daddy!" I exclaimed into the phone when I answered it.
"Princess, how are you?" his warm voice asked. Things had been so busy lately that I hadn't gotten over to visit him and Mom much.
"Great. I'm working on getting things ready for the gala. Stan has been unusually stressed and taking it out on me."
"I'm sorry, darling. I guess I'll have to come up there and kick his ass," he teased but continued. "When do you think you'll be able to visit your ol' dad again? I miss your sweet smile. Dealing with asshole clients all day means I really miss the sunshine in my life."
I smiled through the phone. Daddy was my hero. He always had been, and when he rescued me from Kai, it had solidified it forever.
"Well, I might be able to come to dinner tomorrow night. I can see if Jisoo could come too."
"Sounds good, honey. I'll tell your mother to set an extra place for her. Let me know if that changes."
After we hung up, the grin stayed plastered on my face. But when I saw Stan standing in my office doorway, it quickly slipped away. God, he was such an ass. Hadn't I dealt with enough assholes today? I'd already dealt with Lisa, who'd thought drilling me about my past was a much better idea than getting hot and heavy with me.
Whatever.
"Can I help you?" I asked him in a clipped manner.
"Jennie, I'm sorry for being a jerk last night. You handled things well and even got a sizeable donation. I'm sorry I questioned your abilities. You've been nothing but a hard worker since you started here at the museum."
Wow. That was unexpected.
"Uh, no problem. This museum is my life. Of course I'm going to do the best that I can. No worries."
He smiled, flashing his perfect teeth, and left. My life was just too weird lately. It seemed to be unpredictable, and I was having a problem dealing with that aspect.
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I stroked Rosé's hair as she snored softly in my lap. Jisoo had fallen asleep on the other side of the couch. These were my girls. Andi had been through hell and back, and Jackson still dicked her around. It really pissed me off. Bray could be the biggest ass on the planet, but even he was more likeable than Jackson. When Bray cheated on her and sent her into a spiraling depression that almost killed her, I nearly killed him. But at least he tried to be a nice guy—unlike Jackson the Jackass. I hoped that either Rosé would get over Jackson or he would snap out of it and really love her like she deserved to be loved.
Jisoo's legs were stretched out over the coffee table. The girl was angelic-looking. Her light skin was perfect and unmarred. When Rosé brought her to the apartment that night a while ago, I'd wanted to say no. I'd been happy with having Rosé all to myself. She had been my only friend and I hadn't needed some leggy goddess stealing her away from me. But when Jisoo looked at me with her doe-eyed, innocent expression that pleaded for human connection, something in my heart had acknowledged the kindred spirit. We'd brought her in under our wing, and it was the best decision we'd ever made.
Jisoo was such a fragile being. I'd always thought that Rosé was the one who'd needed protecting and taking care of, but that was until I'd met Jisoo. Jisoo was almost childlike in her innocence. The problem was that her ex, DK, had done something to steal that innocence away. I could see it in her eyes every time she looked at me. Sure, she hid it with smiles and jokes. But I knew the truth.
I thought that the reason the three of us had connected so well was because we all had been broken in some way. Rosé had everything from her cold, distant family, the horrific breakup with Bray, and now the confusion that was Jackson to define the woman she had become. Jisoo had a prior abusive relationship—probably both physical and mental in nature—to define her as a woman. And me, I had to live with the fear of what Kai had almost done to me had Daddy not stopped it. It prevented me from being a normal person. Hell, I'd even embraced the shitty nickname he'd given me, preferring to use it over my own name. Every bit of what he'd managed to do to me in the span of such a short time defined me.
I just hoped we would all make it out on the other side. Happy, loved, and unscathed.
A girl can dream.
My phone chimed, alerting me to a text. It was late so I was worried who might be messaging me at this hour. Pulling it from my pocket, I frowned once I realized it was from Lisa.
Lisa: Jennie, I'm sorry I upset you. I just want to know you.
I wanted to say a lot of things back to her.
I overreacted. Or mind your own fucking business. Or find someone else to fix. Or I want you to know me too.
But instead, I just set my phone down and chose silence.
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