shake the dust // JENLISA

Chapter 12

Lisa's eyes fluttered open when her phone's alarm went off. She groaned and reached over to the bedside table to silence the noise and then flopped down onto her back. She rubbed her hands over her face and yawned so hard her jaw cracked in several places.

It was really early. Thanks to the thick blinds it was as dark as night. Lisa sat up groggily and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Jennie, are you awake?"

She climbed out of bed and fumbled for the light switch. Even though she hadn't been sleeping here for a while, she still remembered the layout of the room like the back of her hand. She found the switch and turned the light on, but Jennie was gone. Her side of the bed was empty. Lisa's heart dropped.

"Jennie?" she called out loudly. She started rushing through the house. Checking the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the study. Tell me she didn't, Lisa thought desperately. Please tell me she didn't.

Lisa even checked the front and back yard. She could feel anger rising hard in her gut, so it took her a while to realize that she should have checked the garage first. When she did, she found it empty. Jennie's car was gone.

"God fucking damnit!" Lisa yelled, throwing a hard punch at the wall. Pain flared up her arm but it felt good, drowned in her endless pit of anger. "She fucking did it," Lisa fumed. She dropped her arm, ignoring the blood dripping from her ripped skin.

Jennie had gone to work.

*

Jennie's head still hurt, but it was more of a constant ache instead of the agonizing throb it had been. Though, with her stress levels so high she wouldn't be surprised if it just got worse. She had some pain meds in her office, ones that wouldn't put her to sleep. They weren't as powerful as she needed, but they would do for the day. She needed to catch up on all of the work she had missed.

Currently she was in a meeting with the board. They were all bickering about their newest acquisition, on how to best change the business assets to align with Kim Corp. Jennie sat silently at the head of the table, her elbow pressed to the table and her cheek in her palm. They'd hardly really communicated with her, preferring instead to argue with each other like children. Jennie hated them.

"We should do a complete revamp of the brand," one of them was saying.

"I think the brand is fine as is."

"We can make it better!"

"And what about the employees?" a third interjected. "We'll need to get a whole new set of people in. People from Kim Corp."

Jennie started rubbing her temples. "We fire absolutely no one, Kennedy," she spoke up suddenly. The men stopped talking to stare at her.

"But we-"

She shut him up with the force of her glare. "Should I repeat myself?"

Kennedy shut his mouth quickly. Frank, the guy sitting beside him, frowned. "What would your father do in this situation?" he asked.

Jennie clasped her hands together and squeezed hard. "My father is in the Bahamas, swimming with dolphins and mermaids," she snapped. "I am in charge here."

"Mrs Kim, if you would just call him and-"

The door to the conference room suddenly burst open, slamming hard against the wall and rattling. Jennie jerked in surprise. Her heart flipped in nervousness when furious brown eyes levelled her with a scary glare.

"Jennie," Lisa growled. One of her fists was covered in a bandage and the other was clenched tightly. "May I please speak with you privately? Now."