There's No Way (JenLisa)

8: There's No Way That It's Not Going There

Lisa was meeting a former classmate from Business School. When Lisa mentioned that one of Manoban's new business venture will be needing a new corporate lawyer Jennie didn't really gave much thought about it, only when she heard the name Jillian did she ask if it was the same Jillian from Lisa's Uni days. Of course, she heard about Jillian, after all she's Lisa's first real girl experience.

Jennie had a certain image of the woman inside her head; she thought of someone who was book-ish, probably wears thick glasses, a little pudgy. Perhaps, even from the start, it was her subconscious attempt to get rid of Jillian as a possible competition with Lisa.

But of course, fate wasn't gonna make it easy for Jennie. Because the woman Lisa introduced to her as Jillian was a stunner. She was a hot-shot lawyer that looked like a diplomat. She was tall, tanned and looked very dignified yet chic in her dark green suit. Whoever can pull off a suit in that shade was someone that's commendable. And Jennie instantly developed a dislike for the woman.

Jillian made her feel minor-league. The woman was even an inch taller than her, even if they were both wearing heels, she thought with dismay. And the woman's office was twice the size of the small office Jennie and Irene were sharing for their small architecture firm. Jillian must be really something important. Her office building was in the middle of the most luxurious part of the city. The architect actually liked the modern simplicity of the office interior, the glass and chrome aesthetic was subdued with artworks from new upcoming artists Jennie even suggested to some of her clients.

Jillian greeted Lisa with such enthusiasm. The lawyer seemed genuinely happy to see her girlfriend. Such fondness, such affection, that only proved how special Lisa was to Jillian. The two hugged for a while, that she had to let go of Lisa's hand that was intertwined with hers earlier. And Jennie never felt so jealous and envious. She felt that Jillian already has everything and now her girlfriend was hugging her? She felt the urge to flick the woman's forehead. It was childish, she knew that, but she ignored the logical part of her brain.

Why did she even offer to join Lisa there? She also cancelled her meeting with a prospective client so she can drive for Lisa. Because she was curious and because she thought she was better. She wanted Lisa to see how prettier, how smarter, how much more desirable she was compared to the Thai's ex. And it clearly backfired.

Lisa introduced them. The lawyer was polite and said hi, but quickly turned to Lisa and gestured for her girlfriend to sit on the black leather couch. And the woman seemed to forgot about Jennie. Excitedly catching up with Lisa. So, she remained standing, rather awkwardly, there. She wasn't offered a seat, while would she sit? She has manners. So she stood there, hands clasped behind her. She scolded herself. She was an architect for fuck's sake. So why was she being insecure? She stood up straight, trying to regain her dignity. But her ego remained shattered.

"Oh sorry. Please have a seat, Jennie," Jillian finally acknowledged her presence.

"Thanks," she murmured and settled her butt on the other side of the leather couch. She subtly touched the seat and with her line of work, she confirmed the leather couch was the luxurious Italian kind. And that made her think how much does the lawyer make? She knew enough that lawyers like Jillian billed their clients by the hour. She just doesn't know how much her professional fee was.

The two were talking about business, and that bored her, especially the financial legal terms they were using. So, she just tried calculating how much Jillian make say in a week if she charged say a hundred dollars per hour? If the lawyer works at eight hours per day, that's already eight hundred bucks. And that's not even accounting how many clients she meets per day/ multiply that by five for example and she winced at the answer. What if the woman's professional fee was more than a hundred dollars? And Jillian works twelve hours per day and her clients were a dozen? She's poor by the woman's standards. She hated the woman more. She never used to care about money, but Lisa was from old money, and this Jillian was clearly at the Thai's league.