Black, Blue, and Gold (Book 2)

One Step at a Time (Part 26)

"Lis."

Lisa looked up from her computer to see Jisoo coming to stand in front of her desk.

"Can I talk to you for a bit?" asked the captain. "You too, Jen," she told Jennie before gesturing towards her office.

"Sure." Lisa stood up, shot Jennie a questioning glance then walked with her towards Jisoo's office. "What's up?" she asked as soon as she had closed the door behind her.

Jisoo waited until the other two had taken a seat before she carefully began talking - hands clasped on her desk. "How's the adoption thing going?"

"We've brought the attorney to Mrs. Yoon's house to talk to her. The papers are slowly being taken care of so you could say that things are going as planned. Why?" Lisa asked.

"Well, the reason I need to talk to you about this is that, unfortunately, I can't really let you continue leaving work too often to pick her up from school," said Jisoo with an apologetic smile. "I was willing to let you do it these past couple of weeks because of our circumstances but it can't be a permanent thing, I'm afraid. I'm sorry, Unnies. My hands are tied. There are rules that we must adhere to."

"That's totally understandable," said Jennie. "But does that apply to me as well? I mean, I can understand Lisa's obligations but can you make an exception for me? It'll be quick. I'll just pick her up from school and be back here before you know it."

"Who would look after Jiyoon until you're done with work?" asked Jisoo.

"Um... can't I bring her here? She's been here a lot, she's not a difficult kid and everybody loves her."

"True but, unfortunately, this isn't a daycare, Jen." Jisoo exhaled. "I'm really sorry but we have to work something out. This work environment isn't exactly a safe one for a child and it's against policy to bring a child to work every day."

Lisa looked at Jennie. They hadn't really thought about this with everything that had been going on. Their first priority was to secure Jiyoon as theirs. The rest, they thought, would be figured out as they went along.

Jisoo seemed to understand what was going on. She smiled and leaned back in her chair. "I have a suggestion to make."

"What suggestion?" asked Lisa.

"Unnie, are you still going to get your driver's license?" Jisoo turned her head towards Jennie.

"Yes. Why?"

"Good. Then you can go ahead with your plan to pick up Jiyoon from school every day."

"But you said-..."

"And after that, you can take her home and let her do her homework or play peacefully."

"What?"

"I've talked to the Commissioner," said Jisoo. "He wants to see you two to discuss what he called 'the life-changing decision and huge responsibility that is parenting', by the way," she added then laughed before turning serious again. "But seriously, we've talked and he said Jennie can work less hours daily. You would have to make up for those hours, of course, so we've decided to extend your commitment to us instead. It would probably total up to a year extra, give or take a few months," she explained. "What do you think?"

"Will that be okay?" Jennie asked in half-disbelief since it sounded so simple.

"Do you mind working with us for another year?"

"Not at all."

"Then yes, it should be okay," said Jisoo with a smile. "The Commissioner himself has approved it, Jennie. It's all good. You've been a valuable aid to our team so consider this part of our recognition. Besides, if you ever need a babysitter, I know someone who's always available and more than willing to do it for free."