The Marriage Deal [Jenlisa FF]

Part 3

The next twenty-four hours were spent weighing her options. Jennie was conflicted; she didn't know what to do. It wasn't as if she had a whole lot of choices: marry Lisa Manoban so she'd represent her sister or let Jisoo spend the rest of her life in prison. She didn't like either option, but it was a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils.

Sitting at the kitchen table with a piece of paper and a pen, Jennie weighed the pros and cons of agreeing to Lisa's proposal. 'Okay, on the upside, Jisoo will have one of the best attorney in South Korea. She will be able to get her off, I'm sure of it. Although, if she loses the case, I'll be trapped in a marriage with a woman who let my sister go to jail. Pro: she is very nice-looking. It isn't like she's hideous to look at and I'd be embarrassed to be seen in public with her. Con: Looks can be deceiving. Lisa could be a serial killer.

'Pro: It's only three years. I won't have to actually *do* anything with her. Name-only marriage. Con: It's for three years. Can I live with a girl I hardly know for three years and act like her wife? Is it even possible? Pro: A stable home life for Ella. Ever since Mom and Dad died, she hasn't been herself, and Lord knows I'm not the world's greatest provider for this family. Con: Lisa could end up being a total ass and say Ella can't stay with us.'

She sighed, distressed with the decision she had to make for the sake of keeping her family together. "What am I going to do?" she asked aloud.

Unbeknownst to her, Ella had walked into the kitchen. "What did you say, Jennie?" she wanted to know.

Seeing her sister standing across the room, Jennie folded the paper in half and shoved it in her purse. "Nothing. How did you sleep?"

Ella shrugged her shoulders. "The same as usual. No better, no worse. How 'bout you?"

"Same. I'm going to visit Jisoo this afternoon, Ella. Do you want to come with me?" Jennie asked.

"No thanks." In the three weeks that had passed since Jisoo's arrest, Ella had yet to visit her. She hated thinking about her sister dressed in an orange jumpsuit, their only means of contact being a ten-minute conversation through a telephone, looking at one another through a piece of plastic.

"Are you sure? I know how much she wants to see you."

"I said no. I don't want to go to the stupid jail to visit her! Now get off my back about it!" Ella shouted. "I'm going to school. See you later." Grabbing her backpack off the table, she walked out the back door.

Jennie stared after her for a minute. Even though Ella would never admit it, the whole 'Jisoo going to jail' ordeal was tearing her apart inside. And she hated seeing her once-outgoing, smart sister becoming withdrawn and despondent. She would do anything to give Ella her perfect life back.

That was when Jennie made her decision.

*****

"Can I help you?" the tall redhead behind the desk asked Jennie when she approached Lisa's office.

"Yes. I'm here to see Lisa Manoban. I was here yesterday; don't you remember me?" Jennie was in no mood to play games.

Minnie smirked. "A lot of people come and go from Ms. Manoban's office. It's nearly impossible to keep track of all of them."

"I'm sure. Can you tell her Jennie Kim is here to see her?"

"Sorry, she's in the middle of a meeting. I really shouldn't interrupt her, especially since you don't have an appointment. Perhaps if you have a seat, I can announce your presence when her meeting is over," Minnie told her snidely.

Jennie fumed. There was nothing she wanted more than to slap the smug smile off the secretary's face. "I think if you tell her I'm here, she'll let me in. Are you going to call her, or am I going to have to do it?"

Minnie let out an angry breath. "Fine. Wait just a minute." She stood up and made her way to her boss' door, knocking lightly. When she heard her invite her in, she opened the door. "That Jennie Kim girl is here to see you again. Without an appointment 'again'. Should I tell her to go away?"

"No, I'll see her right now. Please send her in," Lisa ordered her secretary. She was eager to talk with the blonde.

Irene lifted a single eyebrow after Minnie closed the door. "Jennie Kim? That little girl from yesterday? Isn't she a bit young for you, Lisa? I always thought you liked mature women, not high school cheerleaders."

"She's a client, Irene. I'm defending her sister in a murder trial."

"How old is Jennie? Seventeen?"

"Twenty, not that it's any of your business. I think we're done here, so you can leave now. I need to speak to my client in private."

Irene didn't take kindly to being ordered out of the room. "Are we meeting for lunch? Maybe a little dessert after your meeting?"

"I don't think so. I have to go down to the Daegu Holding Facility to meet with Jennie's sister. After that, I'll probably grab a bite on the way back to the office. Goodbye, Irene," Lisa said.

"Goodbye," the tall, brown-haired lawyer replied shortly.

As Irene walked out of the office, she bumped into Jennie, who was on her way in, without even bothering to apologize. "She doesn't get friendlier with time, does she?" Jennie asked.

"Unfortunately, no. If she wasn't such a brilliant lawyer, I would have fired her the second this firm became mine." Lisa motioned to the empty chair vacated by Irene. "Sit down."

"I'd prefer to stand, thank you. I-I came to a decision, Lisa."

She'd been waiting on pins and needles since she had left the previous afternoon. her entire future lay in the hands of the beautiful girl standing four feet away from her. "And?"

"Three years, you said?"

Lisa nodded. "Yes. No more, no less."

"Have you ever been convicted of a crime I should be aware of? Rape, assault, abuse against women?" Jennie questioned.

"Who's the lawyer here?" Lisa asked, her tone of voice light.

"I spent a year studying to be a lawyer; I want some info if I'm going to go through with this marriage. Now answer my question."

Her forwardness impressed her. This was no dumb blonde she was getting involved with. That made it more exciting. "I have a perfectly clean record, except for a few speeding tickets. There are no skeletons in my closet, Jennie. What you see is what you get."

Jennie extended her right arm in her direction. "Then it looks like we've got a deal, Lisa Manoban. You have yourself a wife."

"I'll have the contract drawn up this afternoon while we're meeting with Jisoo." Lisa took her hand and shook it, ignoring the electricity making its way through her body at the touch of her skin.