Summer Love

Chapter 1

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Lisa Manoban gave her assistant a puzzled look. "A vacation? Alone? To a lesbian hot spot?" She shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous."

"How long are you going to continue to sulk over her?"

"Sulk? I'm certainly not sulking. It's been eight months since... sinc..." She threw her hands in the
air. "It was my best friend, for God's sake. Have I said that?"

"Only about a hundred times," Somi murmured.

"She was sleeping with my best friend," Lisa continued. "Right under my nose. Did I tell you that?"

Somi gave her an amused smile. "A hundred times. And as I said before, she wasn't really your best friend."

Lisa lowered her head to her desk and closed her eyes, still able to see them in her bed; Minnie with a stunned expression on her face and Miyeon trying to lay the blame on her, as if she had been the one in bed with her best friend.

"Oh, God, I am still sulking, aren't I?" She opened her eyes to peek at Somi. "I kinda miss her."

"Oh, no you don't. She was a conniving bitch. I never liked her. I told you that from the very beginning."

Lisa lifted her head and smiled. "I was talking about Minnie, not Miyeon."

"Well, I did like Minnie, I guess, but I wasn't around her all that much. And you've got to stop thinking of her as your best friend."

"I know." Lisa sat back in her chair and let out a heavy sigh. "God, I hate women."

"Well, you could always join my team," Somi said with a laugh. "I could get Stephen to set you up."

"I don't hate them that much!" She turned to her and smiled. "So, you think I need a vacation, huh?"

Somi nodded. "Yes. Tax season is finally over. I know you're exhausted."

Lisa nodded. Yes, she was exhausted. January through April was always hectic in an accounting firm. But this year she had no reason to go home each evening and instead had spent an obscene number of hours working. She told herself it was her firm and she needed to lead by example, but even she knew she had taken it to the extreme.

It was the house. She should have sold it after Miyeon moved out, but it was in the hills of West Austin and close to her office. Even though they'd only lived together for five years... five years, three months and a handful of days.... Miyeon had put her stamp on it. Miyeon was the one with the green thumb who kept the flower beds filled with seasonal plants. Miyeon was a chef, and the kitchen was stocked with every cooking gadget imaginable.

She had supplied them with delicious meals and frequent dinner parties. That part, she did miss. Now she hired a landscaping crew to plant her flowers and maintain the lawn. And meals? Well, she cooked sometimes. But cooking for one was depressing. She usually grabbed something on her way home or, less frequently, had dinner out with friends.

Those were the times she missed Minnie the most. They'd known each other for several years before Miyeon came into her life. They had always made time for dinner at least once a week. And even though, deep down, she knew it was Miyeon's fault, she couldn't bring herself to forgive Minnie. They hadn't spoken since the night she'd caught them in her bed, although Minnie had tried to reach out, at least in the beginning. Now, eight months had passed, and she doubted they could ever get their friendship back.. Miyeon had moved on too, already living with someone else, an attorney who Lisa had once dated herself.

She shook her head slowly, hating her life at that moment. She would be thirty-five years old by the end of summer and her personal life was as unsettled now as it had been in her twenties. She looked at Somi and gave her a weak smile.