Jenlisa Oneshots

new beginnings, new experiences

It was not the same, Lisa Manoban decided, as she took a sip of her wine. She had opted for medium dry New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, very drinkable, very nice, really quite expensive too, and yet not quite enough to wash away the bitter after-taste of her current predicament. Pouring over court files with a glass of wine at home was vastly different from doing the same thing in a hotel bar. It was a ritual, curated over many years of practice but usually, Lisa had the privacy of her own four walls to do it in; not so tonight.

It was her own fault really, she had quite happily given in to Mark's request to have dinner with the children and Joy at the house. In the interest of mutual support and friendship, she had given them space. Staying with either one of her sisters would have proven distracting with a court date looming the next day, and if she was being perfectly honest, the prospect of a nice hotel room had been a tempting one. A treat, as it were. The wine had also been a treat. Sitting in the bar, however, instead of her room had been a futile attempt at feeling a little less lonely and it just wasn't working.

She set her glass down with a huff, tapping her fountain pen against the papers in front of her. It was no use, they weren't holding her attention. She was well prepared for the court date, so she wasn't even doing any real work at this point. The pretence of being busy, however, shielded her from unwelcome advances of the numerous male patrons in the bar.

At first, she had thought it would be entertaining to dip her feet back in the water with flirting, but quickly she had realised she had just about had it with men at this point. Being single would suit her just fine for a while. She was moving on from Mark and the urge to call on Irene had also subsided somewhat. She had finally come to the realisation that she didn't need either of them to define her happiness. It was quite liberating.

Thus, she had found it rather tedious to feign interest in anything the men that had sought her advances had had to say. That's when the court files had come into play but now, as she sat in a hotel bar with no obligations to nothing and no-one but herself, she felt she should be making better use of her time than pouring over papers she already knew inside and out.

"Well, well, well, fancy seeing you here, Manoban," a voice startled her out of her thoughts. A voice that was familiar, unwelcome and made Lisa reach for her glass once more.

"Jennie," she greeted Jennie Kim with the same level of contempt she always did and took a sip of her wine, steeling her nerves against the inevitable annoyance the other lawyer would provoke.

"Hotel bar? Waiting for someone?" Jennie asked, pursing her lips as she looked down at her appraisingly.

"Working," the blonde answered curtly, gesturing at the files spread out on the table in front of her and yet, the other woman seemed to take it as an invitation to sit.

"In a hotel bar?" She raised her eyebrows as she gracefully took the seat across from her, crossing her long legs to great effect. She had been carrying a glass of whiskey that she placed in front of herself, on one of the files. Promptly, Lisa reached out to drag the papers out from under it with a strained smile.

"Mark has asked to have dinner with the kids and Joy at the house," she explained as there was no need to make up excuses. Jennie was, after all, deeply acquainted with her relationship to her ex-husband-a fact she would much rather have avoided but couldn't be helped now.

"And being the accommodating party, considering your incredibly amicable divorce, you're staying in a hotel for the night," the brunette concluded with a complimentary smile that felt just a little bit patronising and made Lisa take a deep breath to keep her composure and friendly disposition.

"How can I help you, Jennie?" She asked. While she hadn't exactly been having a brilliant time before, she certainly had even less interest in wasting her free time talking to the exact colleague she would be facing in the courtroom in around twelve hours time.