Lisa taps her fingers on the marble table nervously. Jisoo was never early to any of their meetings, in her book ten O'clock meant that she could choose either between am or pm and she was really getting sick of it this time. Lisa had driven a long way just to see her and even made sure that she left a message with her assistant, begging for her to comply with the set time but no—Jisoo Kim didn't do 'on time', nope, not for all the black clothes in the world.
After a few minutes, she sees her emerging through the door and past the other tables in a black silk shirt and black dress pants. Her black hair is styled into a ponytail and she carries herself with the gait of a queen.
"Good morning, Lisa." She grins weakly while sitting down, carrying her usual wave of busyness and occupancy.
"Are you sure it's still morning? You're one to really lose track of time madame Kim."
Lisa frowns at Jisoo and she smiles modestly.
"Forgive me, I had some things to sort out. The life of a lawyer." She gives her a sad look and her frown quickly melts away. How could she stay mad at her? It was Jisoo for God's sake, she would practically swim any ocean for her less than sane best friend.
Jisoo had known Lisa since they were in the womb, she literally said hi to Lisa in the form of a kick during a tummy rubbing session at the park involving both their mothers. Or at least that's the story they were told. They had been inseparable since kindergarten and as they grew older she became her confidante and partner in crime. To be frank, Jisoo became her stem of support.
"Damn you, Jisoo. I seriously don't know what I pay you for." Lisa says as she beckons to a waiter.
Jisoo scoffs at her.
"None of your businesses being in court and having the peace of mind to sit down in one of the most expensive restaurants in town while drinking a two thousand dollar bottle of wine isn't a luxury most businessmen enjoy. Remember that the next time you're wondering what it is I am good for besides asking for a raise." She eyes her over the lid of her glass as she drinks her water.
"Touché" Lisa smiles at Jisoo. always so damn opinionated, she thinks to herself.
The waiter is now staring at both of them awkwardly and Lisa apologizes for Jisoo's hissy fit.
"She gets high on drama." She says while swirling her index finger to her head and she scowls at her.
"I am not hungry. Can I just have a glass of soda water, please?" She smiles at the waiter who is now scribbling on his pad.
"Nothing for me. I'm fine with my wine." Lisa says and the waiter gladly walks away.
In no time at all, Jisoo's soda water is delivered and after taking a few sips she decides that her throat is moist enough to venture into a conversation.
"So, how is Chitthip? I've missed her so much since she left for Milan." Jisoo asks.
Lisa shakes her head as she remembers less than pleasing meeting before Chitthip left the country. Ever since that flat-out dreadful day, she hadn't been able to acquire more than an hour's worth of sleep each night.
"That's actually why I have called you here today," Lisa replies softly.
She sighs, moves her glass to the side so that there is no longer a boundary between them and then continues.
"I need you to help me draw up a contract."
Jisoo looks at her absentmindedly.
"Okay, what kind of contract are we talking about here?"
Lisa takes a big gulp of her wine, Jisoo wasn't going to like this one bit but she didn't have much of a choice now, did she? It was either this or consult the other lawyer in her life—Jackson, the divorce lawyer. Okay, Jisoo will do just fine.
"A surrogacy contract." Lisa murmurs hoping that she might not hear her and maybe she could reschedule this meeting for another day when she was feeling more courageous, but her plans fail.
"Surrogacy contract? For who? Is there a woman you haven't told me about?" She shout-whispers at her in shock.
"No, no. I'm still very much uninterested in marital life but something important has come up." Lisa runs her hands through her hair agitatedly and then rests her chin on the palm of her hand.
"Care to elaborate?" Jisoo is now looking at her fixedly with undivided attention.
"Remember my inheritance and the string attached? Well, my window of opportunity is closing and Chitthip is at it with her games again, she won't have me loosing what is rightfully mine according to her."
Understanding washes over Jisoo's face and she reaches to hold Lisa's hand.
"It is rightfully yours Lisa, this is your father's legacy. Marco wasn't such a great father but he wanted you to be a success. Haven't you noticed that your inheritance is the only one on the will with a condition? Because Marco knew you, he knew a family would be the last thing you would ever have and that's why he did it. So, tell me what I have to do and by God, you've got it."
Lisa smiles at her, Jisoo was the only person who could talk her into doing just about anything—that is, besides Chitthip. She was so supportive and kind beneath that superficial front of a tough and badass lawyer with nothing in her closet besides black clothing.
"Well firstly I need a surrogate for my child, but my friend Jungkook is already on it. What I need for you to do is to begin to draw up an agreement with basic stuff such as her rights, you know, that kinda stuff."Lisa says sounding more determined to do this than she did a few minutes ago. Or maybe it was just the alcohol.
"No, I don't know this kinda stuff, Lisa. It's not every day a criminal lawyer gets to draw up a surrogacy contract, you will have to give me time to consult with an expert and I will get back to you. The faster you find your dream girl, the better my chances of finishing that contract in time seeing as it has to tailor both your needs." She replies after one more gulp of her glass contents.
Lisa nods her head incomprehension.
"Thank you, Jisoo. I really appreciate." She says with a visage of relief.
"Oh, you think I'm doing it for you? All I see is a thousand dollars per hour each time you meet me for this contract matter. Who knows? Maybe I just might be able to get this new yacht I've been eyeing for a while." Jisoo laughs deliriously.
Lisa shakes her head in disbelief, she would rather take a bullet to the head execution-style than admit to her how deeply she cares for her and how much she values their friendship.
■■■■■
Jennie sighs as she flips hysterically through the stack of bills that are on her coffee table.
"Student loan bills, electricity bills, hospital bills, water bills, you name it. Nayeon, I have just about every bill a person can imagine." She complains to her sister.
Nayeon heaves a sigh. "We'll get through it, I promise. Once I'm back on my feet you will no longer have to work so many jobs."
Jennie walks toward her sister who is seated in an armchair, looking paler and more tired by the second. It broke her heart into a billion and one-pieces to see Nayeon in this state.
"Well, how will you ever get back on your feet if I can't raise the money for your surgery? The way your condition is progressing, it doesn't look like I have much time on my hands."
She begins pacing back and forth the room, her hands suspended on her waist. She didn't want to lose her sister, she was the last thing she had left in this miserable, miserable world. She couldn't afford to let Nayeon die, she would never forgive herself if she failed to return the one favour her sister had done her—give her the gift of life.
"Jennie calm down, I'm not dying on you and we both know that." Nayeon cries out as she attempts to stand up but falls down helplessly onto the floor.
Jennie rushes to her aid. "Nayeon, you know how this goes. You don't just stand up on your own like that." She says as she bends down and eases her sister back onto the chair.
Nayeon stares back at her wanly, tears filling up her eyes.
"Please promise me that you will take it easy."
Jennie doesn't answer her but briskly stands up, the last thing she wanted to do was get into another crying fit with Nayeon. She walks to a mirror planted on the wall of their living room and stares at her reflection, she couldn't even recognize herself anymore.
She didn't know how she was going to solve their problems but she knew that being so stoical is the only reason she hasn't lost it.
She turns to face a now crying Nayeon.
"You have taken care of me all my life, Nayeon. It's time I take care of you." She looks at her stolidly, now knowing exactly what she had to do.
"I'm going to be back shortly. Call Sana next door if you experience any kind of discomfort."
She hands Nayeon the telephone and kisses her. Grabbing her satchel from the table and dashing out of the house, she gets into her truck and drives away.
In the car, the tears come streaming down uncontrollably. She cries out, now aware that nobody is watching her. She hated the looks that the neighbours and the people at work gave her. Poor girl, they probably thought. She didn't need their pity, she didn't need anybody's pity. She and Nayeon could do this on their own.
Another set of tears come darting out without a warning, she wipes them away with the back of her palm. Her last hope was Jungkook, a usual customer at the coffee shop that she worked in. He had asked her if she'd ever thought of being a surrogate, said she was very beautiful and would make a ton of money doing it. She spat in his face before kicking her in the groin because she thought it was just a tale geared at recruiting her into prostitution or something of that sort.
Thank God she had taken his business card, he wasn't a pimp like she thought after all. And not that surrogacy was ever an option but it wasn't like she had much of a choice right now. She was going to hear her out this time.
She pulls up in the driveway of a bar not too far from her home. She arranges herself and wipes her tears one last time before getting out of the truck and into the bar.
Spotting Jungkook's brunette hair she quickly recognizes him and walks to meet him by the counter. He turns around and smiles at him as she sits on a stool next to him, a glass of whiskey in his hand.
"Hey, Jennie." He greets her but she doesn't smile back.
"Hey yourself." She replies tiredly.
"You want a drink?"
She shakes her head, alcohol wasn't her liquid of choice. "Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice."
"No problem. So far you promise me that my future children will no longer be attacked" he chuckles.
She sighs and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, ignoring his very, very bad joke.
"You said you had a job opportunity for me."
"Have." Jungkook corrects her. "The offer is still on the table."
"Well, okay. Can you tell me more about this job opportunity of yours."
Jungkook takes a small sip of his whiskey before setting the glass down on the counter.
"I have a friend. She wants a child and needs a surrogate for this baby. She is willing to pay handsomely for a beautiful, healthy and responsible woman who is interested in carrying this child to full term." He says softly.
"Is that all?" Jennie asks, a little astonished at this too-good-to-be-true opportunity.
He lets out a sigh.
"I can't say what it does and what it does not entail right now, but that's pretty much the basic idea. If you're still interested, I will arrange for you to meet this friend of mine and she will better enlighten you on what to expect."
Jennie ponders quietly to herself. She wasn't so comfortable with having another person's baby but on the other hand, what other option was lying on the table? She just had to suck it up and do what she could to save her sister's life. She thought of Nayeon, this could really turn things around for her. She wasn't going to decide just yet but for now she was interested in hearing more about this surrogate thing.
"Okay. I'm interested in seeing what this opportunity has to offer. You have my number, call me when you have set up a meeting." She says as she stands up.
Jungkook says goodbye to her, thanking her for taking the idea into consideration and she nods before taking her leave.
■■■■■
Lisa stands by the balcony of her bedroom, letting the evening breeze flush her face. She was tired of being so damn pensive all the time. Since this whole issue came up, all she could think of was how this was the wrong way to bring the child she always dreamt of into the world. It was wrong to think of all this as a solution, she was bigger than this, better than this.
Damn you, Marco. She thinks to herself as she lets out a sigh. Of course she wanted to be a mother and of course, she wanted a family for herself but Lisa wanted to continue her lineage without having to commit to a marriage. She wasn't interested in any kind of romantic relationship but nobody was understanding her. Now, look at the lengths she was forced to go to.
What baffled her most was who this lady would be that would agree to carry her child. Was it fair to subject someone to this sort of mess just so that she can have an easier way out? She would carry all the weight of this helpless situation while she sipped on martinis and signed the checks. How pathetic of you, she thought to herself.
"Would you relax for a second? She hasn't even arrived yet and you are already going haywire over the whole thing." Jungkook says as he walks into the room with his hands tucked deep in his breezy knicker.
Lisa turns to face him, grimacing at her friend's lack of sensitivity to her dilemma.
"Oh. Forgive me, Jungkook. You should understand my nerves since you're also sticking your sperm into a stranger." He sneers, sometimes Jungkook deserved a punch.
"I'm just saying calm down, if you want to convince her to do this then you have to look like you know exactly what it is that you are doing. A woman in such a situation wants to know that she is safe and not being exploited in any way."
Lisa nods in agreement, Jungkook could be a fool at times but he was right.
"Besides, this one is quite smart and no-nonsense. If you even look one bit shady, she's high-tailing out of here"
Lisa twists her lips in amusement at her friend. "Is that right?" She chuckles.
A woman with an attitude, hmm. Lisa thinks to herself.
Jungkook walks to the balcony and peeks down. "She's here. You ready?"
"Do I have a choice not to?" Jennie murmurs as they walk out of the room.
"Nope." Jungkook replies.
They walk down Lisa's grand staircase and into the living room where Jungkook waits to receive her while Lisa walks furthermore into his office to wait for both of them.
Jennie is ushered in by one of the security guards at the entrance where she is greeted by a smiling Jungkook and for once she smiles back at her. She hadn't known she was going to arrive at such a monumental abode and most of all, she didn't expect that the man she would be meeting with was one of New York's most successful businesswoman—Lisa Manoban. Jennie had heard so many stories about her— how she was presumptuous and high handed, hopefully, those were all tales. She would have put more effort into her dressing but she didn't care. She was here for business and nothing else, it wasn't her concern how she was perceived and most of all the fanciful house and cars she had seen meant nothing to her. All she wanted was an opportunity to save her sister's life.
"How are you feeling?" Jungkook asks as they make their way towards Lisa's office.
"Surprisingly calm." She lies comfortably. The truth is that she is really dying of uneasiness right now and her behind is sweating the river Jordan like it does every time she feels nervous. Get a grip of yourself, Jennie. You're not even sure that you're going to do this. She thinks to herself as Jungkook opens the door for her to get in.
Lisa's gaze falls on Jennie as she walks into the office for what becomes a lot of time. She stares at her steadily and impassively until Jungkook's voice drags her to reality.
"Lisa, this is Jennie Kim " he gestures to Jennie, who also steadily fixes her gaze on Lisa such that Jungkook begins to feel a wave of uneasiness but he remains determined to finish his introduction.
He raises his brow at both of them and then continues.
"Jennie. This is Lisa Manoban." He says but neither Jennie nor Lisa utters a word or moves an inch.
"Okay, I will let you two discuss your business then." He turns to leave.
"Goodbye Jungkook." Lisa says finally to a now scowling Jungkook who gladly departs the office.
Lisa returns her gaze to Jennie.
"Please have a seat, Miss Kim." She says to Jennie who draws out a chair and thankfully sits her behind down.
"I assume you know why we are having this meeting?" Lisa begins.
Jennie nods in agreement and she continues.
"For the sake of clarity, I will walk you through what all this is about. I need a surrogate mother for my child and you are here because you are interested in my offer."
Jennie says nothing and she continues to speak.
"Your health is the ultimate priority in this agreement because as you know, the health of the child will greatly depend on your own health. The first step will be to carry out some tests which of course will be with your consent so that we have an idea of your general wellbeing. You will need to inform me of your previous medical history and that of close relatives so that we are aware of any genetic ailments." Lisa says as she relaxes back into his chair.
Jennie looks at her in confusion.
"Wait, why do my genes matter? Am I not just a surrogate? As in, don't you already have a wife whose eggs are being used or something?" She inquires in sincere disbelief.
Lisa holds the bridge of her nose and shuts her eyes close for a second in disdain at Jungkook's idiocy. The fool must have forgotten to mention to her that it was her own eggs that would be fertilized. She would practically be having her own baby. No wonder she had agreed, why else would anyone decide to give up their own child.
"I'm sorry. I don't think Mr Jeon explained to you how this works. The eggs provided will be your eggs, Miss Kim."
Jennie lets out a slight laugh. "You can't be serious."
"I'm afraid so. I'm sorry for the confu—" her speech is interjected by Jennie.
"No, Ms.Manoban. It is I who am sorry for this confusion because this isn't happening." She forces a smile and stands up to leave but Lisa walks after her.
"Jennie!" Lisa calls out and she slowly turns around.
"At least, tell me that you will consider it."
She looks at her with disbelief. "There will be no considering of any kind Ms. Manoban, there's no way in hell I am giving up my child to you." She begins.
"And that's Miss Kim to you, not Jennie." She says before turning around and disappearing from her view.
God, Jennie was so feisty that it made her blood boil in enthrallment and drew her into a haze of fascination with the way in which she moved, enunciated her words and boldly held her gaze. She truly was no-nonsense like Jungkook had said. She didn't care who she was or where she was, she gave her a piece of her mind still and that made her all the more smitten by her. Lisa wanted to see her again, she had to see her again.
Lisa ploughs down into her chair in despair. What was she thinking? She would never convince her to do this and if she did, she would never forgive herself for such selfishness on her own part. She was very correct to be so pissed and had every right to tell her off. The problem was that after seeing her, she was in no state to find another surrogate. She wanted Jennie to be the one to do this, she didn't care if the clock was ticking, she just knew that it was either her or no one else. Fuck the inheritance, fuck it all.
The door flies open and Jungkook walks in half startled and half disoriented.
"Why'd the meeting end so soon?" He gives Lisa a look of concern.
Lisa's grimace from earlier on is restored to his face.
"You forgot to mention to her that it was her own eggs that would be used, you brain-dead fool. You forgot to mention to her that very important piece of information!"
Lisa forms her hand into a fist and yells in distress at a now flinching Jungkook.
"I'm sorry bro. It must've slipped my mind." Jungkook says apologetically.
"Well, a lot of things slip your mind, Jungkook." Lisa says with a sigh as she hangs her hands on his waist, retreating to her pensive state.
"We can always find another surrogate." Jungkook murmurs and Lisa eyes her with even more scorn, wishing he would just shut the fuck up.
"That's the thing you dim-wit. Your biggest mistake was bringing her in here to meet me, now I want no one else but her to have this baby."
She continues to wear her pensive look.
"I'm not in any way trying to bust your bubble, Lisa. But knowing Jennie, there's no way in hell she's coming back here. Once she decides something, that's it. There's no playing games with her, she's straight to the point." Jungkook rambles on.
Lisa strides slowly towards the door, still deep in thought.
"Well, she doesn't look like the type to just decide to be a surrogate anyway. Something was important enough to bring her here today, let's just hope it is still important enough to make her return. We will give her time, I'm not letting her go." She declares.
Lisa turns to look at a more than confused Jungkook. Of course, he would not understand a thing she just said.
"Good night, Jungkook. Be sure to let yourself out." She says before walking out of her office. It would be a long night for her and the more she remained in close proximity to her foolish friend the more she was bound to lose her temper.