by Ashlee Price
Pulling my blonde hair back, I put in a few bobby pins to hold it back. “You don’t think this outfit looks slutty, do you?’
The jacket was a little tight on the chest and the skirt was a little tight on my rear. I pulled the undershirt up a little so there wasn’t so much cleavage, but I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to cover it all. I was feeling unsure, and her telling me that it might help me out didn’t help me then when I was questioning everything.
“You look fine, Desiree. Just go in there and be yourself. You know your stuff and you just need them to give you a chance.”
I hugged her a little and tried to take her confidence with me out the door. I knew that even if I was selected for one of the ten positions, there was still only one full-time job at the end of the internship. There was a lot riding on this, a lot of hopes and dreams, but there was nothing else to cling to, so I had no choice.
***
When I got there, I was expecting to see quite a few applicants, but it was nothing like the long line that led outside. I almost turned around and left as soon as I got out of my car. There was no way that I was going to be picked out of all these people. My heart was breaking, and I knew then that getting the internship was most likely not going to happen.
Several more people got in behind me where I was standing in the line. I almost got out, but something kept me in my place and in the line. I had put so much time and effort into going there, that it seemed stupid to leave just because there was more competition than I had anticipated. I was going to go through with it. Even if it was a last-ditch effort, I still had to try.
The only good thing about all of it was that the line moved rather quickly. It started as something that was never going to end, but in no time at all I was through the doors. I knew that there had to be something, some kind of criteria that was making it easy for them to get through so many people so quickly. I was nervous and hoped that whatever it was would be something that I had and they wanted. I needed the job, and since I was now in the door, I knew it wasn’t going to be long until I was up. By the way they were moving through people, there would only be a few moments to make myself stand out from all of the rest.
I looked down at the top of my shirt, and I almost undid another button. I stopped myself, thinking that with my luck it would be a female interviewer. I was out of confidence by the time that I got to the receptionist who asked for my name and my resume.
I gave them to her and waited. I tried to avoid the small talk that was pulling at my lips. I knew that I shouldn’t be standing there jabbering like an idiot, so I refrained from saying anything at all. She looked my resume over rather quickly and then asked me to go stand in a line that was winding down the hall.
I didn’t know what that meant, but the tall blonde handed me a card with a number on it and was done talking to me. I felt a little miffed as I stood in the other line, but as I watched the four people behind me move out of the other door and exit, I felt like maybe that meant I would have some kind of a chance. I kept telling myself that all I needed was a chance to turn it all around.
As I got closer to the large office in front, the people in front of me filed in one by one. They were never in there very long, and soon I was up next. I was hoping that it would be as painless as it had been with the last step, but I was not ready for who was on the other side of the door.
Chapter 2 – Desiree
I walked into the room. The man in front of me hadn’t looked too happy when he got out, and I was dying to know what I would find. I didn’t know I would find Greg Jefferson standing in front of me. He was the face of the company and one of the two partners that owned it. He was famous, maybe even infamous, and I didn’t dream in a million years that I would be meeting him.
He seemed nonchalant as he asked me my number. I gave him the one written on the card and tried to remain calm as I sat down. He hadn’t even looked up yet, which gave me time to study the man I had seen gracing the covers of every business magazine I’d read. His story of making it from nothing to one of the top CEOs in the country was a story that the press didn’t get sick of writing about.
What hadn’t occurred to me when I had seen his pictures was just how large he was. Even sitting down in a desk that was twice normal size, Greg looked larger than life. When his green eyes finally met mine, I was taken in by him and I knew I had been caught staring. His chiseled face was handsome, yet he had a tight look. His brown hair was short and seemed to complete the picture perfectly.
His face was haughty, but then he looked at me and there was a moment between us. It was clear that he was evaluating me in the same way that I had him, and I hoped that I wasn’t found lacking. I suddenly didn’t care about the internship that I had waited months for. In that moment, I just wanted him to really see me.
Greg’s face clouded but then cleared, and he asked me why I wanted the internship with his company. I had thought of answers to all kinds of questions, and of course that was one of the ones I had rolled around in my head. But as soon as he asked it, I knew that I didn’t have an answer. Not an answer that he was going to want to hear.
“Your company is well-known, and I figured an internship here would help jumpstart my career. I know that I likely won’t get picked, but when an opportunity like this came up, I knew I had to try.”
His eyebrows went up and he finally sat up and really looked at me. There was something unfathomable in his eyes, and I knew that there was another part of him in that moment. It made me pause, but he seemed to be making a decision as quickly as the receptionist had.
“I think you came to the right place, Desire.”
“It’s Desiree.” I said it clearly so that he understood me better.
“Are you sure?”
I felt my face going red, and I wished that I wasn’t so fair skinned. I knew that he could see that he had embarrassed me, but hopefully he didn’t know why. Suddenly I was afraid that Greg would know what I was thinking and what I was wondering. How could I not wonder what it would be like to have his large hands on my body? It was impossible not to think about it when he had such a stormy look in his eyes.
Pulling myself together, I worked hard to actually hear him. “I think you would be a great addition to our team, Desiree.”
I was sure that I was hearing him wrong or that I was hearing what I wanted to hear.
“How would you like that?”
“I’m sorry?” Oh, my mind went to a bad place rather quickly with such an innocent question. I knew that he didn’t mean it the way I had taken it, so I was making sure of what he meant. If I didn’t start acting right, I was sure that he was going to rescind the offer. I didn’t want that, I wanted the job, but the interviewer was not what I had been prepared for. The extra button on my shirt didn’t seem to be needed at all.
“How would you like to start with us as an intern on Monday? I think you have what it takes to make it here, and I would love to see you around the office.”
The last bit sounded a little suspect, but I was over the moon about the rest. In a moment I was able to shake the feelings he had brought up so immediately and process that I had just gotten the internship that I had really wanted.
“Yes, sir. That sounds perfect.”
He handed me a small packet of paperwork and our hands touched for a moment. “Welcome to my company.”
I don’t know why I was shaking when I left the room. Maybe it was because of the electric touch on my hand or the look in his eyes, but something had bothered me enough that my hands were now trembling. It wasn’t just getting the job. It was Greg who had made me feel so different.
Looking back one last time before I stepped out, I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I had the internship, and I was that much closer to having the job that I wanted so badly. I needed to tell Fran, and more than that, I felt like it was time for a celebration. If only to make me forget about the way I had acted in the office with Greg. I knew that I had been close to emb
arrassing myself to the point of no return.
***
Fran was happy for me, and of course she agreed to go out for a drink. After hearing me worry about it for months, I was sure she was as relieved as I was about it all. We had a drink and then a couple more before I told her about meeting Greg Jefferson and how affected I was by him. It was hard not to be embarrassed by saying it out loud, but Fran knew me and she knew that it wasn’t like me at all. Rarely had I been so entranced by a man before.
“So what are you going to do?”
I wasn’t following what she was talking about. There was nothing to do.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean, you’re going to be working with him, aren’t you?”
I shrugged. I hadn’t really thought about it, but I was sure that I was just going to work with the accountants. There was no need for us to really work together, so I didn’t foresee us working closely again. That time with him in the office would most likely be the last time I was that close to Greg Jefferson. I wouldn’t have to do anything or worry about another encounter.
“I don’t think so, Fran. As much as I would like to work with him, I’m sure he has much more important things to do with his time than help accountant interns.”
She gave me a look like she wasn’t so sure, and for a moment I hoped that she was right. Maybe I would get to see Greg again. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but part of me hoped for more time with the handsome man who was now my boss. Part of me played out the possible scenarios in my head, but then I realized I was just fantasizing and it was never going to happen. Greg Jefferson was way out of my league.
Chapter 3 – Greg
“Did you get the list that I sent over an hour ago?”
Tommy shook his head and handed me what it was that I’d asked for. I liked to know who it was I was going into business with, and that meant getting all of the information on the interns that I could. It helped me to get to know them and whittle down who it was that I was going to hire for an actual job. It didn’t take long once I got the ten working for me, so now that they were chosen, the next step was to check into their backgrounds and see who it was that I was working with.
The name that I went to first was the last one that I had hired. I didn’t really even know what was on her resume or what it was I wanted to find out, but information seemed to be pertinent and she was the first one I wanted to check out. I knew that there was something about her, more than just the sweet look on her face and the way she looked at me in the interview.
I’d had a lot of reactions from women, but never one that seemed to take over a person so quickly. She’d turned red with just a touch of my hand, and I couldn’t help but wonder what I could do to her with a real touch or kiss. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to be thinking that way, but it was hard not to. Desiree sounded and looked a little too much like ‘desire’ for me to ignore.
Looking through the paperwork in front of me, I was pleasantly surprised to see that she had gone to a good school and graduated at the top of her class. I hadn’t even looked at her qualifications when I had hired her, and I knew that there were more than likely many who were better fitted for the job, but I had wanted her near me and I had just said yes. I was feeling a little better about the decision when I saw that she was in fact qualified. She hadn’t been out of college long yet, but she was definitely prepared for the internship program.
Sifting through the background information was just as quick and rewarding. It appeared that she was a good girl. It wasn’t that I necessarily liked good girls, but it meant that the innocence on her face that I had seen might actually be real. She was twenty-one, and for some reason, I knew then that Desiree was going to become one of my favorite employees. I usually wasn’t very active with the program, leaving it to the accounting manager, but I was starting to think that all of that was about to change. It was my company, after all.
When I told Tommy about my plans, he raised an eyebrow, but knew better than to say anything. I was not somebody who liked to be questioned, and it would have been hard to figure out an answer anyway.
“I didn’t know that you wanted to get involved in the program, sir. You never have before, and now that you’re so busy because of the end-of-year reports, I figured that you would want to sit this one out.”
“No, I think it’s important to make sure that the team members, and even the interns, know that I’m responsible for how they work here. I don’t want them to think that we are just going to hire them and then throw them to the wolves.”
Tommy held his tongue. That was part of the reason I kept him around. He wasn’t nice to look at like my last assistant, but he knew when to shut his mouth and stop asking questions. This was one of those times that I didn’t want to have to explain myself to anyone. I didn’t have an explanation as to why the blonde-haired vixen was still on my mind, but so help me, she was.
***
The next day was even worse. I spent most of my morning in meetings, but what I was waiting for was the meet-and-greet that I had set up with Tommy. I told him that I wanted to get to know all of the new staff, a new initiative to help with loyalty. It was all HR crap, but it meant that I got to spend some time with Desiree and that made it worth sitting in a few boring meetings. I didn’t really want to know much about what their job was or would be; I had my mind on only one thing.
After the last meeting before lunch, I went down to the fifth floor and looked for the platinum-blonde hair that had caught my eye the day before. My eyes zeroed in on her, and it wasn’t long before I had urged her gaze up to mine. There was no way that it was just me. She stopped where she was, something in her hand, and stared at me like she was a deer caught in my headlights.
I grinned at her and she looked down. That innocent look was back, and it made my body rear up in response. I looked away before my eyes gave up too much information. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to be looking at any of my employees like that, but Desiree was different. I wasn’t sure how or why, but I knew that there was something about her that made her stand out.
“Sir?”
I turned to see Tommy standing next to me. I wondered how long he had been standing there. He was giving me a knowing look, so I figured he knew enough. Was I that obvious? Looking back at Tommy, I knew I was. There was just something about Desiree that made me wish I had met her somewhere other than at a job interview.
“What, Tommy?”
“You’re snippy today.”
I usually found his flamboyance fun; now I was just finding it irritating. I don’t know why, but his knowing smile bothered me. I didn’t want anyone to know what it was I was feeling for her. I didn’t even know what it was, but I was going to have to be more careful when I admired her from afar. If Tommy had seen it, that meant that others could have as well.
“What, Tommy? I have to get to lunch.”
“I know. That’s why I wanted to see if you would go ahead and take your one o’clock now. Gary called, and he doesn’t know if he is going to be able to make it.”
“Fine, tell him I will meet him at Bernard’s. I don’t know why he doesn’t just tell you ‘lunch meeting’ in the first place. That tightwad is just trying to make it so that he can write it off as an expense.”
Tommy didn’t comment, and that pissed me off worse. He would say something about Desiree, but not about my enemy.
“Anything else, sir?”
“Yeah, stop grinning at me like that, Tommy, or I will find another assistant.”
He flipped his head like he had long hair and told me that I wouldn’t find one as good. He was probably right, but I didn’t answer him. Tommy had been with me for years. He had come in as a temp, and it was only when he was hired on under me that I started to see what a hard worker he was. He may not have dressed how I would have liked him to, and sometimes I was reminded of our differences, but he was the best assistant that I had ever had. All of his personality made him aware of everyone
else, and he’d become invaluable. I just didn’t want to have him giving me hell about her.
I made my way down to the parking garage and to the old Italian place that Gary always preferred. It was standard procedure to go there whenever we met for business. I wasn’t joking about his affinity for writing everything off. I had to admire him for his diligence. My accounting team was on me all of the time to get all of my expense receipts in, but I was constantly forgetting.
Gary was waiting for me with a bottle of wine when I got there. I never saw him at the office, and I sometimes wondered if his staff did.
“How have you been, Gary?”
He just kind of mumbled a little under his breath and slid the bottle across the table. It was going to be one of those meetings that I looked forward to. It would be a whole lot more drinking than talking, and that was the kind of lunch that I needed, something to get my mind off of the blue-eyed girl.
Chapter 4 – Desiree
As I watched him leave for lunch, I had the feeling that he was staring at me again. Greg’s eyes had found me in the accountant room and I couldn’t help but stop and stare back. He had a way about him. It was impossible to look away, and only when a tall, younger man spoke to him did our eye contact break. It was hard not to look at him, and it was hard not to feel a little shiver run through me when I did.
He was gone, though, and I was able to think again. It wasn’t for long, because the day had been a whirlwind and lunch was more of the same. I didn’t get to go out by myself. I ended up having to go out with the rest of the interns so that more information could be downloaded into us.
By the time we got back to the office, I was feeling overwhelmed and I didn’t have much gusto for the rest of the day. It was just too much information to take in. It was nothing like class. Everything was moving faster, and I was finding it hard to keep up. It was almost impossible.
Three o’clock rolled around and there was another meeting to go to. It was the third one in the last six hours and I was about over them all. I was slouching in my chair when the upper management started to come in. I was not as impressed as I probably would have been a day ago. Maybe this wasn’t for me.