Chapter 4

“You get to what!?” Eric said from his seat in the conference room.

“We’re doing surveys at another company,” you grinned. You had stopped off in the Intern’s shared conference room/bullpen to pick up some extra pens and the phone charger you kept at work.

“This is so unfair. Why the hell do you get to do stuff and we don’t?” Eric demanded.

“Because he got here first,” Gemma said, waving Eric off like the annoying drone he was. “My question is why you and Sabrina get to go together.”

Gemma was equal parts beautiful and smart. She’d just completed a semester abroad at the local State university and had decided to do a summer internship here as well before heading back to Australia. Gemma was the kind of girl you expected to be on a beach taking pictures for Instagram - fit-but-curved body, apple cheeks with a perfect tan, brilliant teeth, and platinum blonde hair that she folded into a neat braid for work. She often wore business slacks or pencil skirts that went halfway down her shins, and simple blouses that were just tight enough to show off her form without being considered scandalous.

To be honest, Gemma would have been the walking Wet Dream of the office intern pool if it wasn’t for Sabrina’s natural charm and charisma. Sabrina just had a way about her that ingratiated her to people, and while she wasn’t as aggressively beautiful as Gemma, she had that all-American attitude and confidence without being overbearing.

“Sabrina came in right after Eric and helped me out finding files for Garrison, so we delivered them together,” you said.

“What the hell, dude. Why didn’t you get me to help you?” Eric asked.

“You didn’t ask or offer. Besides, even if I had asked you, you would have just laughed it off,” you said.

“Not if I knew there was a reward like this,” he scoffed.

“I think that’s the point of a reward,” Gemma said. “You earn them by being a good worker and a good person, Eric. Not just because you want them.”

“Whatever,” Eric said. “Fine. Leave me and Gemma and Andy to do all the real work. We’ll make sure to leave your shares waiting for you.”

“You do that,” you sighed. “Later.”

Eric grunted. Gemma smiled, just a touch of jealousy in her expression, but she waved and gave a little wink.

That wink would have carried you on cloud nine all day on any other day. Instead, you barely registered it as you left the intern bullpen with your messenger bag slung over your shoulder and headed towards the elevator.

“Got everything?” Sabrina asked as you met her there.

“Yup,” you said. “Eric is super jealous.”

“Hah, good,” Sabrina laughed. “Maybe he’ll put in a little more work instead of checking his phone all the time. He is obsessed with Hinge.”

The elevator dinged and opened, and Andy came stumbling out. Andy was the kind of tall, shaggy-haired kid who you assumed was either going to drop out of school to go become a tech mogul, or drop out of school to become a burnout in whatever bumfuck suburb he’d rolled out of. Unfortunately for him it was looking more and more like it was the latter.