“I’m really sorry. I didn’t see him,” I said to Brittany as I shook my head at myself. Of course, I still felt like it was my fault, even if Tyler and I both ran into each other. It was as much his fault as it was mine. Maybe if I wasn’t so afraid of getting fired, I would’ve said something to him. “Thank you for sticking up for me.”
“Don’t sweat it, okay? I’ll talk to Mr. Ashland. He’ll understand it was just an accident,” Brittany assured me as she patted me on the arm encouragingly.
I smiled at her gratefully. I couldn’t thank her enough for having my back. If it wasn’t for her, I would’ve just gone home and accepted the fact that I wasn’t graduating this semester. She gave me hope that I could fight my way through this internship. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to deal with Tyler again. Sure, he was nice to look at with his handsome face and perfect body, but that only went so far when he was a jerk. I got that he was some billionaire CEO, and I was just a measly intern, but it didn’t give him the right to treat me like some pest. I hoped something humbled him in the future.
“Now, let’s finish your first day with getting you set up at your computers. I have all of your login information,” Brittany said as she clasped her hands together cheerfully. She then motioned for us to follow her back to our offices.
I lingered behind for a moment, gazing into Tyler’s office with a expression of distaste on my face. I hoped I could survive this internship. I had thought that Sara would be my greatest threat, but maybe I was wrong about that. It seemed like the handsome, douchey boss was going to be the thorn in my side. I would show him that I was anything but the clumsy, fumbling intern he thought I was.
~*~
It was a relief getting home that night. I was exhausted, but I had plenty to rant about, so I invited Hannah and Nick over for cheap wine coolers and greasy pizza. It was the perfect way to end a long, hard day. Unfortunately, I couldn’t load up on as many wine coolers as needed to quiet my angry thoughts because I had my internship to go back to tomorrow. Unless Tyler decided to fire me. The jury was still out on that.
“Tell me all about Mr. Billionaire. I read an article about him the other day,” Hannah said as she strode over to my thrifted, beige couch with a slice of cheese pizza in one hand and a blue coconut wine cooler in the other. Her strawberry blonde hair bounced with each step before she plopped down next to Nick.
“What did it say? He’s Chicago’s finest bachelor with more money in his bank account than we can even imagine?” Nick smirked, his eyes rolling past his black-framed glasses.
“More like he’s a rude jerk with an inflated ego,” I muttered bitterly as I closed the pizza box on my kitchen island. I snagged a strawberry limeade wine cooler from the fridge before walking to the living room. Since I lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment, I could enter a new room in just a few steps.
“I take it that someone didn’t have a good first day,” Hannah guessed with a sympathetic look on her face. She scooted over, patting the spot between her and Nick.
I sank down into the couch, feeling Hannah’s arm wind around my shoulders and the wine cooler in her hand pressing against my bare skin past the thin strap of my black tank top. I leaned into her side, stretching my leg out across Nick’s knees. I couldn’t survive without my friends.
We all had classes together since we were all in the same major. Whether we bonded over our exhaustion, frustration, or coy humor, we always had a good time together. Even after graduation, I never wanted to lose the friendship that we developed over the past few years. They were my family. Not that my own parents weren’t great and supportive, but Hannah and Nick were here with me, while my parents were a few hours away in my hometown.
“First off, I was late,” I told them. I had to start from the very beginning because not just one bad thing happened today. I had to have the worst first day possible. “I had to park in a two-hour zone, so I have a lovely parking ticket to pay off now.”
Nick chuckled as he patted my knee. “This is already good,” he said.
I playfully swatted at his head, my fingertips brushing his neatly fixed, brown hair. I rubbed my fingertips together, shooting a sneer at him. “How much gel is in your hair today?”