Illicit

Chapter Two

Behind the black-haired woman seated at the desk, in massive silver letters that stuck out from the wall and were backlit in soft amber light, were the words Reed Publishing in a bold, block font. Above them, in the same metal material, was a massive tree that mimicked the one downstairs.

Beneath the logo in a smaller italic font was the tagline: Reed a Book

It wasn’t clever, but somehow it worked.

I paused halfway between the elevator and the receptionist, my heart beginning to race.

This is it.

I did it.

After four years getting my bachelor’s degree, followed by a six-week crash course in publishing at Columbia, I was about to start my fall internship at Reed Publishing.

And now that I was here, standing before the massive logo I’d seen a million times in print and magazines–and, most recently, on the letterhead of my internship invitation letter–the excitement of this day was restored, filling me with the buzz of anticipation and eclipsing even the sexy smirker from my mind. He didn’t matter, whoever he was.

This mattered. This moment right here.

People hurried past me in various directions, the Monday morning bustle of a massive publishing house moving around me. It had its own energy, its own pulse.

My eyes began to tingle as I took it all in.

“Miss?”

Blinking, I lowered my gaze to the woman seated behind the desk.

She smiled, watching me expectantly. Had she asked me something?

“I’m sorry, I…” was momentarily stunned into silence by a logo. I grimaced. “Did you say something?”

The receptionist’s smile widened as if she understood why I was so affected by a logo. Maybe she’d had the same reaction on her first day. “So dreamy, right?”

Nodding, I glanced back up at the signage; being here did feel like a dream.

“What can I help you with this morning? Do you have an appointment?”

“I’m here for the fall internship,” I explained, kicking back into gear and approaching the desk. “My name is Rylan Blake.”

“Awesome,” she said. “I’ve been expecting you.” She wheeled her chair over to one end of the desk and grabbed a file. “I have all the paperwork ready for you here.” She waved the manila folder. “Welcome to Reed Publishing, Ms. Blake.”

“Thank you.”

She stood and walked around the desk to join me, extending her hand. “My name is Marisa. If there’s ever anything you need, let me know, okay? Each floor has their own administrative assistant, and there are various other admins throughout the company, you know? But I have my eyes and ears on everything, right, so I’m your girl.” She paused for a quick breath. “Stella is the executive assistant, so she’s upstairs. Editorial has Hector and publicity has Libby, the design team has Eloise…” She trailed off, eyes widening. “Yikes, sorry. I’m rambling. Anyway, I sort of handle it all from down here, so no worries if you need something, okay? Whatever it is, I’m your girl. And if I can’t figure it out, I’ll find someone who can, you know?”

She talked a mile a minute but I found myself smiling as she rambled. It made her instantly likable and relatable.

“Come on.” She started down a long hallway that broke off to the right of the front entrance. “Mondays are hella busy here, and I can’t be away from the desk for very long.” As if in emphasis of that statement, the phones began ringing. “See?” Marisa laughed, tossing her black curls over her shoulder to glance back at me. “Your first stop is Human Resources, but that shouldn’t take long.”

Four hours later, it was clear that Marisa couldn’t have been more wrong. The paperwork portion of kicking off an internship at a corporate giant like Reed Publishing took up the entire first half of my day, and by the time my lunch break rolled around, my eyes were weary from staring at the computer for so long, my hand was exhausted from signing so many documents, and my stomach rumbled and roared like an angry Chupacabra.

After a handful of wrong turns, I finally made it back to the lobby of the seventy-third floor just after twelve o’clock. Marisa and a few other people were gathered at reception.

I froze. Should I say hello, or try to slip into the elevator unnoticed?

Marisa spotted me and grinned, waving wildly.

Go say hello it is.

“Hey girl hey,” she called, waving me over. “How was your first day so far?”

I shrugged. “Lots of paperwork.”

Marisa motioned toward the others. “Guys, this is Rylan, our fall intern. Ry, this is Eloise, Hector, and Marcus.” She pointed to each person in turn, and I tried to memorize their names as I shook their hands.

“Hungry?” Marisa asked. “Do you have plans for lunch?”

“Starving, and no, I don’t.” I’d planned on getting to know the neighborhood and finding somewhere close by to grab a bite to eat, but maybe this would be better than eating alone.

“Who knew internship paperwork could be quite so tedious, am I right?” Hector smiled, elbowing me gently.

“You have no idea.”