Page 5 of The Interns

“And you have every right to be,” Sydney allowed. “Just do your thing and try to enjoy this opportunity for what it is. No matter what, you still get to put King and Associates on your résumé and that’s pretty impressive.”

“You’re right.” She straightened her posture and rested her forearms on the table. “You’re all right.”

“Yeah, we know,” Sydney said readily.

Maya shook her head as she looked around the bar and then at her friends in front of her, Adam and Sydney with their beautiful, smug faces, and sweet Darby, still in her light blue scrubs, quietly sucking down the last of her rumless Coke through a straw since she had to be up at four the following morning.

“Darby, I didn’t even ask how the first day of your surgery rotation went.”

“Oh.” She seemed almost startled, as if she’d forgotten all about her day too. “I scrubbed in on a heart transplant for a six-month-old.”

Maya’s jaw went slack, and Adam and Sydney dropped their side conversation and stared at Darby. Wasting breath complaining about bad coffee, online dating, and unwanted co-workers seemed embarrassingly shallow now.

“I was third assist, so it’s not like I actually did anything. I pretty much just watched,” Darby clarified, uncomfortable with all eyes on her now.

“I think it’s pretty amazing,” Maya said, still in awe.

Adam threw up a hand to find the closest server. “Can we get this lady a real drink, please?”

As they sat nursing their second round of drinks sharing the details of their days, Maya found herself truly smiling and even laughing for the first time today. She promised herself she would hang on to this good mood and start fresh tomorrow morning.

No matter what, it was still her summer.

2

Reed

Reed sat at his desk scrolling through last night’s box scores as he sipped on the last of the coffee in his travel mug. He could only hope that day two would go better than day one. He had begun to question whether he’d made the right decision in taking on this summer associateship because he felt so out of his element here. Big city, fancy office, intimidatingly impressive coworker. He had zero interest in intellectual property law, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be mentored by an upstanding man and renowned lawyer like Alvin King because, at the end of the day, Al was exactly the kind of lawyer he wanted to be even if he was practicing in a different area.

Before yesterday, he would have said that he trusted Al’s judgment implicitly, but he was questioning that now considering the complete mismatch he’d created with this so-called dream team. Maya was, no doubt, top of her class while he hung out somewhere in the middle of the pack as a solid B student. She was almost certainly a front-row sitter, quick to raise her hand and debate obscure case law while he preferred to attend lectures from the back row and quietly observe. She took on prestigious extracurricular opportunities and probably lived at the law library while he traded pursuit of a perfect GPA for being the best uncle possible to his brother’s girls, Grace and Lily.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care about being a great lawyer. In fact, he cared deeply, but he knew that he would pass the bar just like the Maya’s of the world. He also knew that he had no competition for the position he wanted after graduation because the Carter County assistant district attorney role had been vacant for over a year, so he had the luxury of not having to engage in the brutal battle to be top of his class. He respected the hell out of the hard work it took to excel in law school, but what really mattered was the work that came after. That’s what he couldn’t wait for.

He heard footsteps and the faint sound of music behind him and turned to find Maya walking into their office. As soon as she noticed him, she startled. Her arms jerked back, almost spilling the contents of her coffee cup all over her blouse. Her quick recovery spared her from disaster, though she still didn’t seem happy about it. She frowned as she set her coffee on her desk and fumbled with her phone to turn off the music still blaring through her earbuds, then none-too-subtly glared at the clock that hung on the wall above his desk.

“You’re early,” she said.

Yes, it was 8:12 a.m. which was exactly forty-eight minutes before they were due to arrive, and no, he couldn’t help but grin in the face of her obvious annoyance.

See, she could try to act as tough as she wanted, but it was too late because he’d already seen it. A small crack in her professional façade showing her true personality. She had strolled into their office bopping her head to her music with a faint smile on her face, lost in her own little world. Her hair was freed from the elastic tie that held it in place the day before, allowing it to fall just below her bare shoulders. She wore a bright pink tank that showed off her toned arms, navy-blue pants that hugged her curves, and a few thin gold bracelets that shimmered and clinked against each other every time she moved. She seemed happier and more relaxed than the woman he had met yesterday. She was, dare he say, cute. Very cute. Maybe there was hope for them.

“Good morning to you, too,” Reed said from his desk chair.

“Good morning,” she returned. She was trying to be polite but seemed irritated. “What are you doing here?”

“I work here.” He knew what she was getting at, of course, but two could play this game. He found himself wanting to wedge that crack open a little wider.

She sucked in her cheeks and stared at him. “I meant, why are you here so early?”

“Oh, is that what you meant? To beat the traffic,” he explained as he watched her unpack her bag and get situated. “If I leave my house any later, I hit terrible traffic, so I’d rather sit here than in my car for an extra thirty minutes. What’s your excuse?”

“I was just up,” she said with a shrug, “so I decided I may as well get a start on the day. Want one?”

He eyed the bright green granny-smith apple she held out in front of him, then lifted his gaze up to her face. He must have been taking too long to react for her liking, however, because she raised her eyebrows and impatiently extended her outstretched hand toward him again.

“The guy at the coffee shop thought he was being cute by giving me an extra one on the house,” she said.

He supposed she wanted to make sure he damn well knew she hadn’t gone out of her way to bring him a present. Don’t be too flattered, Stanton. “Yeah, well, thank you,” he said, accepting the apple.

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