Page 18 of Boss's Baby Surprise

It had come up before. The client really wanted me on site for the duration of their project, and they were paying me more than enough that being available to them wasn’t a bad idea. But I had agreed to and taken on the internship program for the summer, and I had thoughts of settling down with an established office in Chicago.

After Alayna left my office, I sat and contemplated my situation for a few minutes about being in Chicago and about finishing the project in Hong Kong. I loved having an established presence in Chicago. After all, it was the city in the heart of American architecture. But I had that burning drive to see this project completed.

My focus on this project took over my life for a day or two. I went home long enough to shower and change clothes. For the most part, I did a deep intellectual dive into the design and by the end of the week, I was ready to hand over illustrations to my drafting team to see what they could come up with.

“Okay, everybody,” I said as I walked into the conference room we used for the interns’ office. “I have a new project for you to begin immediately. I really need you to use the drawing and drafting skills you’ve been showing me that you have.”

“What’s up?” Steve asked.

He looked eager and excited. When I looked over at Clarissa, she gave me a soft smile but didn’t say anything. The corners of her mouth were slightly pinched. I couldn’t tell whether she was still not feeling well or she was slightly mad at me for not having said anything to her since she left my apartment on Sunday.

“I’ve been working on the sketches, and I need them to be turned into presentable drawings. This is not a theoretical exercise. These are for my actual clients, and I just want to see if you can interpret my sketches on something that is going to a client. You’ve demonstrated skill on the practice runs, let's see how you do when real time and money is involved.”

Steve clapped his hands. He was like a kid who just learned they were going to an amusement park. Clarissa looked nervous and nodded repeatedly.

“This is a real client?” she asked nervously.

“Yes, this is a real client Now, whether or not I show them your drawings or I end up sending this over to my draft group will be determined by what you show me by the end of day, tomorrow.”

“But this is a real project?” she asked again.

“Yes, this is a real project,” I said. “And yes, you can list it on your résumé as part of the work completed during your internship. Alayna has the details and will make sure my sketches are emailed to you. If you have any questions, direct them to her.”

“What if we need clarification on something?” Steve asked.

I shook my head. “Ask Alayna. Part of what I want to see from you is how well you translate sketches into a final rendering.”

I left Steve chatting excitedly over the project with Alayna. Clarissa seemed quiet. Maybe she was thinking over the task at hand. When I returned to my office, I opened my email and read a new message from the client in Hong Kong. I quickly typed up my response. I didn’t have to think about it. I knew what I was going to do.

Planning to arrive in Hong Kong at the end of the month. Looking forward to working with you in person.

9

CLARISSA

Iknocked on the open door to Kyle’s office. I was already nervous, but when he looked up at me and smiled with those beautiful blue eyes of his, the nerves in my stomach started flipping. It felt like I hadn’t seen him for weeks, and honestly, I hadn’t. The last time I spent with him was the weekend when I started to feel sick. After that, the internship suddenly was crazy busy, and then the next thing I knew, Steve and I were working on refining Kyle’s drawings. We ended up working directly with more senior illustrators to take Kyle’s concepts into workable, usable drawings. I had barely seen him at all.

“How are you, Clarissa?” he asked as if he were only my employer and there was nothing going on between us. Maybe there wasn’t anusanymore.

I glanced over my shoulder before stepping into his office and walking up to his desk. “Are you mad at me?” I blurted out. “We haven't been together for a couple of weeks. You haven’t taken me out to dinner. I barely see you.”

“I wasn’t planning on saying what I was thinking while we were at the office. We had a rule.”

“There are questions I can’t ask while I stand on this side of your desk in your office,” I said.

I watched as realization crossed his face. He dropped his jaw and made an O shape.

“Right,” he said, slowly and drawn out. “I’m not mad at you. I’m just very busy. This project has suddenly taken off. It’s like an avalanche that we need to keep up with. You understand. My weekends have been taken over completely by this project. I’ve got a lot to prepare for, and I don’t have time for distractions.”

I had thought I was more than a distraction for him between big projects. Like a sad puppy, I tucked my proverbial tail between my legs. “Have a good weekend. I hope you get a lot done,” I said.

I wasn’t able to do much the rest of the day, my focus completely shot. I had completely misread his intentions. I pouted the rest of the day at work and the entire commute home.

I was still pouting and sitting in the dark when Marci came home.

She flicked on the light and jumped before she started giggling nervously. “What the hell are you doing here? Oh, sweetie, why are you sitting here in the dark?”

I slumped to the side, my head resting on the couch and my arms folded in front of me. “I am sitting on the couch in the dark wondering where I went wrong with my life.”

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