Page 32 of Boss's Baby Surprise

“The last time I accepted interns, there was paperwork involved,” I said.

“Yeah, but the application for the Stone Group has already been submitted and approved. I guess it depends on whether you takeover completely before the end of next semester. There is an assessment you would need to fill out and turn in.”

“And after the internship, then what?”

She grimaced. “I leave the Stone Group and go find a job. It’s been drilled into us not to expect anything to come from the internship. Besides, it’s not like James would hire me for a junior position. He doesn’t have any openings, and now he’s selling it all off to retire.”

“Let me see if I understand this. You’re going to quit being the receptionist to become an intern?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Not exactly. The thing is, because I have to work,” she continued, “and since I already work for the architectural firm where I will be doing my internship, the program coordinator at the university has allowed me to do my internship with part-time hours but for a longer time— more than a single semester, so I still get the same amount of hours for the credits.”

“And James is okay with that?”

“He was reluctant at first,” she admitted. “But when he realized that I was going to eventually leave, he agreed to it. This way, I’m still around a little longer. I can’t be a receptionist for the rest of my life. I’ve spent too many years working toward this degree.” She was flush with excitement. Suddenly, she seemed to become shy, and she looked down at her hands. “It’s taking a long time, and my career trajectory didn’t go the way I planned, but I’m still just as eager and excited to become an architect as I was before…” She trailed off. She broke off a piece of her sandwich and put it in her mouth.

It seemed like she was leaving something out.

“When is this internship supposed to start? At the beginning of next semester?” I asked.

Clarissa took a sip of her drink and shook her head. “Because of my special circumstances, the internship starts just after midterms.”

“And when is that?”

She bit her lip and crinkled up her nose. “In two weeks.”

No wonder she was nervous.

“What’s the plan?” I asked.

“I’ll be the firm’s receptionist part-time in the mornings, and then in the afternoons, I’ll be James’s intern. He’s agreed to continue to pay me my full salary the entire time. If you aren’t willing to work with me under the same arrangements… Well, because of our history…” she said.

I nodded in understanding.

“So, anyway, if you can’t or won’t, I understand. No hard feelings. But I need to know. James said he would help me find an internship with one of his colleagues and help me to find a paying one since I cannot afford to not work for a full semester at this point in my life. I have to be able to pay rent, you know?”

I waved my hand and shook my head in a stopping gesture. “You don’t have to worry about any of that. You don’t need to change your plans simply because the Stone Group is changing ownership. I’ve worked with you in the past. I’m willing to take you on as an intern again.”

She let out a deep sigh of relief. “Oh, thank you. That's wonderful. Thank you,” she said. “Are you finished?” Shereached out for my plastic tray covered in empty sandwich wrappers.

I rattled my ice in the paper cup and took one last slurp of my pop before putting it on the tray. “All set,” I said.

I waited for her at the door as she took care of our garbage.

“You know, I expected everything to be different when I return to Chicago, but it seems like everything is the same. Nothing’s changed.” I chuckled.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’m back in Chicago after six years. The food is just as good as I remembered it, and you are still my intern.”

17

CLARISSA

Iwasn’t privy to all the details when it came to the sale of the Stone Group to Kyle Love. I just knew that he started to be in our offices more and more at some point. The transition was so seamless that none of us really noticed. Or at least I think that’s what the plan was. Everything seemed to take place around the same time my internship was scheduled to begin.

My first official day as Jame’s intern started off not too much different from any normal workday. Except when I left for lunch, the front desk was taken over by a temp.

“Go be an intern, I’ve got this,” Jenna said as she shooed me off toward James’s office and began showing the new woman how we expected things to be handled.

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