Page 39 of Tempting Him

“But you’re young and there are parties to attend, right?” he says with a fraction of amusement on his face as he sits behind his desk.

I shrug. “I’m an extrovert. I thrive on being around people. Doyouwant to take me out?”

“We’re fucking, not dating.”

I try not to let the sting of that statement show on my face. He’s right, and if I’m being honest, I’m pretty sure I’ve said the same thing to others. The medicine is bitter.

“I can do both—hang out with them first, meet up with you later.”

“We’ll see. Be here at eight sharp tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.” I hesitate, not sure how to leave.

I’ve always been the one in his position—calling the shots. I’ve slept with people and controlled how it all went down. If I wasn’t interested again, I’d let them know. If we fucked and I was ready to leave, I’d dismiss them without a second thought, without caring about how they felt. It was all very mechanical, and being on the other side is a little jarring.

I’m not saying I have feelings for this guy. I guess I have sexual feelings, but just because I want to fuck him doesn’t mean I care deeply about him. I don’t even know why I feel this way. I should be used to this, it’s what I do.

“Bye,” I say before walking out.

He doesn’t respond, and I hate that I feel a tinge of disappointment that he didn’t want me to stay.

15

Friday nightthere was a party at my frat, and as I’m usually front and center, coming up with drinking games and forcing people to take shots of weird and random shit, it was hard to pull myself away. I definitely spent a few hours talking and drinking, but by one o’clock, I was in my room, trying to get some sleep even though the party ran until at least three or four.

Renzo was there to harass me over the new guy I was fucking, obviously having heard something from the gossips—Dom and Trevor. Little does anybody know, I’m not fucking anyone, and the guy is a man I work for...who knows my dad.

One of my past hookups was there, and after mulling over how I treated a good majority of them, I went out of my way to talk to her and apologize for all the times I was an ass who made her feel like shit.

She laughed and accepted the apology, happily in a relationship, but I hope that even if she acted like it wasn’t a big deal, the apology makes her feel a little better.

I roll up to the building at seven forty-five, positive I’ll be waiting for whoever else is supposed to be here to unlock the door. However, I spot Alek’s car parked in the lot, and once I arrive at his floor, I find him behind his desk, on the phone.

He gestures for me to come in, and I sit patiently while he finishes his call.

“You’re early,” he says with a satisfied smile.

“I even stopped partying early just to go to bed to be ready for today.”

“Good boy,” he replies with an amused grin.

I try not to beam. “Apparently, not early enough. I thought I was going to be the first person here. I also didn’t know I’d be working with you.”

“Well, I’ve only been here half an hour or so, and I don’t typically make my employees work on the weekends, but sometimes, when we’re on a deadline, people will be in here working around the clock.”

“Gotcha. Where do you want me?”

His eyes flash with desire before he straightens up. “Later, I’ll go over a couple of websites you’ll need to learn your way around. It takes some time, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Until then, you can pick a desk out there in the hub and work. He hands me a folder. “Luther told me you already came up with keyword combinations?”

“Yeah,” I say with a nod.

“Good. Now I want you to write a blog on one of those topics. This will help me get a good look at your written communications skills, as well as expanding brand awareness. The point here is to form an incisive narrative of your understanding between the keyword research and the company. Later, you’ll track blog hits and that’ll help you with your experience with SEO analytics.”

I stand up and nod. “Okay.”

* * *

Since starting here,I’ve learned I haven’t learned nearly enough in college, but I’m thankful for everyone who’s allowed us interns to ask questions. Apparently, the company only has a few positions available once the internship is over, but between each of us working with our own group for a new campaign, we’re learning the ropes about the marketing business in general and splitting the work between handling the company’s social platforms, answering customer emails, blogging, sending out newsletters, ordering office supplies, and fifty other things.

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