Page 4 of The Summer Intern

“I messed it up,” I said.“I don’t know why I get so worked up.”

My brother reached over and patted my shoulder.He must have known how upset I was, because he stopped at my favorite drive-through coffee stand and ordered my favorite caramel macchiato and my favorite chocolate croissant.He was silent as he handed me my treats and drove towards the apartment we shared.

I considered not accepting the food, just out of spite.Perhaps I would have succeeded in resisting if he had gotten my second favorite pastry, but one could only be so strong.

By the time he parallel parked (a bit too perfectly) in front of our fourplex, I was feeling a little better.More than anything, I was disappointed in myself for messing up the job fair.I flopped onto the couch with a sigh.

“So tell me about this plan you have to apply to jobs online,” I said.

Oliver chuckled and grabbed his tablet off the counter, swiping to a website, and then setting it in my lap.“The job fair has a virtual option.All the same companies.”

“But not Camp Eagle Ridge,” I muttered, swiping through the options and feeling a little better.There was a little kids’ music camp that looked fun and an arts camp in Portland.“They won’t realize I was the one who…” I cleared my throat.“You know.”

“Made a scene.”

“Expressed my opinions eloquently, if at a higher volume than necessary.”

Oliver smirked.“Maybe you could dye your hair another color before the interview.”

“Good point.The pink will wear off by then, and I have been eying this silvery indigo.”Re-energized, I started looking through the job requirements and crafting cover letters, barely noticing when Oliver wandered off into his room.

Four hours later, I was so deep into the resume process that I almost didn’t realize my phone was ringing.I frowned down at the unfamiliar area code that popped up on the screen, and my finger hovered over the ignore button, but then it occurred to me that maybe one of the jobs was already calling me back.

Sure, it seemed unlikely, but I’d applied to seven of them.Maybe someone was excited by what they saw?I decided to do the thing I never did and answer the phone.

“This is Casey,” I said, trying to sound breezy and professional.

“Hey, Casey?”The deep voice on the other line was sexy as sin.“This is Sutton Holm.We met a few hours ago.”

“Um, you’re not going to press charges or something—”

“Of course not.”I could hear the laughter in his voice as he cut me off.“We were wondering if you could come up to Eagle Ridge at some point in the next few weeks and have a look at the facility and give us some more of your… insight.”

I blinked.“Um.Insight?Is this like a weird murder plot?”

This time, his laughter came out, deep and rich, giving me shivers all over.I was crushing so hard.“Murder plot?”

“You know, you lure unsuspecting but handsome students into the backwoods of Washington, and they’re never seen or heard from again.”

“That would be… a very elaborate plot.And expensive,” Sutton said.“I feel like we could find a murder option that didn’t involve two days of driving and three nights in a hotel in Corvallis?”

“I mean, I don’t know, maybe you have unlimited wealth.”

He chuckled.“Or maybe you made some interesting points back at the job fair, and we’d like to offer you a part-time internship helping us design a music and arts curriculum.”

Wait.I could be helping the sexy Sutton design a music curriculum?Had I heard him right?That was a dream come true.

I zoned out, picturing us sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in Sutton’s office, talking in depth about how to help kids by teaching them to express themselves with art, then sharing a romantic kiss by the fire.I wasn’t sure why there would be a fire in his office, but those details could be worked out later.

Sutton cleared his throat.“Did I lose you?”

“Oh!No.Of course not!Okay!”I said, letting my impulsive nature make the decision for me.“But wait, how could I do a part-time internship when I’m in Corvallis and you’re in Washington?”

“We thought you could work from home and come up once or twice a month to meet with us, if possible.We’ll hash out all the details next weekend.If that works for you.”

“But why?”I asked.“Couldn’t you find someone else to do it who lives closer?Someone who’s an expert?”

“Dude, are you trying to talk them out of a job?”Oliver poked me in the ribs.

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