Page 23 of His Revenge
It’s been a few months now since my encounter with Brad in the Bentley, and they’ve been the best months of my life.I finished my internship at Excel and then extended my stay at the company through a new externship program.It was a bit of a surprise because us summer interns were expecting to get the boot come August.School was starting soon, and it was time to shift gears once again.
But to our surprise, a number of us were offered a chance to stay at Excel through the fall, and the opportunity was too good to pass up.Not only would we be getting paid, but we actually get good assignments in our respective divisions.I’ve been learning a lot about marketing, and have developed a great relationship with my manager.It’s my hope to land a job here after graduation, although it could be weird if Brad and I go public at some point.
Then again, my man and I are in a tricky situation.We spoke about our relationship status just last week, the tone of our conversation teasing yet serious at once.We’d just enjoyed a leisurely Sunday afternoon lunch, and sat companionably on the terrace of his mansion, enjoying the fall afternoon.
“So how did these externships come about?”I ask with a teasing smile as he massages my socked foot.“I didn’t know Excel even had them.”
The handsome man winks at me, his blue eyes made bluer by the color of his sweater.
“Do you really have to ask?”he rumbles, a smile on that mobile mouth.“It should be obvious, right?”
I giggle, flushing with happiness.
“Okay, so you orchestrated the whole thing so that I could stay at Excel longer.But why?You know my college isn’t that far away.Evergreen is a forty-five minute drive, and I was making the commute every morning before I started staying with you.I could easily go back to school and see you every weekend.”
By this point, I’d given up my small summer sublet, and was living full-time with Brad.It’s wonderful, to be honest.Instead of a cramped space with a fold-out bed and a mini-fridge, instead I have access to every amenity possible, including a private gym, a pool, sauna, chef’s kitchen, and of course, the manicured gardens that we’re gazing out on now.Plus, Brad employs an army of household staff, so it’s easy to sit back and relax.I only need to focus on keeping my man sated and satisfied, without the hassle of managing a large estate.
But my gorgeous boyfriend merely chuckles again in response to my question, before taking a sip of his beer and grinning at me.
“Sweetheart, forty-five minutes is far too long.I could be deep in your wet cunt, coming like a fucking hurricane, in that window of time.There’s no way I’d let you make that commute twice a day, when your time could be used so much better.So yeah, I dreamed up this externship program to keep your pretty pussy close.”
“Oh you!”I squeal, slapping his arm playfully as a thrill of sensation ripples deep in my interior.“So dirty!”
“You know it,” he rasps before grasping my small hand in his big one and pressing a kiss to it.“But seriously, Mins, are you having a good time at Excel?Are you getting assignments and picking up new skill?”
I roll my eyes.
“Of course I am,” I say happily.“The program is actually really well thought-out, and I have a great manager.Chantel’s teaching me a lot about marketing, and it’s super-interesting, actually.With these kinds of skills, I could go into almost any industry because what company doesn’t need to sell in this day and age?Besides, you know I’m a journalism major, and there isn’t much going on there.In fact, I think journalism as a whole is pretty much in a death spiral.”
The handsome billionaire nods, massaging my socked foot thoughtfully.
“You mean with Jeff Bezos buyingThe Washington Postand Patrick Soon-Shiong buyingTheL.A.Times, right?These papers can’t sustain themselves financially, so they need rich backers to bail them out.”
I nod.
“Exactly.Plus, there just isn’t any money in the industry anymore, so local papers are dropping like fleas.Only a couple of the big papers, likeThe New York Times, are going to survive, and that’s only because people pay for their recipe and games sections.It’s not the reporting.It’s Wordle and Spelling Bee that drive revenue.”
“Shit,” Brad muses.“Yeah, I’d heard that.Sounds bad.”
“It gets even worse,” I add, “because AI is going to decimate jobs in the newsroom too.Artificial Intelligence is easily able to write newspaper articles, and why not?Especially for something like sports reporting, where it’s just laying out a bunch of stats, or a play by play recap of last night’s action.At the very least, reporters will be able to use AI to generate the bulk of an article, and then simply tweak the writing to give it a personal touch.”
“Yeah,” Brad muses.“But that sounds like an intelligent use of AI because it increases productivity.”
“You’d be right about that,” I reply.“I completely agree because these programs will make our lives, and their jobs, easier.But there will be fewer positions as a result, and life as a cub reporter has never been easy.I don’t know if I could even snag a job as a cub reporter because there will be so few positions.”
The handsome CEO shrugs with a smile.
“Let me know, sweetheart, because I know some people.I could pull some strings for you.”
I stare at him.
“You would do that?”
Brad shrugs again, at ease, before picking up my hand and kissing the inside of my wrist.
“If not for you, then whom?”he asks, one black brow raising with amusement.“I can think of no one else that I’d rather help, sweetheart.”
I flush with happiness because is this man saying that he loves me?We’ve never exchanged the words, although the feeling certainly vibrates in the air.Our moments together are intimate and romantic, and I’ve never felt so happy before.But the fact is that there’s definitely an elephant in the room that needs to be resolved.Severalbig elephants in fact.
