Page 20 of Keep My Secrets
“Kind of, my boyfriend is extremely protective,” I respond, realizingboyfriendcame out so easily. I guess I am telling people.
“Oh.” She pauses, making me think I said something wrong or that she is judging me for having access to money. “That's cool. Hey, did you get a chance to look over the client folder?”
“Yeah, I did.” I relax as we chat about our proposals while getting into the elevator. By the time we get to our floor, most of the interns are already at their desks. I set my things down and continue my conversation with Abigail. Jonathan stands up and walks between our desks.
“Ladies, ladies, it is too early to be discussing such complicated topics. At least let me treat us to some coffee first.”
“No thanks. I already had mine, since I came to work, to—what is it?” I look at Abigail, feigning to remember a word. “Right, work.” I turn back to my new friend, who is clearly holding back a laugh. We continue our conversation, ignoring the fact that Johnathon is standing directly next to us. We head to the conference room for the morning meeting. As I sit down with Abigail and one of the guys, Tucker, I am asked where I went to school.
“I graduated from Acadia University as salutatorian.” Tucker's eyes widen at the last word.
“Well, that explains it,” a snarky voice from behind me speaks. We all turn to look at Elle.
“Explains what?” I ask. I can already tell Elle is going to be a problem.
“Why you were given an exemption.”
“What exemption? What are you even talking about?”
“You were allowed to be an intern even though your paperwork wasn't in on time. They don't do that for everybody.”I knew that, I assumed it was because of my qualifications and a little help from Theo. What does my alma mater have to do with it?
“Half the execs of Castin Construction went to Acadia. If you had graduated anywhere else, you wouldn't be here.” She seems so proud of herself for figuring it out.
“Well, all that matters is I'm here now and did what took you three weeks in one night.” I pull out my proposal and place it in front of me. I didn’t technically do three weeks of work in one night, but this particular client had remarkable similarities to a project I completed in one of my courses. I was easily able to make a few simple adjustments and have a completed proposal. Mr. Castin walks in at that exact moment.
“Did I just hear you say your proposal is complete?” he asks as he stops behind me.
“Yes, I finished it last night. So, unless there is a part that was not given to me, it has been completed.”
“Mind if I take a look?”
“Not at all.” I hand him my portfolio. He flips through several pages.
“If any of you were wondering why she was allowed to start late, here is your answer. Being a graduate of Acadia may have gotten our attention, but this right here is why she has the job. This looks great, Aria. Later today, I'd like to set up a meeting to go over it and see where we can improve.” Again, Mr. Castin has me smiling from ear to ear. His eyes look down at me, and all I can see is a gold shimmer I didn't see before.
He then walks to the head of the table and starts the meeting. A large group of men in suits, I believe to be the board of executives, walks past the conference room window. I look at all their faces, looking to see if I remember any of them. Did they come speak in any of my lectures? Did I see them at any alumni events? Did I speak with any at a networking event?
Once the meeting is over, we are excused back to our desks to work on our proposals. As I sit down to review it and take notes on things to improve for my meeting later, Elle walks up to my desk.
“I don't care that you're good at the job. You still shouldn't be here.”
“It’s a good thing your opinion doesn't matter then, does it? If you'll excuse me, I have work to do.”
“It’s not fair, we all started weeks ago after a grueling interview process. Do you understand that hundreds, if not thousands, of graduates apply, and they only take ten?”
“Eleven,” I correct.
“No, ten.”
I look around and count, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,” and point my finger at my chest, “eleven.”
“They have never taken eleven before. So, I don't understand why they made an exception foryou.” Her emphasis was definitely supposed to be a jab.
“You don't need to understand; that is not your job. Your job is to finish that proposal. Maybe if you spent less time worrying about why I am here and used this time to do your actual job, you could be done and have a meeting with Mr. Castin today. But instead of doing the job you are paid to do, you are at my desk keeping me from doing mine.” The crowd of interns is silent as they wait for Elle's response. She finally groans and walks away. Everyone goes back to their business except Abigail and Johnathon.
“She is just worried you threaten her spot,” Abigail suggests.
“They added me, not replaced someone with me,” I counter.
