CHAPTER 5 - THE WORST INTERN
1008 Words
"Cole...?"
Ethan looked up.
Scarlett was still staring at his file.
For a moment, her expression looked strange.
Almost as if she remembered something.
Then the look disappeared.
She closed the file.
"You."
Ethan blinked.
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
She walked toward him.
Up close, she looked even more beautiful.
And somehow even more intimidating.
"Congratulations."
That surprised him.
"Thank you."
"You are officially the newest disaster in my department."
Noah nearly choked on his coffee.
Ethan frowned.
"Excuse me?"
Scarlett gave him a calm smile.
"The department has suffered enough this year."
Noah turned away because he was trying not to laugh.
Ethan crossed his arms.
"You haven't even seen me work."
"I saw you walk into the wrong meeting yesterday."
"...That happened once."
"And you still got lost after leaving."
"...How do you know that?"
"Because security called me."
Noah burst out laughing.
Ethan looked offended.
This woman was impossible.
Scarlett handed him several files.
"Come with me."
---
One hour later, Ethan regretted everything.
Apparently, being an intern involved endless paperwork.
Emails.
Reports.
Meetings.
Spreadsheets.
More spreadsheets.
How did people survive this every day?
Scarlett stood beside his desk.
"You finished?"
"Almost."
She took one look at the papers.
Then she closed her eyes.
Ethan became nervous.
"...What?"
"You printed twenty copies."
"Yes."
"I asked for two."
Silence.
Noah immediately covered his face.
Ethan looked at the papers.
"Oh."
Scarlett inhaled slowly.
Very slowly.
"Ethan."
"Yes?"
"Do numbers frighten you?"
"No."
"Interesting."
She pointed at the papers.
"Then why are they attacking you?"
Noah laughed so hard that coffee almost came out of his nose.
Ethan stared at Scarlett.
She looked completely serious.
Which somehow made it worse.
---
Things became even worse during lunch.
Scarlett asked him to bring coffee for everyone.
A simple task.
Very simple.
At least, it should have been.
Five minutes later…
Coffee covered half the table.
One employee jumped from his seat.
Another nearly dropped his laptop.
Noah was laughing again.
Ethan looked horrified.
"I'm sorry!"
Scarlett looked at the disaster.
Then at him.
Then back at the disaster.
Finally, she spoke.
"You managed to lose a battle against coffee."
"It slipped."
"The cups attacked you?"
"No."
"Then perhaps gravity personally dislikes you."
Several employees started laughing.
Even Ethan almost smiled.
Almost.
Scarlett handed him tissues.
"You are honestly impressive."
"Thank you."
"It was not a compliment."
---
By afternoon, everyone already knew him.
The terrible new intern.
The man who printed too many reports.
The man who spilled coffee.
The man who almost sent a private email to the entire company.
Yet strangely…
Nobody treated him badly.
They laughed.
They teased him.
But they also helped him.
One woman showed him how to organize files.
Another employee explained the software.
Noah kept bringing him snacks.
It felt…
Warm.
Like being accepted into a family.
A messy family.
But still a family.
He had never experienced something like this before.
---
At six o'clock, Ethan stretched.
Finally.
Work was over.
He picked up his bag.
Then stopped.
Nobody else was moving.
People were still typing.
Phones still rang.
Someone was discussing reports.
Another employee looked exhausted.
Scarlett remained at her desk.
Reviewing documents.
The dark circles beneath her eyes suddenly became more noticeable.
Ethan looked around.
"Why is everyone still here?"
Noah looked up.
"What do you mean?"
"Work ended."
Noah laughed softly.
"That's cute."
Ethan frowned.
"Cute?"
"This is Finance."
"So?"
"So work never ends."
Ethan looked confused.
"But you've been here since morning."
"Welcome to adulthood."
Some employees smiled tiredly.
One woman rubbed her eyes.
"I haven't seen my apartment in three days."
Another man sighed.
"I forgot what sunlight looks like."
Everyone laughed weakly.
But Ethan did not laugh.
Because he realized they were not joking.
These people worked every day.
Long hours.
Little rest.
Deadlines.
Pressure.
And tomorrow…
They would wake up and do it all over again.
For the first time, he truly understood what his father meant.
Ordinary life was not easy.
It was like climbing a mountain every day while pretending the rocks were not heavy.
And suddenly, Ethan felt ashamed.
He had complained about his tiny apartment.
About the subway.
About cooking noodles.
Yet these people lived like this every day.
No private jets.
No luxury penthouses.
No endless money waiting for them.
Just hard work.
Scarlett finally looked up.
She noticed him staring.
"What?"
Ethan hesitated.
"...Do you always stay this late?"
She blinked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Her expression softened slightly.
"Because the work needs to be done."
Simple words.
Yet they carried a strange weight.
Like small stones dropped into deep water.
Ethan slowly sat back down.
Noah looked surprised.
"Aren't you leaving?"
Ethan picked up another file.
"No."
Scarlett raised one eyebrow.
"What are you doing?"
"Helping."
"You don't know what you're doing."
"I can learn."
Silence.
Noah looked between them.
A small smile appeared on Scarlett's lips.
Very small.
Almost invisible.
But it was there.
"Fine."
She placed another file on his desk.
"Try not to destroy anything."
Ethan smiled.
"I'll do my best."
"I find that deeply worrying."
Noah burst into laughter again.
---
Three hours later.
The office was finally becoming quieter.
People slowly began leaving.
Scarlett rubbed her neck tiredly.
Then someone approached her desk.
A delivery employee.
"I was told to give you this."
She frowned.
"I didn't order anything."
The man shrugged.
"No sender name."
He left.
Scarlett looked at the envelope.
Plain brown paper.
No writing.
No address.
A strange feeling settled in her chest.
Slowly, she opened it.
A newspaper clipping slipped out.
The paper looked old.
Very old.
Scarlett's hands froze.
Her breathing stopped.
Because there was a picture on the page.
A man smiling beside a company building.
A man she had not seen in years.
Her father.
The color slowly drained from her face.
Below the picture was a headline.
KINGSLEY EXECUTIVE ACCUSED OF FINANCIAL FRAUD
Her hands began to tremble.
At the bottom of the newspaper clipping…
Someone had written three words.
In red ink.
FIND THE TRUTH
- Writer
