The Lovestruck Intern

Chapter Three

This time, life got interesting and different for Monica. She was dressed in a thrifted pair of black office pants, a fuchsia pink blazer and a pair of low heels to match. She had spent her last dime putting this outfit together and she hoped it looked good at least.

She had taken time out to blow dry and curl her black, wavy hair with a few strands flying around but she didn't care. That was the least of her problems.

Greg couldn't believe she had gotten an actual job and teased her about it.

‘You are dressed up all fancy. What sort of job is this? Are you working for the mayor or something?’ He asked, still in bed and surfing the web on this phone. The volume of the video he was watching was turned up to the max, and this usually infuriated Monica. But not today, she wasn't going to let anything, or anyone, ruin her first day at work.

Ellie had written a one page concise, professional reference letter on Monica’s behalf. She couldn't thank her friend enough. Whatever was going to happen, she wasn't going to jinx this, like the rest of her life.

‘I told you, Greg. It's a tech company and I'll be working as an intern there.’ Monica already sounded irritated but Greg didn't just care to notice.

‘Oh yeah. Tech this, tech that. I hope it comes with a lot of money. This place needs an upgrade and I need the new PlayStation like yesterday.’

Monica faced Greg and placed her hands on her slim waist.

‘You’re crazy, Greg. You'd better get up and do something with your life. It's disgusting to see you live like this.’

‘You sound just like your bitchy friend, Nelly.’

Monica rolled her eyes. Here came the always-forgetting-Ellie’s-name game. It was stupid and childish for him to do this every time Ellie came up in their conversation. He never liked her, and thankfully she never liked him back.

‘Whatever, Greg. I've got to go.’

Before he could say anything else, she was out the door with her purse slung on her shoulder. It was Donna’s purse and somehow Monica still carried it everywhere ever since she claimed it as hers. It was a black big purse with too many zips, a few of them defected.

The air was windy and chilly, it was autumn and beautiful outside. She would lose an arm for a cup of coffee but the queue at the coffee shop would be insane right now, and she didn't want to be late on her first day at work.

Employees, including interns, were expected to resume at the office at 9:00AM and it was 8:20AM already and she didn't have any more time to waste, after avoiding bickering with Greg over his inactivity and laziness.

She arrived at the tall building at 8:50AM with the sign Max Group at the top. Everything was glass, shiny and fancy. There were a few policemen standing outside of their patrol cars, drinking coffee and munching on pretzels and bagels.

Monica’s heart skipped. What if these policemen were awaiting her arrival and as soon as she was identified, they would arrest her for the scam that she was?

She took a breath and walked past them, but nothing happened. They continued munching, sipping and talking. She adjusted her blazer and walked past the thick glass revolver door at the entrance.

The employment letter had clearly told where to go, so she busied herself into the elevator with a few other business looking men with shiny shoes and expensive looking suits. They ignored her as they chatted away.

The elevator bell rang and Monica was on the ninth floor. The air was cooler and crisp, so she took a deep breath and readjusted her blazer. She really had to stop doing that, or by closing time, her blazer would be in shreds. It wasn't good material anyway, after the actual owner, whoever that was, must have worn it to the fullest.

The receptionist was speaking to someone on her headset. She was a strawberry blonde with white, tight teeth like Miley Cyrus. She had that faux smile on her face that most receptionists usually had in common.

‘Hi. Welcome to Max Group. How can I help you?’ Her voice was mechanical, almost like Siri. It was impressive but a little unnerving.

‘Um, hi. I’m here as an intern. Today is my first day here.’ Monica couldn't stand herself, but she was suddenly fidgeting. If Greg could see her right now, he would have a good laugh and tease her about it for the rest of the year.

If she knew it was going to be this way, she could have read a self-help book on conquering social anxiety or not making yourself look like a fool on your first day at work. She knew there had to be a book somewhere on things like this.

With that same smile on her face, the receptionist blinked away. Monica stood there, trying to make the situation less awkward, but it just wasn't working. Then she said, ‘My name is Monica Anderson?’. It came out like a question like she wasn't sure what her name was.

The receptionist gasped and muttered, ‘The Monica Anderson? Then why didn't you say so? You're up for a meeting in 10 minutes. Let's go!’

Monica could feel the air kicked out of her lungs. Her voice as squeaky as the receptionist dragged her to a large conference room. There were a few people already seated, chatting away, while the others were busy with their computer.

‘You should take a seat. Would you like anything to drink? Water? Juice? Coffee?’ The receptionist startled her with the numerous offers of drinks, but she shook her head and said she was fine. Actually, she would have wanted a cup of coffee but her nerves might make her spill it right there on someone. She had to be really careful and not make a fool out of herself.

‘OK then. Just let me know if you need anything. The meeting will be starting shortly.’ The receptionist sashayed out of the conference room, leaving Monica alone with the others, who didn't seem to notice her, or even care.

Not until the guy sitting a few seats away from her said, ‘You should have taken Mia’s offer for coffee. Everyone knows she’s a pro with the coffee machine. My name is Shawn. Shawn Miller.’

Monica couldn't help but notice that Shawn had pearly white teeth too. Was it a common thing with Max Group employees and perfect dentition? Then she had a lot of work, and dentist appointments piled up for her.

‘Oh yeah. Monica Anderson.’ She tried her best to say her name the right way, so it wouldn't come out as a question.

She watched Shawn’s eyes glow up just like Mia’s. He gasped and moved closer to her. The others lifted their eyes from their computer screens momentarily and when they got tired of watching, they went back to work, or whatever they had going on their computer.

‘You’re Monica Anderson? Like, the IT intern?’ Shawn quizzed, his eyes still wide in amazement.

‘Yup, that's me.’ Monica didn't know how to handle her new found fame. She was nothing out there in the real world, but here, she was some sort of celebrity. What exactly was going on?

‘OK. Big day, everyone. Let's get right into it.’ The voice broke Monica’s thoughts. A few more people scurried into the conference room, their sweet smell of cologne filling the chilly room.

‘The boss is here. We will catch up later, OK? By the way, good luck on your first meeting.’ Shawn smiled at her, and she mirrored him back nervously.

The boss, Max Porter was dressed in a sharply tailored suit that fitted his muscular frame a little too much. She had dedicatedly looked up his enchanting photos online, in several blogs and magazines, topping the list for most successful CEO and eligible bachelor in the United States.

He looked different from the photos she had seen. He had a warmer complexion and looked more intimidating in person. His eyes were . . . She looked away before he could notice her gawking. She needed to stay unknown from him, even though he was going to be her employer for the next six months of her intern journey at Max Group.

Mia walked back into the room with a moving cart, and placed a cup of coffee and bottle water in front of everyone. There were options of breakfast food everywhere — bagels, donuts, sandwiches and hot dogs. Her stomach rumbled in excitement, so she picked up her cup of coffee and sipped on it noisily. The lady across lifted her eyes from her iPad and watched her.

‘Sorry about that.’ Monica muttered, but the lady resumed tapping on her device.

‘So, what's the agenda for today's meeting?’ Max requested. He laced his fingers together and watched with full attention.

A lady, with bangs, began speaking and controlling the monitor with a remote, displaying slides. She took control of the meeting as a few others spoke and Max commented sparsely. Monica’s phone buzzed and she saw that it was a text from Ellie.

Hii. How's your first day at work going so far? I want all the details pronto. pS: remember to be confident and please, don't slouch.

‘Monica Anderson??’ The voice snatched her away, startling her. Max was watching her, and so were the others. Monica blushed, adjusting her blazer before she could stop herself. She shifted in her seat, readying her voice.

‘Um, sorry about that. I was um . . .’ She mumbled but the lady across from her remarked with a sneer, ‘You should pay more attention especially when it's your first day and you're an intern. Please, do us the honours and introduce yourself.’

Monica’s heart thundered in her chest. It felt like a first date gone wrong. When your date asks what your favorite movie was, and everything just goes blank. This was exactly what this felt like. A soft cough escaped her, buying her a quick moment.

‘My name is Monica Anderson and I'm the newest IT recruit on internship. I'm a graduate of Syracuse University with a major in Information Technology. I'm willing to learn and know more during my time here. Thank you.’ A few people, including Max nodded, but not the bitter lady across. What was her problem anyway?

‘You said you graduated from Syracuse University? I also graduated from there. What year was your graduation again?’ She quizzed. She continued watching Monica like her stare was radioactive and in a few minutes, Monica would be transformed into cooked bacon.

Monica took Ellie’s pro tip on confidence. She stopped herself from touching her blazer, or hair and allowed the words to roll out of her tongue, ‘2015. How about you?’.

The lady relaxed in her seat and remained mute for the rest of the meeting.

‘Off to work, everyone.’ Max said, and walked out of the conference room first before anyone else. The others gathered their belongings and walked out of the room, including Miss Sour Pants.

‘You did great, Monica. Can I call you Mon?’ Shawn was back to his chatty mood. He observed the look on Monica’s face and said, ‘Don’t pay attention to Jesi. She's like that with everyone on their first day.’

Monica smiled. She looked around and the room was empty now with paper cups and plates half empty on the large conference table. Hers was all empty, she was even hungrier than she thought.

Mia reappeared and this time, she wasn't with the pastries and drink cart.

‘Monica, I hope you had a good first meeting? Also, how was the coffee?’

‘OMG! Shawn wasn't kidding when he said you're a pro with the coffee machine. It was lovely, thank you Mia.’

Mia displayed her tight dentures and this time, her smile was genuine, meeting her eyes.

‘Allow me show you to your office, Monica.’ She said, leading the way. Monica walked out of the office, with her purse and Shawn followed behind.

‘Good news, Monica, we are office buddies.’ Shawn echoed. Monica smiled at him as they walked together, heading to her new work space.