THE ALPHA'S ELDRITCH FATED MATE

Chapter 4: Overseeing Fellow interns.

Lilian’s POV:

“Good morning, interns. Welcome to Blackwoods Foundation. You all have applied from different colleges, and we have picked you because we believe you are capable and ready to learn….”

His voice was deep and authoritative, each word measured and precise. I should have been hanging on his every word, absorbing the wisdom of one of the country's top business tycoons. Instead, my mind was stuck on those intense moments in the parking lot. Every time his gaze swept over the room, my heart skipped a beat, convinced he was looking straight at me.

“Why does he keep looking at me?” I asked myself inwardly. “Is he planning to send me away?” My long held dreams are about to be shattered.” The more I thought about it, the worse it got. Our eyes met at various moments, and I would immediately look away.

I almost froze on the spot when our eyes locked again. My breath hitched, and a cold sweat trickled down my back. “Is he planning to call me out or send me away in front of everyone?” I forced myself to breathe, but my pulse was racing.

“So, I will be picking someone among you who will report everything concerning you all and the progress you are making directly to me,” he announced. My stomach dropped. Normally, I would have dreamed of being chosen for such a role. But now, all I could feel was a crushing sense of doom. I had messed up everything with my reckless anger and running mouth.

Jethro’s eyes scanned the room, finally landing on me. “You,” he said, pointing directly at me.

My heart stopped. I whipped my head around, praying he was pointing at someone behind me. I turned to stare at the chair behind me, but there was no one seated there. Slowly, I turned back to face him. His gaze was unwavering.

“Yes, you. Stand up,” he commanded.

My heart pounded so loudly I was sure everyone could hear it. “Why is he picking me?” I stood up on shaky legs, my face burning with embarrassment. “Did he want to make an example out of me?” Every eye in the room was on me, and I just wished the ground could open up and swallow me.

“You will be the one to oversee your fellow interns,” Jethro continued, his eyes still locked on mine. “Follow me to my office immediately.”

“Me?”I questioned inwardly. Follow him? God, I’m so done for, I thought, my fear growing with each step. My legs felt like they were made of jelly as I followed him out of the room. The walk to his office felt endless, each step echoing my dread. Why did he pick me to oversee the interns? Is this his plan to deal with me? What have you gotten yourself into, Lilian? I questioned inwardly, trailing behind him obediently.

Jethro opened the door to his office and gestured for me to enter. The room was grand, with sleek, modern decor that screamed success. But I couldn't appreciate any of it. My mind was too clouded with fear.

He closed the door behind us and leaned against his desk, arms crossed. His intense gaze made me feel exposed and vulnerable.

Before he could even say a word, I started immediately, my feet trembling. “I am very sorry, sir. I swear I had no idea you were Jethro Blackwoods. Please, I promise nothing like that will ever happen again. Please, sir, I promise to never show my face to you until the end of my internship.” I apologized, rushing my words, almost in tears.

His eyebrows furrowed into a frown as if he disliked what I was doing, but he masked it immediately.

“What's your name?” he asked, his voice thick and stern with no expression.

“A…m… I… I mean, my name is Lilian Hemsworth, sir,” I managed to stammer out, my heart throbbing so fast awaiting his next word.

“Lilian, you know I could refuse you from doing your internship at my company this minute,” he voiced out, and I could almost feel my world crashing.

“Yes, sir,” I nodded, my head bent to the ground, expecting my eviction immediately.

“And that's because I now have a bad impression of you. But I am going to give you a chance to prove yourself right.” Just as I heard those words, I almost burst out crying in joy. “Thank you so much, thank you so much, sir,” I blurted out before I could even realize it.

“And the only way is for you to prove yourself by overseeing your fellow intern members and giving me daily reports morning when you resume and evening when you are about to close for the day. If I find you incompetent even a bit, you will be sent out,” he said, his voice stern with authority.

That was all? Just that? I thought joyfully. “Thank you, sir. I will prove myself to you and do it all to the best of my ability. Thank you so much, sir,” I said with an uncontrollably wide smile.

I noticed a grin on his face like earlier, but he immediately masked it off. Was he smiling at what I was doing? I thought.

“You are to get a report on every person and give me a report this evening. Failure to do that, I'm sure you are aware of the consequences,” he in a tone leaving no room for arguement, and I nodded in reply. “Yes, sir,” I affirmed before turning to walk out.

As I walked out, I was super excited. So I didn't get evicted, I thought gratefully as I walked out to join the other interns. The guy who was with Jethro earlier when he came to address us, I assumed him to be his personal assistant, was about to address them. Immediately he saw me, I noticed him give a slight bow, but I immediately snapped it off. I must be overthinking things. Why would he even bow to me?

“Miss Lilian,” he called out, and I turned in his direction. “Everyone here has been assigned to their various spots of internship. As you know, you are meant to oversee things. You will work directly with the company's secretary and make sure you get every update on everyone.”

“Secretary?” I blurted out, my eyes almost popping out of their sockets. That means I'm almost so close to seeing Jethro every day. This was supposed to be a thing of joy, but now it didn't seem too good to me. What Jethro finds me incompetent? Then he could evict me, but right now I am left with no choice.

“Ok, sir,” I replied with a nod.

“So now, everyone, get to work,” he instructed, and everyone dispersed to resume their duties.

I walked towards the secretary's spot. “Good morning, ma'am,” I greeted with a polite smile.

The secretary, a stern looking woman in her thirties, glanced up from her computer and gave me a curt nod. “Good morning, Lilian. I'm Ms. Carter. Let's get straight to it, shall we?”

The morning flew by in a blur of tasks. Ms. Carter showed me how to organize the daily schedules, monitor the interns' progress, and compile the reports for Mr. Jethro. I jotted down every detail in my notebook, determined not to miss a thing. My mind raced with thoughts of what Jethro would think of my work. I couldn't afford any mistakes.

Around noon, I was sent to check on the interns in various departments. For some reason, I felt so much in charge, and I could feel my shoulders held high as they all gave me their respect. I started with the marketing team, who gave some brainstorming ideas about a new campaign they came up with for the day, and I made sure to note their progress. The finance interns were knee deep in spreadsheets, and I made sure to note down their development. The tech team was also making progress with some software, and I took the opportunity to ask if there were any problems and jotted that down also.

I was more like a supervisor now. I guess I never want to get on Jethro's bad side at this point. I love this job. I have always dreamt of leading a crew of people, and this felt like a dream come true.

Returning to Ms. Carter's desk, I compiled all the updates into a concise report. My hands trembled slightly as I typed, worried that any error might reflect poorly on me. Finally, the moment arrived to present my findings to Jethro.

With the report clutched in my hand if I failed today that will be all for me the fear was overwhelming but I finally surmouned the courage to knock on his office door. “Come in,” his deep voice resonated from within. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Jethro was seated behind his massive oak desk, his piercing eyes scanning some documents. He looked up as I approached, and our eyes met. For a brief moment, I felt a jolt of electricity pass between us.