The Intern: A Sweet Lesbian Romance Read online

  "Trust me," she said. "The less conversation you hear between me and that harpy my dad assigned to guard me the better.

  "I really think that…"

  I didn't get a chance to say anything else. Erica finished pulling her clothes on. It was a pretty nice show watching her pull those clothes on, but I was annoyed that she was ready to go and I wasn't. She grabbed that little remote used to control the apartment. My eyes narrowed. Why did she need that?

  I hopped out of bed and started pulling my own clothes on, but by the time I did it was already too late. She stepped out and kicked the door shut behind her. I heard an audible click. A click that sounded a lot like a deadbolt moving into place, though it sounded off. My eyes widened as I realized exactly what had just happened. She'd use that remote to lock me in here. She'd actually locked me in her bedroom while she went out to talk with whoever was out there!

  I couldn't believe it. I fumed. I finished pulling my clothes on with every intention of beating down that door. And if that didn't work then I was going to call the cops and tell them somebody was holding me hostage. Either way, I was going to raise hell. People did not lock me in apartments, no matter how lavishly appointed that apartment was!

  Only when I moved over to the door I noticed something interesting. Something that had me thinking back to the tour earlier. When she tried to pull one of the doors shut and complained about an apartment that cost this much not having doors that latched appropriately. Apparently she had the same problem with the door here in her bedroom because it hadn't closed entirely. That was the source of that odd noise. The deadbolt had activated, but it activated into thin air because the door had popped back open after she kicked it shut.

  I pushed at the door and it opened, completely silent. I breathed a thanks that Erica hadn't been able to get the people running the building to fix her doors yet. Because it kept me from getting locked up. That sent another flash of anger running through me. What kind of person locks someone in their room?

  The kind of person who comes from a fabulously wealthy family and hasn't had to deal with much in the way of real-world consequences in their life. That's who. The thought ran through my mind unbidden, and I felt guilty, but at the same time it felt so very annoyingly true.

  I pushed the door open and looked into the darkness. I heard voices in the distance. The door leading into Erica's room wasn't actually a door directly to her room. There was a small hall that blocked the view directly into her bedroom from the living room. A smart enough design to add some privacy in an open concept place like this. I quietly crept down the hall, barely even daring to breathe, as I stepped out and looked at Erica talking with another woman. Presumably her bodyguard. And as I looked at her bodyguard I was stunned.

  I'd seen that woman before. Yesterday when we were at the bar. I'd recognize her anywhere. She was the woman who'd been wearing a business suit in a campus bar, of all things.

  And suddenly a couple of things started to make more sense. That woman had to be the one who'd taken the picture Christine had earlier today. She was the cause of so much trouble. I immediately disliked her. There was something about the smug look on her face that made me want to walk into the room and punch her, but I did nothing of the sort.

  It looked like she was packing, for one. She also seemed like the kind of wiry tough bitch who could hold her own in a fight. Plus I was very interested in hearing whatever the hell it was that had Erica so worried that she tried to lock me up. So I leaned back in the shadows and listened.

  I was very interested in hearing whatever it was they were talking about.

  15: The Shadow

  I stepped out and looked down at the remote. Hit the button to lock it behind me and went to confront Morgan. I grimaced. I hated having to do that, but at the same time I didn't want Nicole to hear anything Morgan might say. Nicole being in the middle of that conversation would just fuel the fire.

  Given the tumultuous history I had with Morgan it wouldn't be completely out of the question for her to try and ruin things for me with a new girl. It wouldn't be the first time she'd tried something like that, though I had to admit the whole picture thing she'd done the night before went above and beyond, even by the standards of her unique blend of bitchiness and creepiness.

  Not for the first time, I thought back to the night we'd shared a couple of years ago. I wondered if it was really worth it as I looked her up and down. That blonde hair that was so light that it was almost white. Pretty blue eyes that hid a black soul. A pretty enough face, and a body to kill for. She definitely kept in shape. The only problem was she was also probably one of the single worst people I'd ever met.

  Also not for the first time it occurred to me that I could have her out of my life entirely with a quick word to my father. She’d be out the moment he realized we’d had that dalliance. I was sure that was one secret she kept from him in the interest of keeping her job. Only I didn't do it. And I had no intention of doing it.

  The old adage of the devil you know what was still true with Morgan. Even if we had gone through that one fling, a fling and that had caused her to go a little crazy, at least it was a level of crazy I'd thoroughly explored and gotten used to dealing with over the past couple of years. No, better to have the crazy that I knew rather than run the risk of getting her fired and having to get used to the idiosyncrasies of a new bodyguard.

  "So do you want to tell me what the hell you're doing in my apartment?"

  Morgan smiled. "There was a time when you wouldn't have minded having me in your apartment so much."

  "You can spare the jilted lover routine," I said. "That's neither here nor there. Now what are you doing here?"

  "Fine, you don't want the jilted lover routine?"

  Her eyes darted back towards the hall leading to my room. I looked over my shoulder, a sudden fear seizing me. There was no way Nicole could get out of there once I locked the deadbolt, and I figured I was going to pay one hell of a price for that once she got out, but it was better than her hearing this conversation. And of course she hadn't gotten out. No, there was nothing in that hall but darkness.

  I turned back to Morgan. “Taking that picture was pretty low, even by your standards," I said.

  Morgan shrugged. "What's it to you? Your dad asked me to do that one. The fact that it also happened to help me bury the ax in a personal grudge was icing on the cake."

  I shook my head. "What did I ever do to you?"

  "You know exactly what you did to me. And so I'm going to keep on returning the favor for as long as I can."

  I shook my head. "You're crazy."

  Morgan smiled and her eyes darted behind me once more. She smiled, but I didn't take the bait this time. No one was back there listening. Nicole was safely squirreled away in my room.

  Morgan moved even closer. Wrapped her arms around me. I squeezed my eyes shut.

  "Morgan, this isn't happening," I said.

  "Are you so sure? You know your dad’s going to fire that girl tomorrow as soon as I tell him about everything that happened here tonight," she said.

  "And what happened here tonight?" I asked.

  "Don't try to play coy with me," Morgan said. "I heard those noises. I know exactly what they mean. I've heard them up close and personal before, after all."

  I opened my eyes. "How long were you out here?"

  "Long enough," she said.

  Her hand moved up and down my stomach. I wanted to stop her, but I was so angry that I was frozen. My mind had been short-circuited by the sheer audacity of what she was suggesting. To think she'd been out here all along, the entire time Nicole and I were…

  "Just think about it. Now that she's out of the way we can pick up right where we left off. Your dad would never suspect a thing. It's perfect. The bodyguard and the heiress. It sounds way hotter than the intern and her supervisor, don't you think?"

  Her hands moved up to a place I definitely didn't want her touching. I finally made a move to stop her, but then a
loud noise from back towards my room pulled my attention away from Morgan's hands in places I didn't want them.

  "Did you want to tell me what the hell is going on here?" Nicole’s voice rang out across the room.

  I wheeled around. Morgan stayed exactly where she was, her arms around me even with me doing a little twirl. I moved to shove her aside, but from the way Nicole’s eyes flared. I'm sure it looked like I'd been caught and I was trying to not look like it.

  "You knew your dad was going to try and fire me?" she asked.

  Okay then. Not what I expected her to focus on, but it was fair enough. Her job was at risk, after all. I had avoided telling her anything about it because I was trying to think of a good way to break the news to her.

  Looks like I screwed that one up big time.

  "Nicole, I…"

  Nicole held up a hand and I stopped. I was powerless in the face of that fury. It was a cold fury. She was quiet, cool, collected as she spoke. And with every word I felt myself sinking lower and lower.

  "I decided to give you a chance earlier," she said. "I actually felt bad for you. Tried to put myself in your shoes. Tried to think about what it would be like to grow up living with an overbearing father like you've had to deal with, but now I find out you've been holding back from me? Even after I decided to trust you?"

  "Nicole, I can explain…"

  She shook her head. "No need to explain. It's pretty obvious. You obviously fucked this crazy bitch at some point and she thinks she still has a chance. She thinks getting between you and whoever the flavor of the month is will magically bring you back together. And you knew full well when you brought me over here tonight that your dad had every intention of firing me if you continued your relationship with me, and yet you decided it would be perfectly fine to go ahead and use me as a one night stand anyways!"

  Her voice was getting louder and louder with each successive word until she was screaming by the end. I winced and turned away. I also noticed Morgan frowning. I'm sure she didn't like Nicole's characterization of what she was doing, but it seemed pretty spot on.

  "I can work through all of that," Nicole said. "What I can’t work through is that you were so desperate to hide these bullshit secrets that you tried to lock me in your room. Lock me up! You’re every bit the spoiled little rich girl you try to pretend you aren’t, you know that? Who does that? I'm done. I gave you a chance, and you blew it."

  And with that she brushed past me. Moved over to the door. Turned and frowned. "And by the way? The next time you decide to lock somebody in your room? It might be a good idea to double check that your stupid fucking door is latched before you lock it."

  And with that she punched a button on the door. I'm not sure exactly what she hit, but the electric lock turned green with a beep and a click as the various deadbolts keeping the security door in place opened. She stepped through and slammed the door shut.

  I let out a sigh. Suddenly I felt like a huge piece of shit. Here was a girl who liked me for who I was rather than for all the money I had. Here was a girl who gave me a chance despite all the craziness going on as a direct result of our relationship, and I didn't tell her everything. She'd walked out of my life because I hadn't been completely honest. I suppose that was the least I deserved, considering.

  "Glad she's gone," Morgan said. "Now let's talk about us some more…"

  I wheeled around on Morgan. "You really are as crazy as she said you are!" I shouted.

  Nicole wasn't the only one who was operating on the edge. Something snapped inside me. I'd been putting up with my father's meddling in my life for so very long, and I was done. I wasn't joking around this time around. I didn't care what the consequences were. I didn't care if he disowned me and I was cut out of his inheritance. All I cared about was that his meddling was cut out of my life.

  For good.

  "Don't say that Erica," Morgan said. "I don't even have to tell him about everything that happened tonight. Now that she’s out of your life…"

  She reached out and two of her fingers danced up my shoulder. I shrugged it off and pushed her back. Her eyes widened and she took a step forward, her hand balling into a fist.

  "Try it," I said, some of that cold threatening Nicole showed off earlier coming to my voice. "Give me an excuse to file assault charges on top of getting your ass fired, because I'm not going to rest until that happens."

  Morgan brought herself under control. She was nothing if not professional, that one night a couple of years ago and the craziness since notwithstanding. She sniffed. "I'd like to see you try." She said as she brushed past me and moved towards the door.

  "I'm not going to try, Morgan," I said. "I'm done with him meddling in my life, and that includes being done with you in my life. I've had enough."

  There was no response. Just a click as the door snapped shut behind her. Hopefully Nicole already made her way onto the elevator, because otherwise it was going to be an awkward ride down. Visions of two cats circling one another with their backs arched and tails twitching filled my head.

  I was left alone in the ridiculously expensive apartment my father bought for me. A ridiculously expensive apartment that was a symbol of the shackles that bound me. Sure they were platinum shackles that looked very nice, but they were shackles nonetheless.

  I know, poor little rich girl. Only as I stood there in the middle of the room with my life falling apart around me I was suddenly feeling very sorry for myself. Hey, my problems might be the kind of problems that you only get in the 1%, but they were still problems. I collapsed on my couch and started to cry. Quiet crying, wishing I had someone there to hold me. Of course the only person who'd probably volunteer was Morgan, even after I'd just threatened to get her fired, and the last thing I wanted was her back in my apartment.

  One thing was for sure. I'd been completely serious. I was done with my father meddling in my life. I was done marching to someone else's beat. I was going to take control, and if that meant I was penniless and out on the streets, well then he could just deal with that sort of thing showing up in the gossip rags. I'd make him regret it, that was for damn sure!

  Tomorrow was a new day, and even with everything that had happened I found myself looking forward to it. It was the first day of my life where I wasn’t going to let my last name call the shots. I just wished there was a way for me to make everything right with Nicole even as I tried to make things right in other aspects of my life, but I didn't see how that was going to happen.

  Yeah, sitting on my couch and sobbing seemed like a pretty good thing to do considering how much I'd screwed things up.

  16: Next Day

  I was fuming as I made my way out of the elevator. The security guard at the front desk made a move as though he wanted to flag me down. Probably to sign out, even though I'd never signed in. I breezed right past him. I was so pissed off that I wasn't in a mood to deal with anyone's bull crap.

  Including stupid Zeidner Corp. Including Christine. And so I pulled out my phone as I walked along the sidewalk, careful to keep a tight grip on the thing in case somebody with sticky fingers decided they were going to try and grab it out of my hands, and pulled up an email that had been sitting there for a few weeks now. An email that was part of a chain of emails I’d gotten and never responded to because nobody who worked for Christine responded to those emails on the off chance she somehow found out about it.

  An email from Janet Yeager the headhunter. She might not be a great headhunter given her habit of emailing everyone on our floor constantly, but she was the only lifeline I had. I was going to grasp at that lifeline, damn it. I wasn’t going to take this lying down.

  Before I’d been terrified that if I tried to quit Christine would do her best to ruin my career in the city. Well, now it appeared I'd pissed off the big man himself. What did I have to lose by talking to the infamous Janet?

  So I shot off a quick email. Yes I was looking and if they happened to have any positions available I'd be happy to have a l
ook. That there were no major changes to my resume. I left out some of the more salacious details surrounding my departure from Zeidner Corp.

  I was surprised to see a response almost immediately. It was only a few lines, but it gave me hope.

  "I'm surprised to hear from you. I've tried so many times to break through to your department at Zeidner, but I can never get anyone to respond. You're the first person to respond in at least five years. They must really keep you happy there!"

  I barked out a short laugh. Was she serious? Five years would be about the amount of time Christine had ruled that department with her perfectly manicured iron fist. Janet the headhunter, a name whispered on the seventh floor but never responded to if you valued your job, had taken all the puzzle pieces and put them together completely wrong. Not that I could particularly blame her for that. It's not like somebody would assume things were as bad as they were under Christine. It spoke volumes about the level of terror Christine inspired in her workers that nobody had broken ranks yet.

  "You have no idea. They’re probably refusing to talk to you because they're terrified for their jobs."

  Once again the response was immediate. She must've been sitting right by her phone or her desk. "Really? Dragon lady for a boss? I’d heard rumors."

  "You have no idea."

  "Always wondered about that. Nice to see somebody brave enough to break rank. Maybe it will start an exodus."

  I snorted and shook my head. "I don't think anybody has quite the unique circumstances I do, but you never know."

  "Good. Let's talk. Why get in touch with me now?"

  Why get in touch with her now? Well that was a story I definitely wasn't going to go into now. No, she just needed to know the basics, and if she thought she could work with that then we could go from there.

  "It's just become abundantly clear that if I want my career to advance I'm going to have to go in a different direction. Away from Zeidner Corp."