My Intern - 2. Chapter 2

As promised, Part II is out.
I changed Tyler's last name to Brooks. Didn't notice it duplicated with Blake's first name. I edited the first chapter as well.
Enjoy and Review please! 

The glass door swung open.

Tyler stood in the doorway, uncertainty in his posture: his eyes darting around nervously, fingers fidgeting.

“Uh… Blake –“ he started to say.

“You’re being transferred,” I interrupted, my voice level, distant, cold.

Surprise widened in his eyes, disappointment weighed down his usual smile. But in a moment, he recovered; a smile blossomed and his eyes twinkled.

“Oh, okay. I’ll just tidy up your schedule for the rest of the week, Mr. Wyatt,” he chirped, a quiver buried under his upbeat tone.

A stab of guilt punctuated his sentence as he scampered around my office, tidying up papers. He picked up his blackberry and typed away furiously.

“Effective immediately,” I said slowly, the ice in my voice razor thin.

The typing stopped. His arms fell to his sides, his hand clutching the device tightly. He looked to me. Pulling his lips into a wide smile, his eyes glistened.

“Right,” he piped, “It was nice working for you while it lasted, Mr Wyatt.”

I nodded, extending my hand.

He looked down, grasped it and shook it once.

“Have a nice…,” his voice trailed off behind the glass door.

Life, the sentence finished in my head.

I watched as he walked towards the elevator through the glass door, not looking back once.

I slumped in my chair, massaging my temples. The clunk of metal and plastic buzzed against my desk, demanding my attention. I picked it up.

De-sync with B. Tyler?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Which goddamned fool will hire us if we can’t even spell?” I yelled, “Did you fail elementary school? Even if you did, there was something someone invented a long time ago for idiots like you. It’s called spell check! Use it!”

“Sorry, sir. I’d get right back to it,” Brad apologised, his eyes narrowing.

He turned on his heels, exiting my office in two long strides.

Tyler would’ve gotten it right, and have my coffee ready.

I pulled open the glass door.

“BRAD! COFFEE!” I bellowed across the room.

His face flushed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I stalked the rows and rows of cubicles, looking for my useless intern. Rage mounted in the depths of the black hole where I had heard my heart was supposed to be, I had not left my office to look for an intern in years.

“He’s a fucking a-hole,” Brad’s voice wafted from the other side of the wall.

I smirked, as I waited to pounce on him.

I’d rip him a new one, I mused.

“He’s not all that bad,” a second voice countered: a familiar one.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Brad exclaimed, “He all but fired you for spilling coffee on himself.”

“Not really,” Tyler replied, his voice soft.

I could imagine the blush that would be creeping up his neck.

Shame ambushed me as I quickly realised I was eavesdropping on their private conversation. I turned to leave quietly but his voice lured me to stay with the promise of another sentence.

“He’s a nice guy when you get to know him,” Tyler said.

A smile fought its way across my face as I heard him say the words.

An exasperated huff, I assumed came from Brad, teased a giggle from Tyler.

“It’ll also help if you fuck up less,” Tyler teased.

I emerged from behind the wall, facing Brad, face pulled into its usual, still mask.

“I agree with Mr Brooks.” I said stonily.

Brad’s face contorted into an amalgamation of fear, pain and embarrassment. I turned and walked back to my office.

“I’m still going to need those reports,” I hollered.

A chuckle, almost musical, floated to my ears.

I smiled.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entering my office after a long gruelling meeting with the board of directors, I slumped in the chair. I noticed a cup of coffee sitting on my desk and took a long draught: double shot of espresso, no cream and no sugar.

Kid does learn, eventually, I smirked.

A brown paper bag sat at the corner of my desk. I reached my hand inside to pull out a sandwich.

Roast beef, I read the label.

A knock on the door interrupted me.

“Come in,” I hollered.

“Sir, here are the reports,” he said, handing over the documents.

“Right, thanks for lunch by the way,” I replied, scanning through the lines.

I lifted my gaze to see a look of perplexity pass on his face.

“Uh… oh sorry. Should I come back later?” he asked, looking worried.

“Yeah, give me ten minutes,” I said.

The glass door swung shut as I unwrapped the sandwich. Taking a large bite to ease my protesting gut, I contemplated,

Roast beef, huh.

A smile played across my lips.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Sir, I need you to sign this,” Brad requested, his eyes darting nervously to his watch.

6:03 p.m.

“Got somewhere else to be?” I asked sarcastically.

“No sir,” he replied quickly.

Right, I thought as I scanned through the paperwork, scrawling my signature over the dotted line.

He held up the folder to his chest, looking at me expectantly.

“Go down to the front desk and ask the receptionist to check if any of our clients had sent something for me…,” I instructed.

Brad’s face fell, his hopeful face darkening, disappointment tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“On your way out,” I continued.

Brad perked up almost immediately, looking at me incredulously. His blue eyes brightened as his lips curled into a smile.

“You may go,” I dismissed.

“Thank you, sir,” he enthused as he promptly grabbed all of his belongings.

I watched as he bounded happily towards the elevator, spotting a familiar brown-haired silhouette that joined him midway. They spoke animatedly with each other. As the elevator doors opened, the brown-haired man turned, catching my watchful gaze. He snapped his head back as I imagined the blood colouring his cheeks.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a long day. I saved the incomplete proposal and shut down the machine. As I shoved the documents and my laptop into my bag, brown eyes occupied my mind. A strange warmth filled my stomach like thick caramel.

I flicked off the lights and walked out of my office. Waiting for the elevator, a musical laughter looped in my head, eliciting a goofy smile that felt uncomfortably out of place. I rode the elevator down to the ground floor. The hustle and bustle of the world outside my world invaded my senses as soon as the doors slid open.

A slender brown-haired body leaned against a pillar, gazing into the open street. Surprise dimmed my mind but an urge guided my feet. I walked up to him, unprepared.

We’re in the real world now, I reminded myself.

“Tyler?” I asked.

“Oh hey! Mr Wyatt,” he replied, surprised.

“Uh… Blake’s fine here,” I assured him.

“You headed home?” he asked, nervously.

“Yeah,” I said, “Thanks for lunch.”

A blush crept to his cheeks.

“I just thought you would need something to eat, you were in the board room for quite some time,” he said.

An involuntary smile spread across my face.

It’s becoming a habit around him, I mused.

“Actually I wanted to talk to you about your transferal,” I admitted.

“Oh,” he said softly, looking down at his feet.

“Yeah. I’m sorry if you felt it was unfair,” I apologised, “I think it was just in both our interests.”

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“It’s just I felt that it would be disadvantageous for your learning experience if I couldn’t provide adequate guidance. It wouldn’t be fair for you, withholding the fact that there would be a lot of other unpleasant consequences if people found out,” I explained.

Seeing the perplexed look on his face, I sighed.

“Look, I guess I’m not really good at this, but… what I’m trying to say is… it’s just… I… I’m just really attracted to you,” I blurted.

The sudden vulnerability had my heart racing: heat crept up my neck and flushed my cheeks. I looked at his face, a small smile forming in the corner of his lips.

“I know,” he teased, “You showed me remember?”

“Oh… r…right…,” I stammered, feeling warmer at the memory.

“I thought the transfer was probably for the best too,” he spoke suddenly, looking wistful.

“Look –“ he tried to say.

“So, it wouldn’t be presumptuous on my part if I asked if you would like to go out with –“ I interrupted.

“Are you ready to go, ba…. Mr Wyatt, what are you doing here?” a deep voice interrupted me.

Broad shoulders brushed against Tyler’s slight ones, his body towering over Tyler. An arm snaked around Tyler’s waist.

The thick caramel burned in my gut, leaving a bitter aftertaste in the back of my mouth. The hollow in my chest grew more needy, pulling and tugging insistently at everything inside me.

“Brad,” I greeted him, straining to keep my voice level.

“Sir,” he nodded back at me, smiling.

I turned to Tyler. I watched him watch me with those beautiful brown eyes. My facial muscles threatened to crumble. I turned and walked away, resisting the urge to break into a run.

Don’t run, I reminded myself,

It’s the last of your dignity.

“Have a good…,” Brad hollered as the elevator doors sealed shut.

It aches, I thought, as I blinked back the unwanted moisture.

It hurt me so much to write that ending. 
But I knew it could not go any other way.
Don't hate me for too long? 
Thanks for reading and review please!