Midnight Seduction

CHAPTER 6

RATIONAL LOVE

I tremble as I enter Chase's workplace. He is seated at the table and is looking intently at me.

"Take a seat." He gestures toward the seat in front of his desk. He's too cool, despite my attempts to infer his emotions from his posture, expression, and intonation. Professional. I move cautiously in the direction of his desk. He asked me here, and I have no idea why. Does he intend to eject me?

"Why did you call me here, exactly?"

"I don't know why I called you here," he said. For a brief period, Chase is silent, and I shift restlessly in my chair while anticipating his next words.

My eyes darted to his, startled: "What makes you special?"

"What are you saying?"

Chase looks away and sighs. "I'm perplexed. Why can't I kick you out when that's precisely what I need to do? My team and I are selecting 10 interns who should depart today; everyone, including me, decided that you should stay."

"But..."

"But that's not what I ought to do," he explained.

"You want me to leave, then?"

"Tell me why I should keep you, please."

"Because, um, you want to."

"You demonstrated your excellence as an intern by becoming one of my managers' top three picks." I can't help but smile when I see Chase's expression of admiration.

"I can't let you leave for that reason."

"What does it mean for me or for us, then?"

"That's why we're in big trouble." I can't help but chuckle lightly. In a very, very sad way, this is humorous.

"Go, the announcement will be made in ten minutes." Chase looks at the papers instead of me. I get off of my chair and walk out of Chase's office. The interns are already gathered in the center of the office when I walk in. I see Amie and Jax and advance in their direction.

"What's happening?"

"The managers invited us here."

"Some of us need to leave now."

"I hope it's not us."

Everyone in the room is frantically moving around or chatting with others as I look around the space. The only person who doesn't appear worried is Jax. Amie also notes that.

"You don't seem concerned, Jax."

"Should I yell or cry?"

"You seem overconfident," I say.

"I'm anything but confident; believe me."

"You were among the best, so why not?"

"Most likely, but Mr. Dawson dislikes me."

"What do you mean?" Amie inquired. When Chase enters the office, Jax is unable to respond.

"Despite the fact that everyone here is amazing, ten of you must leave today." As Chase begins his speech, I can sense the interns becoming more tense. I pay him little attention. I merely respect him. He exudes so much strength and assurance in his role as CEO. I have this urge to pull him back to his office and flout all of his regulations. But my logical side understands how absurd that is.

"The interns I've chosen out will remain in this internship."

"Amie Bennett, Jenna Donnell, Jax Seaton, Drew Wells, and..."