no control

• thirty two •

gladys

If I heard the word "intern" one more time tonight, I was going to climb over the bar and chug an entire bottle of champagne.

Okay not really, but I was at my wit's end.

The worst part was that everyone was so freaking nice. I'd never had so many new people come up to me and start talking. As silly as it sounded, I felt like a celebrity. Was this how it felt to have so much attention? It would have been flattering except I didn't want to have real conversations with anyone. Because real meant getting personal, and none of these people could really know me.

Me, the high school senior. Me, the girl who shared a bed with their boss. Me, the alleged intern who actually had not learned a single damn thing about accounting.

I had to rely on memories from my junior year personal finance class to get me through a few particularly curious employees.

The only thing that made it bearable was seeing Elijah in action. He was incredible. His presence filled the room. He dominated every conversation without even uttering a word. Sometimes, his body language said enough. I watched people respond to his nervous, chaotic energy, some steering clear and others drawn directly to him.

How many women had I seen rub against him, bat their fake lashes at him, or roll their eyes down his body? Too many to count, unfortunately.

I really just wanted to ignore them, as I should have. They didn't know he was taken. If I could even consider him that. I just had some weird possessive edge for him that made me want to bitch slap anyone who even remotely seemed interested.

But it wasn't the fault of these women that he was all dark and hot, his inky hair a bit askew and his black eyes smoldering. He wore that black suit like a second skin. The man was a force of nature. What human being wouldn't be attracted to his enigmatic aura? He had a way of stripping me with his eyes, leaving me feeling bare and naked even with clothes on.

Besides, these women had known him longer than me. They were adults who had their careers together, their lives in order. They were smart, successful, ambitious.

Why the hell wasn't he with them? How could he want me when he had hordes of women waiting for him to just glance twice their way? In comparison to these people, I was truly a nobody. I had nothing to my name. My life was a meandering path right now and the future was obscured behind a series of steep hills that I wasn't sure I could overcome.

I placed my empty flute on the bar and snatched a full one from a tray that was probably going to be taken around by a server. The bartender, a stout woman with a low ponytail, flashed me a smile. I tilted my glass towards her as if in a toast.

"I'll keep 'em coming," she said. "Don't worry."

I frowned for a moment. Did I really look so miserable?

As if hearing my thoughts, she added, "Looks like you got the weight of the world on your shoulders, girl."

"Just my world," I said, smiling at her. "Thanks, again."

I turned away and walked towards the corner of the ballroom where the crowd thinned out. As soon as I was tucked away, the urge to pee strangled my bladder. Damn it! I had finally gotten comfortable. Looking around, I noticed the signs to the bathroom. I followed them to a door in the hallway beyond the ballroom and shyly nudged it open.