Miss Intern

3. Admiration

Much to Debby's dismay, their break time quickly came to an end and she was on her way to Damon's office.

She was prompted to go in after knocking and she found Jordan already inside. He was beside Damon and they were looking at the blueprint that was there an hour ago.

Damon's glance at the clock and a slight frown was his only sign of disapproval before he faced the table.

"Debby, you've got to see this!" Jordan said enthusiastically, staring at the print in admiration. "It's one of the best I've ever seen."

"Really?" Debby asked as she approached them. She made sure to stand at Jordan's right while Damon remained on his left but Jordan moved away and pushed her to the middle.

"You wouldn't see it properly standing so far away." He chuckled slightly, unaware of the tension in the room from Debby's shoulder against Damon's. "Look at the position of the stairs and the stairway- it's genius and unique." He continued as Debby nodded half-mindedly.

"It is. I've only seen this once before."

"I haven't seen it at all. Mr Scotch is a genius." Jordan added, staring at Damon in admiration. Following Jordan's eyesight, Debby chanced a look at Damon.

"He is." She concurred quietly, prompting him to look at her before looking at Jordan. Uncomfortable with the praises, he cleared his throat and stepped away from Debby.

"I look forward to learning from you." Jordan continued, returning his attention to the blueprint as Debby ignored the tinge of hurt from Damon stepping away.

It does not matter, she told herself as she studied the print once more. Jordan was right- he was a genius and she too, looked forward to learning from him.

"I'm glad to hear that." Damon finally replied, walking up to a corner of his bookshelf before picking up two copies of a book. "We shall start with these."

Handing them a copy each, he continued, "You have the week to go through them and make a presentation, letting me know of the things you've learnt. From the minute to the most striking things."

"The basics of architecture." Jordan read aloud sceptically.

"It might seem silly since you've gone way beyond that but I'd like to make sure you're well grounded in the basics. A strong foundation makes for the sturdiest of buildings."

"I can't argue with that," Jordan mumbled while Debby flipped through some pages of the book.

"I believe Miss Gonzales showed you the office you'll all be working in." Damon continued as Debby noted his use of her last name.

Did it mean her affections were one-sided?

"Debby?" Jordan whispered while nudging her.

"Sorry, what?"

"I asked if you know where the file rooms are," Damon repeated, his disapproving look in place.

"Yes, I do," Debby replied, holding his gaze while berating herself for her absentmindedness.

"Very well. Today, each of you would get a blueprint to study and tell me about it at the end of the day."

"Tell you what exactly?" Jordan asked.

"Whatever you can; what you think of the design, what could've been done better, the materials you would recommend instead. Anything. Understood?"

"Yes." Debby and Jordan replied earning a nod from Damon.

"You may leave."

~~~~~

"What's he like?" Julie whispered once Debby sat on the chair beside her. There were four stations; each with a drawing table, a laptop and two seats.

"Who?" Debby feigned ignorance, placing the print she got from the file room on her drawing table.

"Mr Scotch of course. Who else could it be?" She smiled coyly.

"Well," Debby started carefully. "He's cool, I guess." She shrugged.

"You guess? He's gorgeous." Julie sighed dramatically, resting her elbow on the table before placing her chin on her palm. "If I weren't in an amazing relationship with Declan over there, I'd consider trying my luck."

Not having a reply to that, Debby looked at Declan, the fourth intern. "It's amazing that you're doing this together."

"It is. It's all thanks to him really, he's the absolute best." She added, staring at him with love-filled eyes.

Debby shook her head with a wistful smile. The last person who had looked at her like that was Damon and now, he mostly looked at her with disapproval- it was ironic. "That's lovely," Debby added before focusing on the print.

"Be right back," Julie said as she walked away, leaving Debby immersed in the sketch. The D.S signature at the right lower end of the sketch gave her an idea of whose sketch it was and she was determined to get a look different from the disapproving one he had given her all day.

~~~~~

"What a day!" Julie sighed, packing up her things once it was 3 pm. "I'm more than ready to head home." She added with a stretch as Debby stood with the sketch. "Oh! Your presentation." Julie noted. "Good luck with that." She added.

"Thanks," Debby replied with a slight smile before she and Jordan made their way to Damon's office.

On walking in, Debby noted his hair was dishevelled and his tie was out of place. He looked up at them blankly before his brows shot up in recollection. "Right, your presentation. Who's going first?" He asked, glancing at the work on his table once more.

"I," Jordan replied, as they both approached his table.

Gesturing towards one of the seats across his, Damon said, "You can sit."

"Thank you," Debby mumbled before sitting.

"This is yours, sir, if I interpreted the signature correctly," Jordan stated, to which Damon remained quiet. "The sketch was impeccable and I found nothing amiss. Perhaps I would've used concrete over here," he pointed at the ground floor, "but that's all." Jordan finished with a smile as Damon stared blankly.

"Miss Amore?" He finally said after some minutes.

Jordan switched places with Debby who stood beside Damon. She placed the print on his table as she willed the unwelcome reaction from his proximity to go away.

"I'll start by saying it's a lovely sketch," She stated.

"But?" He prompted and she looked at him. In addition to the challenge in his eyes, she thought she saw an eagerness for his work to be critiqued.

"I have a lot of corrections." She continued, maintaining eye contact as he raised a brow. Starting from the arrangement of the rooms, the choice of windows and the roof placement, she gave a different opinion on almost everything and didn't realise when 20 minutes had passed till she was done.

Silence ensued as Damon's gaze lay fixated on her slender fingers placed right where he had signed the sketch. He had to fight the emotions that were threatening to surface in addition to the admiration for her knowledgeability.

"So?" Debby asked after waiting on his reply. She involuntarily held her breath when he looked up at her and she glimpsed a familiar look of admiration before he masked it away.

"Well done." Damon nodded at Debby before looking at Jordan. "Mr Alleys, when you're asked to critique a work, irrespective of how good the architect is, critique the work."

"Yes sir," Jordan replied with a bowed head while Debby's heart felt near exploding with joy. She had achieved her goal and had glimpsed his admiration for her. Ignoring the warning clangs at the back of her mind, she revelled in the warmth it gave her.

"We'll be visiting a construction site tomorrow, you can leave now."

With a nod, Debby walked behind Jordan as they exited his office. She glanced at Damon before shutting the door to find him staring at her.