Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
The group’s attention focuses on a mousy brunette standing next to Minnie, but I hardly notice the new girl. Instead, my blue gaze is trained on the young blonde, and she can feel it. She makes eye contact and smiles at me a tiny bit, but more with her eyes than her lips. Ah ha. She doesn’t want the crowd to know that we’re related, even if the bond has been broken since.
But it’s fine. I have nothing to hide, and I don’t give a fuck if the entire world knows that Minnie is my stepdaughter. Yet with all the current sniping about nepo-babies and inequality, I can see why Minnie would want to keep it under wraps. No problem. I’m happy to play by her rules ... for now at least.
My mind still swirling, I realize that the woman from HR is now addressing me. I have to give some sort of short welcome speech, and utter niceties about how Excel will benefit from these young people’s talents, and how their paths are being paved to a steady professional future. Fortunately, it’s easy enough because I’ve given so many anodyne speeches in the past that the words roll off my tongue. Even more, I see Minnie watching, her big blue eyes fixed on my massive form. I see how she crosses her arms over her breasts, emphasizing their luscious shape. I see how she licks her lips unconsciously, the pink flicker of her tongue driving me to distraction. Suddenly, this summer just got a whole lot better ... even as a plan for revenge hatches in my head.
4
Minnie
I’ve been at Excel for a week now, and it’s been uneventful. After seeing Brad that first day during orientation, I never saw him afterwards. Then again, what was I expecting? The billionaire is the CEO of a huge development and construction outfit. By contrast, I’m a new intern who’s here to learn about the real estate business, with absolutely no experience. We’re at opposite ends of the spectrum, so it’s no surprise that our paths haven’t crossed.
But I’m genuinely interested in learning the ins and outs of real estate marketing because the newspaper industry is spiraling down the drain. I need to find a new career, stat, and yet none of the interns have been assigned any actual “work” to date. As a result, we read the Employee Handbook, browse random sites online, and draw pictures on our Post-It notes. A few people have already constructed elaborate flip-books using their stickies, and it’s quite clever, actually. There’s one of Mickey Mouse dunking a basketball, and that person really should go into illustration and design, rather than real estate.
But here we are, twiddling our thumbs and bored out of our minds. I was hoping to get some Candy Crush in, but my roomie Lila convinced me not to.
“It’s too obvious,” she said the last time we were on the phone. “The jewel colors are too bright, and even if people can’t see your screen, they can see your eyes tracking. It’s a dead giveaway.”
“But I turn the volume off,” I protest. “And I’m very subtle. You can hardly see my fingers moving.”
“I hate to break it to you, Mins, but nobody’s that subtle,” Lila smirks. “Especially after they level up or get some juicy bonus. Their eyes light up like a kid in a candy store, and it’s obvious what’s happening. Besides, isn’t this your stepdad’s company? It would be so shameful for his stepdaughter to be whiling away her time on video games when she’s supposed to be working.”
I let out a gusty sigh.
“I hear you, but it’s okay because, one: Brad’s never around, so it’s not like he would know. Two: none of us have any work, so it’s boring as heck here! You have no idea what it’s like to hang out at an office for eight hours a day with absolutely zip to do. My brain’s turning to mush and practically oozing out of my ears. In fact, I can feel myself getting dumber with every passing minute.”
“Okay, okay,” Lila laughed. “I get your point, girlfriend. Still, I think it’s better if you don’t play because it looks really bad. The optics are terrible, so why not avoid an obvious pitfall? You are getting paid after all.”
Lila’s right, and as a result, I deleted Candy Crush from my phone, as well as Animal Farm, Wordle, and a bunch of other games. I still do The New York Times Mini-Crossword, but I make it fast. I can finish that thing in under a minute, so it’s not likely to get me in trouble.
But still, how will I pass my time? My brain feels like it’s melting out of my skull, and I let out another huge, gusty sigh.
“Are you okay?” another intern, Juliette, asks. Juliette is a very pretty French exchange student who speaks with a touch of a Parisian accent. Her curly brown hair is tied up and she has the biggest, brightest hazel eyes. We sit in an open work area with all the other interns, which is better than cubicles, I guess. Everyone is respectful and either wears headphones or tries to keep their voices down. Perhaps private offices are a thing of the past, and this is the future of work.