My friend had a point, but my mind was stuck on a different man who worked with Edmund. My eyes made their way back to where Jagger had been standing while I was on the dance floor. He was gone now. I scanned the surrounding area, but he was nowhere to be found. A bereft feeling came over me.
“Safedoesn’t sound like very much fun anymore.”
CHAPTER 5
Sutton
I arrived at the Apex building a half hour before starting time on Monday morning. I would’ve been an hour early, since I’d gotten up at five AM, but I’d changed my outfit three times. I wanted to look professional, but maybe with a side of chic. In the end, I’d gone with a black pencil skirt and a simple, cream silk blouse with a big, pretty bow on one shoulder, and paired it with Christian Dior slingback pumps my mother had gifted me to wear on my graduation day. I’d twisted my hair into a sleek bun and added a few layers of simple gold chains to put the finishing touch on my look.
“Good morning.” I stopped at the security station. “My name is Sutton Holland. Today is my first day at Apex, so I don’t have a badge yet. HR said my name would be on the daily visitor list.”
The security guard picked up a clipboard and scanned the top sheet of paper. When his finger stopped, he looked up. “Just need to see some ID, Ms. Holland.”
“Sure thing.”
After receiving a temporary badge, I pressed the button on the elevator panel for floor fifty-eight, the second from the top. As the doors slid closed, a wave of nerves surged, and my heart pumped faster with each floor we climbed. I’d done my interviews from California over Zoom, so this was my first time actually being in the Apex building. I knew my stepfather’s office was on the top floor, and it made me wonder ifallthe executive offices were up there.
When the doors slid open, I took a deep breath and stepped out. A receptionist smiled in greeting.
“You must be Sutton.”
“I am. But how did you know? There are six interns starting today, right?” My heart sank. “Oh, no. Am I the last to arrive? I hope people aren’t waiting on me.”
She laughed and stood. “No, nothing like that. You’re actually the first to arrive.” She counted on her fingers. “But our six interns are Tyler, Rasheed, Matt, Kyle, Ben, and Sutton. It wasn’t too hard to figure out which one you were.” She walked around the desk and gave me the once-over. “Great shoes. I’m Amara, by the way.”
“Thanks. They’re actually comfy, too.”
She waved for me to follow. “Come on, I’ll show you around while it’s still quiet.”
The fifty-eighth floor housed the data-science and finance departments. Amara walked and pointed things out. “It’s Monday, so a lot of people tend to work from home. We have flexi-space two days a week, so the employees can vary which days they want to be in the office, and flexi-hours every day, which means you have to put in your eight hours, but it can be any shift—starting as early as five AM and ending as late as nine PM. It’s great for people with kids.”
“I bet.”
“The interns, unfortunately, have to be in the office every day, but you can still shift your hours after orientation is finished the first week. Most tend to work the schedule of their manager. You’ll also be assigned an executive mentor—whom you’ll meet with weekly during your internship.” She pointed to the ceiling. “The big guys work one floor up.”
“All of them?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yep. Their offices are super posh. HR is going to give your group a full building tour later today. It takes a while, and I can’t be away from the front desk for more than a few minutes. Otherwise I’d show you.”
My pulse picked up at the prospect of seeing Jagger during the tour later. I’d thought about the possibility of running into him a lot yesterday, and itmight’vehad something to do with why it had taken me so long to pick out my outfit this morning. Though I tamped down the excitement that started to grow in the pit of my belly, intent on keeping my focus on business and making the most out of my internship. I really was excited that I’d scored such an amazing opportunity. Amara answered the phone remotely from her headset as we toured the floor. When another intern arrived, she showed me to my cubicle and said my manager should be in shortly, and I should help myself to coffee in the breakroom we’d passed.
I was busy admiring the amazing Nuova Simonelli espresso machine when a familiar voice interrupted.
“That thing should be on the fifty-seventh floor, not this one.”
I turned to find Jack, the attorney I’d danced with at the wedding, standing behind me. “Oh, hi.”
“Good morning.” He lifted his chin toward the counter with the sparkling, stainless-steel machine. “Part of every employee’s annual review is a rating for being a team player. They average the employees from each department’s rating for that category, and the group with the highest number gets their choice of some expensive item for the breakroom on their floor. That damn machine goes for ten grand, but it’s worth every penny, if you ask me. I wish it was one floor down, though. You want me to show you how to use it? It’s kind of confusing.”
“Oddly enough, I know. I spent two years in college working at a coffeehouse. We had almost the same machine. I’m also addicted to cappuccino.”
Jack held his hand out. “After you.”
I worked to prepare my caffeine fix while he waited. “Do you come up here to make your coffee every morning?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I usually bring it with me, but I was running late this morning. I’m actually part of your morning meeting today. Each intern gets assigned a mentor from the executive team. I’m not an executive, but I’m filling in for my boss for a few weeks. She had a skiing accident and had to have knee surgery, so she’s going to be out for a while.”
“Do you know who you’re mentoring yet?”
