@pancakesareelite:
What’s that supposed to mean?
@theanswerisno:
I’ve never been sure about anything
@pancakesareelite:
Gaaaaah, you’re infuriating
By hour five, my brain felt as though it would leak out of my ears. But at the same time, this test was exhilarating and reminded me of all the reasons I went into engineering.
Every late-night crying fit over a difficult revision, every minutespent studying Lincoln’s final drawings, even the fundamentals of designing by hand, all came back and guided me through this process.
If I didn’t get this job, I knew without a doubt that I’d grown as an engineer by leaps and bounds. I stood a chance. Nerves and excitement bubbled up at the thought.
The last eight weeks had led to this moment, and I’d done it all in spite of Douglas. For a few blissful hours, while connecting roads and creating open public spaces, I forgot he existed.
And that was a victory on its own.
As the test’s timer neared zero, Mr. Anders walked in and his curious gaze settled on me. “Okay, interns. The managers are ready to scrutinize your drawings. I’ll give you a few seconds to save your work, and for the sake of maintaining anonymity, send it off to the printers when I say so.”
“Now.” He made finger guns, and I hit print along with the other six interns in the room.
I exhaled a long breath and laid my head in my arms. Everything ached. I needed food. I needed a bed. I needed Lincoln.
But I also needed to know the outcome.
“Well done, everyone.” Mr. Anders applauded us, and while nothing he did ever felt sincere, my eyes still welled up. “You did it.”
We did it. Whether we did it well was a different question.
Cedric’s hand shot up. “Mr. Anders, when will the scoring begin?”
“Immediately. It’ll take the managers and senior engineers at least two hours to work their way through your drawings and accompanying reports. In the meantime, we’d like to invite you upstairs for a few drinks. After all, we’re celebrating your new job or saying farewell. Either way, it’s a party.”
I looked down at my phone. It was already 4:00 p.m.
I shuffled out of the boardroom along with everyone else. Mr. Anders stood at the door, grinning at everyone and slapping them on the shoulder. But when I reached him, he froze. A smile that made me uneasy spread across his face. “Congratulations are in order.”
“For what? I haven’t gotten the job yet.”
“For managing to romance the robot,” he said with a chuckle. “You can tell him I said that. He’ll laugh.”
Lincoln?Mr. Anders knows?
My mouth dropped open, and he took a step closer to me. “Please don’t parade it around the office. Despite his resignation, it’ll still be a touchy topic for now.”
“Resig— What?” I choked out.
The regular smirk I expected appeared on Mr. Anders’s face. “I better let him take over.” He lifted his brows.
I spun around and found Lincoln standing behind me with two foil-wrapped sandwiches in hand. That lopsided smile appeared, and for a moment, I wondered if I had imagined everything or if I really existed in a world where Lincoln Carden brought me a sandwich without asking. Where Lincoln Carden was mine.
He extended both sandwiches. “You must be hungry.”
“I’m starving,” I whined. “What’s what?”
