3. Clarissa

3

CLARISSA

" M arci!" I wailed as I returned home after work on Friday.

"I'm right here. What's the matter? Were the mean girls mean again?" She stood in the small kitchen area pouring a pop over some ice.

I had told her about the models and the frat boys and how they weren't exactly the nicest to me. I hadn't told her how Steve and I were going to be shadowing Kyle because I really had a hard time believing it myself.

"The mean girls are so fucking full of themselves. They had lunch with Kyle Love yesterday, and today they spent the first half of the day being condescending twats."

"Clarissa!" Marci exclaimed. "You've been watching too much British TV. You're picking up the bad words."

I flopped onto the couch, my arms and legs spread out like a starfish that gave up all hope. "The bad words are the fun ones." I started spewing all the British slang profanity I could think of. "Bloody, bollox, twat, wanker."

She came and sat next to my sprawled form. "That's it? You came in here whining so you could cuss at me?"

I sat quickly and stared at her like a mad man. "I need an entire new wardrobe, and I have exactly thirty-two dollars in my bank account."

Marci waved her hands around. "Back up there, sunshine. What do the mean girls have to do with your needing new clothes? Do I have to go beat someone up for you?"

I collapsed back with a laugh. "No, but that could be interesting. Bella and Kendall are nothing more than jerks. And they are officially out of my hair. They got their assignments today for the rest of the internship. They're shadowing some drafts-people. They think they're hot shit because they had lunch with Kyle and now have their assignments. And because I wasn't invited to the lunch."

Marci shifted on the couch. "Why not?"

I did a little kick and squirmy dance. "That's the best part," I squealed. "I wasn't invited to one last lunch with the head of the firm because I'm going to be shadowing him."

Marci jumped and was on her knees. "What? No way! This is awesome."

"Right? I know. Steve Kanatas and I were quietly selected so the other interns wouldn't get their panties in a twist, and we have a big meeting with Kyle at the end of next week when he gets back from Hong Kong."

"And you want to look cute for Steve?"

"Ew, no. I mean, Steve's not… no. He's cute enough, I guess, but no. I'm going to be working with Kyle Love ." I emphasized his name. "You know, the freaking head of the whole agency. I cannot accidentally dress like a frumpy librarian around him."

Marci's mouth dropped open into a wide-mouthed smile. "Oh, girl, you have the hots for the boss man."

"Shut up!" I let out a wistful sigh. "Have I mentioned just how incredibly handsome he is?"

"Steve?"

"Kyle!" I went to throw a couch pillow at her but stopped because she had so thoroughly gotten me riled up. I hugged it to my chest and giggled.

"You want to look cute for the boss. How much money did you say you had?"

We spent the weekend going through my closet. With Marci's help, I ended up with twelve outfits I didn't even realize were hiding in the mess of clothes that I already owned. I spent the money I had on buying her dinner as a thank you. It wasn't nearly enough to show my gratitude, but I now had clothes I could wear for the rest of my internship. I didn't need to be super fashionable. I just needed to know that if Kyle looked at me, he wouldn't necessarily think I looked like a potato wearing clothes.

By the time Kyle returned from abroad, my stomach was tied up in knots. I was so nervous. When I walked into the conference room where our meeting was scheduled, I no longer knew if I was anxious because I was going to be one of Kyle Love's interns—an absolute major accomplishment—or because it had been almost a whole week since I had seen him last. Somehow in the past few days, my feelings seemed to have exploded from thinking the boss was hot to having a full-blown crush on the man.

Steve was already sitting staring at the spread of catered sandwiches when I stepped in. Neither Kyle nor Alayna was there yet.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked.

I shook my head with tight movements.

He laughed. "Relax, you'll be fine."

"But we're shadowing Kyle fucking Love," I said. My nerves added a little extra spice to my language. I didn't like cursing at work.

"I practically puked on the guy our first day here, and look at me now. Trust me, Kyle is a good guy."

I slid into a chair. I reached for a napkin and grabbed a bagel. I wasn't hungry, but picking at it gave me something to do. And maybe the bread would soothe my stomach.

"Steve, Clarissa," Kyle exclaimed as he practically burst into the conference room.

I looked for Alayna before letting my gaze land on Kyle. I don't know why I sought out the other woman first as some sort of safe haven for my nerves. She wasn't there, and as soon as my eyes locked with Kyle's, I felt a chill wash over me. A shiver started in my toes and ended at the back of my neck.

He paused before sitting and asked, "Are you all right?"

I nodded frantically. "Excited."

"Excited is good." Kyle turned to Steve. "Are you okay? Not going to be sick?"

Steve laughed. "Not going to be sick. But I'm not nearly as nervous as Clarissa."

Of course he wasn't. He didn't have a crush on the boss like I did.

Kyle eyed the spread of food hungrily and grabbed a plate full of deli sandwich sections and chips. "Well, relax and eat up. I promise there won't be a test at the end of this."

"What are we doing, exactly?" Steve asked.

"Everything." Kyle laughed.

By the end of the hour, we had eaten. Kyle regaled us with tales of architect faux pas, and we ate some more. After a while, we moved the food to a sideboard and Kyle had someone bring in some D-size paper and mechanical pencils.

He rolled the large sheet of paper out on the table and began telling us his ideas. As he spoke, he drew and doodled.

Steve pointed to a part of the drawing. "May I?"

Kyle gave him the go ahead, and Steve began sketching the details as he understood what Kyle was describing.

"That's it! That's exactly why you're here. You took the concept and ran with it," Kyle said, a huge smile on his face.

I got over my nerves once we started drawing. I turned my chair around and kneeled in it so I could reach across the table, having shorter arms than either Kyle or Steve. The building Kyle described developed before our eyes as we communicated through lines and shapes as well as conversation.

The collaborative effort between the three of us was for lack of a better word, fun. I loved being able to talk and joke with people who seemed to really understand how my brain worked. I didn't have to explain simple ideas. I could draw them out, and both of the men knew exactly what I was thinking.

Steve stepped away from the drawing and took a long drink from his cup. All of our drinks were set on the sideboard away from the drawings. He excused himself and stepped out of the room.

With a shrug, Kyle continued to work.

I watched as he seemed to doodle in strenuous details on a patio.

"If you're going to do that, you might as well put in fairy lights," I said as I began to draw in swags of string lights.

Our hands were in close proximity, and our pencils seemed to dance around each other. Kyle bumped my hand, causing me to make a squiggle across the drawing. I glanced up, and he was smirking, so I bumped his hand back. Kyle immediately shifted the paper and created a grid of dots.

I knew this game. It was a race to see who could box off the other person's lines. The next thing I knew, I was giggling, he was laughing, and we were having sloppy scribbling pencil wars.

The next time I looked up at him, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. His smile melted and I stopped giggling. The laughter was replaced with something much more dramatic and charged. I swear I could feel lightning crackle through the room between us.

"Don't move," Kyle demanded.

I didn't think I could have, even if I wanted to.

He sat down but kept his eyes on me.

I glanced down. His pencil moved with tight, rapid motions.

"No, don't look. Not yet," he said.

"Sorry about that," Steve said as he stepped back into the conference room.

Kyle cleared his throat and tore a corner from the sheet of paper we had been drawing on. He folded the section and tucked it into his pocket.

I eased back off the table. My knees were still on my chair, but I was practically lying across the conference table to be closer to Kyle while we were being silly.

"Anything good develop while I was indisposed?" Steve asked.

I tried not to blush.

"I beat Clarissa at snakes," Kyle announced.

"You did not. I totally boxed you in," I declared.

Kyle leveled a calm, even look at me. There was no hint of that charged moment between us in his eyes, but I swear I felt something in his words. "I challenge you to a rematch."