The Intern (BWWM)

Chapter 28

"Huh?"

Leilani unintentionally played stupid. She wasn't supposed to be receiving those flowers. And they certainly shouldn't have been coming from Zach.

Carter displayed a questionable look. Did Leilani think he was stupid?

Without further warning, Carter swiped the card from her hands and read it aloud to himself.

"Sorry about Friday. I won't tell if you don't."
                               
Leilani shifted her pupils to the corners of her eyes. This didn't just look bad, it looked horrible.

"Friday night?" Carter questioned her. He wasn't mad at Leilani at all. There was just a lot of confusion floating throughout his brain.

Leilani felt like she had no other choice but to lie.

"I was with Noelle Friday. I think this may have reached the wrong desk." Leilani stood, looking around the office frantically.

"Oh, okay." Carter shrugged and walked away.

Lying wasn't something Leilani thought she'd ever have to do with Carter, but for some reason she felt she had to. It was simply because she had no idea how to present this catastrophe to him.

Carter had been involved in an office scandal once before and she didn't want her to be the cause of it happening again.

It was going to take serious thinking to get Leilani through this.

When lunchtime rolled around and Leilani had no plans, she decided to stay in the office. Her lunch of the day was a slice of pound cake and water from the vending machine in the break room.

Usually, there wouldn't be anyone else at their cubicle but the sound of footsteps let her know that she was not alone.

"I see you got my flowers."

Snapping her neck in his direction, she gave him the worst look she could create.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you a legit psychopath? Can you not take a hint?" Leilani hissed at Zach.

As crazy as he was, she should've known that this was more than likely a joke to him.

"I just wanted to apologize." Zach innocently says.

"With roses... okay." This man was out of his mind. "And what about the I-won't-tell-if-you-don't?"

Had he missed that part?

"You know what I meant."

"I don't."

"I know I've been a little pushy in terms of my attraction towards you but I know about you and Mr. V..." Zach was going somewhere with this and I certainly rather not meet him there.

"As much as you think he loves you... I'm going to bet my next paycheck that he loves this company more." Zach was so conniving.

Leilani's jaw dropped down to her lap. She wasn't quite sure why she couldn't believe anything Zach was saying.

She had now, in this very moment began doubting Carter's love for her. Look at the two: an underage intern versus decades old multimillionaire publishing company ran by a millionaire who would most definitely rather keep and maintain his millions.

Dammit.

Leilani wouldn't dare compete with that. Hell, there was literally no way that she could.

Zach took Leilani's cellphone and began pounding his fingers away onto the screen. She assumed he was sharing his number.

And Leilani soon realized she was right when his own phone rang and he pounded his sausages on his screen as well.

Leilani snatched her cellphone back and deleted everything he had just done.

This fool really had some nerve!

Before Leilani responded, well she really had no response to that, Zach went back to his evil script.

"While the evidence that has been previously brought to you may point me out to be a loser, I can assure that I am not."

You really are... but ok.

"And because I'm not a loser, I'm going to take you on a date."

What?

Hell no.

Leilani shook her head in protest to everything Zach The Monster had just relayed to her.

"Are you on medication or something?" Leilani wondered.

He must've been if he thought she was going to entertain his madness or even spend more than half a millisecond on a date with him.

"Well," Zach started to answer but held up his hands to dismiss the topic.

"I'm also giving you a week to dump Boss Man Cartie." Zach flashed a menacing grin at Leilani.

But she wasn't going down without a fight.

"No." She tried to combat him.

There was no way she was dumping Carter and going out with Zach. This was entirely too much and Carter would always be her preferred choice of a man.

Zach let out a loud, sarcastic chuckle before bending down and whispering into Leilani's ear:

"You really don't have a say in this sweetheart." Zach even went as far as placing a long, deep kiss onto Leilani's cheek.

As Zach started his trail back to wherever pit of hell he came from, he stopped and turned his head to her.

"And talk to Sally too. She just wants the best for us."

She wants the best for us? Leilani kept those words on repeat.

She wants the best for us?

Once Zach left, Leilani's face was stone cold and a hard mug had locked itself onto her face.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

Leilani felt sick to her stomach. There was a gnawing sensation that began once Zach left. She felt guilt and worry making its way through her intestine and up to her mouth.

Hunched over, covering her mouth as she erupted from her desk chair, her heels slammed against the office tile. Leilani bolted to the ladies room and found herself emptying the contents of her abdomen into the toilet.

Tears streamed down her face as she pathetically sat on the stall floor, her knees to her chest as she sobbed silently.

Why was this happening to her?

Was this immediate Karma for lying? Not just to Carter but to nearly everyone around her. Her mother, Sally, and now Carter.

What on earth was she supposed to do about this mess?