The Intern - A New Start

1

Laurie gripped his messenger bag by the strap tightly and took a deep breath, trying to hype himself up to walk into the building. He took another deep breath and walking into the building.

He stopped in the entrance and stood in awe of how beautiful and minimalistic the office looked. It looked too good to he true, he couldn't believe that this is where he'd be working for the time being. It felt like an office straight out of a k-drama.

He went up to the front desk and picked up his ID card and was shown the way up to the office by the receptionist. She was an older lady, very petite and extremely sweet. Her kind words and actions helped Laurie feel at ease in this new environment.

The receptionist lead him to his boss's desk and from there his day began. His boss was patient and quite welcoming. She was bold and strong, and a little intimidating to be honest. Makayla Reeves, head of the tax specialist department.

"How are you feeling Laurie? Excited? Nervous maybe?" She asked.

Laurie's eyebrows crinkled ever so slightly.

"Both..." He whispered. Makayla chuckled a gave him a pat on the back.

"You're going to do amazing, I know it. You'll be in training for your first week here, let me walk you to his desk. He can be a little intimidating, but no need to fear, it's just his eyes, he's actually a kind soul and motivated worker."

Laurie gulped. Intimidating. But also kind... that made him hopeful. His new boss lead him across the office to his new trainer, his guide in this new work environment.

"Alright, here we are," she gestured to the dark haired gentleman hunched over his desk. "I'd like for you to meet Mark Peters, we all just call him Peter though." She spoke with a smile.

The man at the desk hadn't moved at all. Was he that absorbed in his work?

"Ah, Peter," Makayla knocked on his desk lightly and Peter's head shot up.

"Yes ma'am." He responded immediately. He had turned to face the two of them, he looked a little stern. Laurie's head crooked to the side ever so slightly as he took him all in.

Peter seemed tall and slim with broad shoulders. He had dark hair that seemed to be getting a tad bit long, he wondered if Peter was overdue for a haircut, or if merely it was just a style. He had green eyes, or were they hazel? Laurie couldn't tell from this distance. He was actually... kind of hot. Laurie could feel his face slowly turning red, this was his trainer?

"He-hello!" He said a bit too loudly, "I'm Laurie Gant and I'll be in your care for this week, it's nice to meet you..." He stuck out his hand as his voice trailed off.

His shaking hand was met with a firm handshake. He had rough hands, Laurie wished their handshake had lasted a little longer.

"Mark Peters. They call me Peter, it's nice to meet you." He spoke briskly and straight to the point. It was making Laurie grow more nervous by the second.

"Okay, well I'll leave you both to it, you'll be in good hands Laurie." And with that, his new boss took her leave.

"It's uhh, nice to meet you," Laurie unknownly repeated. Peter kept a steady gaze on him, and stayed quiet. "Ah, umm, what should I do now?" He asked awkwardly. Peter stood up quickly, and Laurie flinched hard. He walked over to the nearby desk and rolled the chair over right next to his. He looked up at Laurie, waiting.

"Ah... thank you." The chairs were too close for comfort. Laurie gulped and plopped down. He set his bag on the floor and turned to the monitor so he wouldn't have to make eye contact.

And so his training began. Peter started by showing him the programs used for the job. Laurie was busy scribbling all he could in his little notebook, trying his best to keep up. He soon realized that the pauses after explaining were getting slightly longer in between, was Peter giving him more time to write things down?

Peter pointed at the screen, "Do you see that button?" Laurie leaned a little forward in his seat, straining his eyes.

"Ye-!" In the middle of responding, Peter pulled his chair closer till the two were side by side. Once he had pulled the chairs closer, the dark haired office worker's eyes met Laurie's. Hazel. They were hazel.

Did... those hazel eyes widen for just a brief moment? Did his face flush for just a split second? Laurie already felt himself falling. This was dangerous.