The Intern

Chapter 13

I honestly had every intention of saying yes, and I was prepared to use this deal to get as close to Levi as he would let me. Whatever his reasons were, he wanted this badly enough that he was willing to put all of his energy into making me to agree. Not that I wanted to, of course. Erwin was undeniably attractive and were I not already head over heels for a certain midget I might actually entertain the idea of wanting someone like him. But Levi had a hold on my heart that I was unable to break, and I didn't want to try. Despite the ups and downs of the past week, I had felt more content with him than I had with anyone in last few months. I wasn't willing to give up that feeling now, and I knew I couldn't go back to the emptiness she had left behind.

"Just because I said I would work all night to get an answer out of you doesn't mean I actually want to, brat," Levi's annoyed voice snapped me out of my reverie and reminded me that he was still waiting for my answer. "It's a really simple question. Yes, you'll fuck the billionaire sex god. Or no, you'd rather just hole yourself up in the mailroom and piss me off for the remainder of the internship."

"Let's say I say yes," I started, and was a little surprised I didn't have to shoot down any excitement on his end. He stared at me passively, awaiting the rest of my statement. He obviously wasn't getting his hopes up, and realizing he might have already given up on me caused a stronger pain in my chest than I expected. "If I say yes, what does that mean for you and me?"

"What do you want it to mean for us?"

"Well, if I'm with him then I can't be with you, right?" I knew I was reaching towards possibilities that weren't even there, but I didn't care.

"First off, Erwin's not going to be openly committed to you in any way," Levi said as he walked towards the kitchen island. He pressed a switch on his single cup coffee machine and the room filled with a soft hum as it started to warm up. He hesitated on his next comment, eyeing me with a wary expression that had my stomach twisting before he said the words, "He's married."

"He's married?" I practically hissed the words as I started walking towards the kitchen. The slight breeze cruelly reminded me that I was still buck naked in the middle of Levi's apartment, but I was currently too flabbergasted to care. "And you decided to mention this now?"

"Oh, you're right," Levi's tone was heavy with sarcasm. "Because Erwin's a faithful angel otherwise. Yea, we're really the ones fucking up that marriage bed."

He rolled his eyes and then pressed a single cup into the machine, pushing the lever down before hitting the button for the larger serving. He leaned against the marble counter as the machine poured brown liquid into the waiting cup. He threaded his fingers together and watched my expression, analyzing it as if trying to decide whether he should stop pushing his luck now.

"Does he have kids?" It was the only other thought running through my mind next to the unknown face of some woman I would inevitably hurt.

"Two," he murmured softly.

I let breath rush out of me, feeling my lungs deflate. I reached out to grab the counter, suddenly feeling weak and sick to my stomach. I had been so ready to agree to this and now every doubt I had before came hurrying back at full force. How could I possibly do this when he was married with a family? How could I hurt three innocent people simply because Levi wanted to get back at Erwin for who knew what?

"It's not like you're destroying a happy home, kid," he continued when I didn't say anything. "You think you'd be the deciding factor? Get over yourself. If it's not your ass, it'll be someone else. Erwin's never been faithful and he's never going to be. That family has been doomed from the moment he said 'I do' and the only thing you'll be doing is revealing the lie he's been forcing them to live in."