The Intern (BWWM)

Chapter 12

"Thank you," Leilani began. "For everything." She told Carter, as she grabbed her bags and started to open her front door.

"Wait," Carter spoke gently, lightly grabbing Leilani's wrist. He pulled her in for the most passionate kiss. Leilani's stomach erupted into butterflies once again. The same butterflies she'd felt last night with Carter.

"See you tomorrow, sweetheart. I'll have a car for you at 8am sharp." He told her before watching her enter her home. Carter wiped beneath his bottom lip to remove the lip gloss residue.

Leilani nodded, closing the door behind her.

"Well, nice to finally see you!" Leilani's mother sarcastically cheered. She studied her daughters body language along with the shopping bags in her arms.

"Oh, hey mom." Leilani greeted her mother swiftly as she tried to exit left to her bedroom. "And where have you been?" Leilani spun on her heels to face her mother. "Out." Leilani blurted out, not exactly sure which words would work best to keep the conversation short.

"Out where? Work?" She grilled Leilani. "I know your job isn't keeping you out with late," her mother brought her arm up to her face and squinted at the silver watch on her wrist. She wrinkled her eyebrows and frowned at Leilani. "It's nearly 9pm. Girl, don't you lie to me."

Leilani sighed, taking a seat at the kitchen counter. She immediately regretted agreeing to the waterfront dinner she went to with Carter. Yes, the steak and lobster was amazing but she knew her mother always came home at seven o'clock on the dot and she actually wanted to beat her home.

"You can be honest with me, Leilani. You're grown now. There's really not much I can do about that." Her mother told her, shrugging.

Leilani let out the air she had been holding in since she walked inside. She figured now was the time to tell her mother about Carter.

"Well," Leilani trailed off, fiddling with her hair. She twirled a few loose strands as she formulated her thoughts. "I've been seeing someone." She confessed, breathlessly.

Her mother wasn't really a scary woman to Leilani. But she was strict and one thing her mother did not tolerate were lies and secrets.

"That wasn't so hard now was it?" Her mother smiled, throwing her hands up as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders. Truthfully, she was happy her daughter was dating. She remembered the trials and tribulations Leilani had gone through as a teenager. She was happy to see her happy.

"Tell me about him." Her mother leaned against the stove, resting her head in her palms. Oh, god. Leilani thought.

"I met him at work. We've been hanging out a little bit here and there. It's nothing major." Leilani told her mother. "Awwww, my baby is finally dating!" She exclaimed.

"Is it serious? Can I meet him?" Her mother bombarded her with questions. Leilani wouldn't mind bringing Carter around but she didn't know how her mother would react to her dating someone older. Carter was older than Leilani's mother by four years!

"I'm not sure." Leilani answered both questions with one, incredibly short statement. She sort of muttered out the words.

She expected a roar from her mother but got the opposite. Her mother came off as a little more gentle, and understanding. "That's fine. Whenever you're ready." She walked over to Leilani and wrapped her arms around her from behind.

The following morning, Leilani dressed herself in a mint green bell bottom pants, a sleeveless white button up, and white stilettos. She carried a matching blazer for the low office temperature but left her arms out for her commute.

This time, the company car was filled with a glass of orange juice and a breakfast platter. Leilani was very surprised. The breakfast was served on a silver dining set. When she lifted the lid, her eyes were met with four strips of bacon and three waffles. Leilani didn't care for eggs and it warmed her heart a little that Carter remembered.

With a full belly and a smile on her face, Leilani entered the office. Of course, Sally caught up with her in the break room for their morning meet ups. Which was just them gossiping about any and everything for twenty to thirty minutes over a fresh cup of coffee.

"And you know Rachel is pregnant again. She just had little Theodore four months ago!" Sally whispered in Leilani's ear, causing her to erupt into laughter. "You're lying," Leilani gasped.

"It's going around the office that it might be Mr. Vanderbilt's or one of the bartenders that work the company lounge." Sally told her. It didn't register at first to Leilani that Mr. Vanderbilt was Carter.

"Wait a minute." Leilani thought out loud. "Isn't Rachel married?" She questioned Sally. "Mhm." Sally hummed, "but Rachel's husband is in the military. He's out in Quebec or something."

"Maybe, it's the husband's." Leilani attempted to clear Carters name. She didn't have all the details yet.

Sally giggled. "That's the kicker. Rachel's husband left five months ago." Leilani's jaw dropped down to her waist. "I'm leaving, Sally. I need to go work." Leilani threw her hands up in disbelief and exited the break room. This was just too much for her ears today.

She initially thought to go straight into Carter's office and make a scene but she wasn't that kind of girl. Instead, she decided to avoid him at all cost until she put together her thoughts.

As she checked emails and updated the "Junior Authors" section on the company website, she noticed Rachel passing by.

Rachel was Caucasian, tall and slender. She sort of had a model figure. Her hair was blonde, styled into a bob with bangs. Rachel wore a black, skirt set. The skirt was very short, probably stopped above Rachel's fingertips. Her blazer had four gold French buttons and her gold heels matched them.

Leilani watched Rachel make her way towards Carter's office. Rachel sauntered inside, Carter closed the door behind them.

Maybe everything Sally had told her was true.

A/N: I just want to say thank you everyone who votes and comments. I really appreciate it. I usually update when every chapter hits 100 votes but I'll be taking a brief hiatus as I continue to work on this book. I have to go back and fix typos, grammar mistakes, and much more lol.

But.... Comment your name, I have a surprise for the next chapter 😆