Deal With It ✓

Sixteen: An Internship

Song: Wildflower // 5 Seconds of Summer

Above is an image of Dylan's office.

Special thanks to hello-2 and sundayra1n for their consistent votes on all my chapters! ILY guys.

ALSO WE HIT 1K READS? AND 100 VOTES? THANK YOUUUUUUUU

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Dad made me shadow him at the company at the ripe age of sixteen because he thought that I would go to university to study business and take over his position as CEO. I did take an interest in the company and how he chose to run it, so I assume that that's what made him think that I wanted to be CEO. 

And I did, for a short while.

But then I started following him to his meetings and watched as he sat in his large office just reading, signing, and occasionally yelling at incompetent employees. The first year I interned there I was fine– I was really excited to be in a professional workspace and to learn how exactly the company operated. The second year was less interesting, I already knew the basics and was assigned light reading which, while it made me not waste my time, made me question why I had agreed to the internship. The third and final year was my breaking point. I had completely lost interest in the business; I couldn't imagine myself sitting in an office for lord knows how long; and I didn't like the thought of an entire company relying on me– it stressed me out.

It was at that point that I realized that I'd love a career that allowed me to express my creativity through music. I had contemplated becoming a producer but decided that I wanted to be a composer, and I convinced myself that I could only become a successful composer if I was well-known, hence the drive to become the lead violinist in an orchestra. I had been playing the violin, piano, and guitar for a few years at that point and I'd completed all the required exams– I had mastered all the techniques and was a very skilled musician.

I broke the news to my father in the last week of my third internship at Amity Industry. I told him that although I was proud of him for building the business from the ground up, it just wasn't for me and I wouldn't be happy doing something that doesn't excite me. His response consisted of a calm expression and silence, and I felt a pit form in my stomach. Immediately, a bunch of scenarios where he didn't support me ran through my head, but I shook them away when he responded with a shrug and an 'Alright'.

"You're not mad?" I asked, pulling on my fingers to feel the satisfying crack.

"Have you done drugs?"

"No," I responded, but it sounded more like a question than a definite statement.

"Then there's my answer," As soon as he uttered the words, he went back to work. 

I grinned, relief flooding my system because I finally told him, in the nicest way I could, that I hated being a businessman and wanted to accomplish my own dreams. I released a relieved sigh and turned around to leave the office.

"Where do you think you're going?" His voice resonated and when I looked back he was still looking down at his documents.

"Home?"

He lifted his eyes and looked at me while his head was still tilted downwards, "Did you finish the work I gave you?"

"No, I didn't."

"Then you're not going anywhere. You never leave business undone: always complete what you want to or what was expected of you."

The internships, and his guidance, allowed me to grasp the basics of his business and so when I inherited the company, I already had a few years of superficial experience under my belt. And although I didn't have a choice when it came to becoming a CEO, I felt myself grow slightly more confident by the day because I was managing a multi-millionaire company. I started enjoying being a CEO after I came to terms with dad's death and cleared the air with Amber regarding my custody and CPS. Less external stress made it easier for me to get my shit together and be a good CEO– but I still didn't want to do this forever.