“Mallory, this is Eric and Skyler.”

We all say hello, and I stretch out my hand, greeting each of them.

Skyler looks like a cool kid. She’s got on a plum pantsuit with hot-pink heels, and her jet-black hair is stick straight and pulled back in a low ponytail. Her almond eyes are warm, her handshake is firm and her smile is genuine when she greets me. I like her, and I like that there’s another girl in the program with me.

Eric seems normal enough. Average height, dark blond hair and blue eyes. He looks like an all-American Abercrombie boy. Definitely the kind of guy I’ve seen before, and avoided. His eyes move down my body when we shake hands, and I pull my hand back quicker than I intended. He flashes his megasmile at me, which I’m sure has some girls swooning, but I just give him a tight-lipped one in return and pretend nothing happened. I want to make a good first impression, especially with Agatha here, so I keep my mouth shut.

We’re taken to our floor and introduced to our supervisor and head of accounting, Linda Green. She’s short, and well dressed, with a professional smile. She’s enthusiastic about us being on board and welcomes us to the company. Afterward, her assistant shows us to our cubicles, and we all settle in. My desk is between Skyler’s and Eric’s, but thankfully it’s not too cramped.

They drop a stack of work for us to do for the day. I dive right in, going over the numbers in the spreadsheet and even finding a way to do them faster if we just reformat the spreadsheets. I show both Skyler and Eric how I have all of mine done before it’s even lunchtime so I decide to write up how to do the sheets faster so everyone knows.

* * *

Eric asks us out to lunch, but Skyler brought hers, too, so we opt for eating in the cafeteria together. I’d rather stay at my desk and keep working while I eat but they don’t have any more reports for me to do since I finished mine so quickly.

At lunch, I learn that Skyler was valedictorian at Stanford and turned down a job at the White House to take this internship. We talk a lot about school and what led us to this job, thankfully steering clear of family talk. I never have much to contribute when people ask about my parents, and when I tell them I’m an orphan, they always look so sad. I grew up in a big foster home, and while it wasn’t the greatest, I had nice people who took care of me, and I never had anything bad happen. I’ve heard so many horror stories that I consider myself lucky.

“You got a scholarship? From Osbourne Corporation?” Her tone of voice makes it sound like she thinks I’m joking.

“Yeah. It was a big shock. I didn’t even apply for it. I competed in a couple of state-level math competitions, and afterward, it was offered to me.”

“Damn, girl, you must be something special. I’ve never heard of them doing that.” She cocks her head to the side, and then smiles like she’s happy to be next to someone she considers her equal.

“From what I was told, it’s very rare. And I’m pretty sure that’s how I landed here. Either way, I’ve worked hard to get here and I’m excited to see where it takes me.”

“Me, too. I’ve worked my ass off, and I just hope Pretty Boy didn’t skate in on his daddy’s name,” Skyler says, putting away her lunch wrapper.

“Who, Eric?”

“Yeah. Did you not catch his last name? Westmoreland. If I had to guess, he’s related to the governor. That’s probably how he ended up here. I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but I’m usually not.”

I nod, not commenting as she stands up. She takes out her phone and looks down at it. “We’ve got fifteen minutes left. I’m going to respond to a few emails and play some Candy Crush before I head back to work.” She looks up and smiles. “See you up there.”

She winks and walks away with such confidence, it’s like she’s been working here her whole life. She must have on superhero underwear, too.

Reaching in my bag, I pull out my phone thinking I’ll send a text to Paige about the first part of my day. When I swipe the screen, I know I’m grinning like a loon when I see that Oz has texted me.

Oz: How’s your first day?

Me: Going good. Just had lunch.

Oz: Good. Let me take you to dinner to celebrate.

My cheeks burn from the blush, and a shot of disappointment hits me as I answer.

Me: Sorry. Already promised my roommate dinner out.

Oz: How about a celebratory breakfast before work?

Me: Maybe.

Oz: Maybe? It’s better than a no. I’ll come pick you up and have you at work on time. Scout’s honor. No funny business.

I laugh out loud at the words funny business. He’s definitely not giving up.

Me: It would have to be really early.

Oz: You name the time and I’ll make it happen.

I bite my lip hesitantly but am way too excited to say no.

Me: Okay. Breakfast.

I text him my address, and he agrees to pick me up at seven in the morning. I get up from the table and head back to my cubicle, and my smile stretches from ear to ear. I have a date. A breakfast date, but still a date.

Before I make it back to my desk, I look down at my phone and see I have a new text. I check it quickly before putting it away and see that it’s from him.

Oz: I like the hair up.

As I’m about to ask him how he knows I wore it up, Skyler comes around the corner. Not wanting to look like I’m playing on my phone on company time, I slip it back into my bag and let it go. I’m sure Oz was making a joke after I’d said I would consider wearing it up.