Stay With Me

Chapter 34

~~* Sierra's POV *~~

Sierra made the last-minute changes and saved her presentation. It was Friday, and she was supposed to present in a few minutes. She wore a navy blue business dress that fitted her body nicely. Sierra glanced at Rebecca, who seemed freaked out. Rebecca was dressed for the event in a grey suit and white shirt. She bit her nails as she stared at her screen. Noticing Sierra looking at her, she addressed her.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah. What about you?"

"Eh. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Don't worry. If we are penalized for the lack of research depth, Jade will be the one going down."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we have informed Philip and Mr. Myers about the input we received from Jade."

"I am surprised you talked to the CEO about this. How did he even agree to meet you?"

Sierra paused as she crossed her legs.

"Philip suggested that one of us should keep him in the picture as well. I thought I should take this opportunity to prevent our doom."

A grin crept on Rebecca's face as her furrowed eyebrows relaxed.

"How did it feel to be alone in the same room as him?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"Hello? Have you seen him? Drop dead dashing."

Sierra blinked and tried not to let her mind wander into the details of last night. Clearing her throat, Sierra pursed her lips.

"I did not go there to compliment him. I just talked about work."

"And when he spoke, you fainted after hearing his accent?"

"No. I replied to his queries and acted like a normal human."

"Sierra, help me out here. I am losing my mind because of this stupid presentation, and you are not assisting me in diverting it. I wish I had gone there with you. I am sure it felt just like all those office fantasies."

"It did not. Now complete your presentation before you get summoned."

Sierra huffed in annoyance. She looked at Scott, who had a simper on his face as he overheard their conversation. He looked up to meet her eyes, and his grin grew. Sierra gave him a weak smile and hoped he would not mention the hospital incident with Rebecca. The sooner Sierra wanted this internship to be over, the longer it was taking. She did not want to raise Rebecca's suspicion. Glancing at the time, Sierra picked up her laptop and headed to the meeting area.

She could hear muffled sounds coming from inside. Damien must be about to reach the end of his presentation. Sierra knocked firmly on the glass door and pushed it open. She noticed the projector screen was blank, and Damien stood in front of it. Sierra greeted everyone and locked eyes with Luke for the briefest moment while scanning the room. She did not meet him in the morning since Sierra wanted to have a clear head before her presentation. She could feel his eyes on her, but he quickly looked away. Sierra looked up at Damien, who gave her a weak smile.

"Ah, Sierra, you are right on time. Mr. Turner just finished."

Sierra smiled at Philip and headed to the rostrum. She opened her files and ensured that the display was working properly. Sierra saw Damien leave in her peripheral vision as she started explaining her part of the project. Once she had described her domain in the project, she transitioned into her findings. Her designs were appreciated, and everything was going according to the flow until Sierra switched the topic to accessibility. She could feel Jade fidgeting her pen irritably as Sierra continued. Although Sierra did not have the evidence to back up her claims, she reasoned it by stating that her university did not have any students with special needs.