Only the Lonely {Chase Elliott} ✔️

xviii.

"i think i'm going to puke," kathryn claire gripped the safety bar in chase's truck. "i can't do this. fly me back to michigan."

"i'm not doing that," chase chuckled, "rick is not as intimidating as you think."

"says his golden boy," she muttered.

chase gave her a sideways look before cracking a smile, "seriously though. you are brilliant and hard working. there is no reason you aren't going to walk out of this with the internship."

kathryn claire let out a shaky breath as they pulled up in front of hms. "you even get your own parking spot?" she giggled a little, looking up at the sign that had a nine and his signature beneath it. the perks chase had hadn't failed to amuse her yet.

"shut up," he mumbled. "are you ready?"

"as ready as i'll ever be," kathryn claire smoothed her blouse before opening the door, stepping out of the truck. chase did the same, meeting her at the front of the truck.

"hey." he grabbed her hand, squeezing it. "you're going to do great. you deserve this."

she nodded slowly. "thank you, chase. for everything."

he smiled at her for a moment, "stop stalling, let's go inside."

a guilty smile spread across her face. "you caught me, let's go."

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rick smiled warmly as his assistant opened the door, allowing kathryn claire to step in. "welcome." he stood up, offering his hand, "it's nice to meet you..."

kathryn claire shook his hand firmly, "kathryn claire, but i usually go by kc."

"kc," rick sat back down. "so tell me what got you interested in nascar and interning here?"

"well, i grew up a nascar fan and i always found the cars and their setups to be the most interesting part. so once i got to college, i decided to major in mechanical engineering. hms is the best of the best and i want to learn from the best."

"and you know chase?" rick leaned back curiously.

she shrugged nonchalantly, "yeah, we're friends?" she frowned that her answer had turned into a question. she didn't really know the answer. sure they were friends for sure, but beyond that? she knew she wanted more but she also knew that chase was still recovering from his breakup with alicia and ryan's betrayal.

he nodded slowly, "so i know a few professors at the university of michigan. so i called around, and i couldn't find anybody that had even a neutral word about you. we would be lucky to have you."

kathryn claire grinned, "i appreciate that, sir."

"you'll start on monday. go enjoy the rest of the week and weekend." rick smiled.

"thank you, sir." kathryn claire stood up, giving him a smile before hurrying out of his office.

she walked over to chase, who was playing some game on his phone, completely oblivious to the world around him. she cleared her throat, trying to get his attention.

chase snapped his head up, an annoyed look crossing his face before he realized it was her standing before him. "well?" he asked. she shrugged, pressing her lips in a firm line. she fought back the urge to laugh as chase's face paled, "kathryn claire, i am so sorry."

"why?" she asked, "i got the internship."

chase grinned, pulling kathryn claire into a tight hug, spinning her around, "i knew you would." he reminded her as he set her down.

"chase, a word." rick's voice boomed across the office.

"i'll be right back," chase promised, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked towards rick's office.

"that boy is in love," a secretary declared loud enough for kathryn claire to hear. "i'm glad he finally came to his senses and dumped that other girl."

the other secretary agreed, "and we all know, we're all happy when chase is happy."

kathryn claire couldn't stifle a giggle at that statement, earning herself glares from the two secretaries. she couldn't help it. maybe it was because when she was getting to know chase, she didn't know him as chase elliott so she was never starstruck. and even after his true identity he was just chase to her, his starpower lost on her.

she pulled out her phone, scrolling through instagram until chase appeared in front of her, "ready?" he asked.

she looked up, dimming her phone and standing up, "ready."