It had been exactly 2 weeks.
Leilani had been working hard directly under Mr. Vanderbilt. Grabbing coffee, staying up until 3am to do revisions; just running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
However, in turn for the late nights at the office, Mr. Vanderbilt always provides Leilani with a ride home.
"I noticed you wrote in your cover letter that you wanted to have your work published some day..." Mr. Vanderbilt had started the conversation.
Leilani and Mr. Vanderbilt were in his limo, taking Leilani home. When he offered to give her a ride, she thought she'd be back alone in the company car. Clearly, she had thought wrong.
Leilani cleared her throat. "Oh, yes." She replied, simply.
She was a tad bit nervous. She had never engaged in any real conversation with her boss before.
How was she supposed to speak? What was she supposed to say?
"Was it anything in your writing portfolio?" Mr. Vanderbilt questioned her.
He wasn't looking Leilani in her eyes. Instead, he kept them focused on a document he was looking over. Leilani noted that he was good with multitasking; something she hadn't mastered just yet.
"No." She tells him.
"Why didn't you submit it?" Mr. Vanderbilt continued asking questioned.
"I don't know." Leilani lied. She only submitted what she felt was necessary for the job description.
"Oh, yes you do." Mr. Vanderbilt encourages her honesty.
Sighing heavily, Leilani decided to be truthful.
"Well, I'm not really ready to put my work into the public eye." She confessed, her head hanging low.
Mr. Vanderbilt chuckled. "You'll regret it." He told her, still not looking up from the document.
"You think so?" Leilani asked him, fidgeting with her hands.
She had never shown anyone her stories. It was something she kept personal. Something she held close to her heart. It was a sensitive subject for her.
"Absolutely." Mr. Vanderbilt said. "Sometimes- well often, the chances we are afraid to take, end up working the most in our favor."
Leilani listened to his words. They replayed slowly in her head. Should she take a chance with her work? Would she be stupid not to?
She just wasn't ready.
"Mr. Vanderbilt, I appreciate the advice, really, I do. I'm just not," she started to speak but he stopped her.
"As someone who reads manuscripts all day, twenty-four hours a day, I've read the best and the worst." He began. "How about you bring in a sample tomorrow and I'll take a look at it in my free time?" Mr. Vanderbilt offered, shocking Leilani.
Leilani lifts her head, expecting to just take a quick glance at Mr. Vanderbilt. But for once, his eyes were actually on her and they were able to lock each other's together. This made Leilani feel weird for some odd reason.
She began de-synthesizing her bosses appearance. Leilani found Mr. Vanderbilt to be a very handsome man. He wasn't too pale, there was a golden glow about him. She wondered if it was the expensive moisturizer he used. She'd run to Bloomingdales a few times to pick up his hygiene products and suits he kept in his office.
His hair was ginger colored, buzz cut style. She looked over his navy suit, freshly steamed curtesy of Leilani. His gold Rolex standing out the most. His shoes were mahogany and crease free. Mr. Vanderbilt was hot! Everything about him was attractive, come to think of it.
Leilani's brain had drifted off into another world. A world where she was slow dancing on a cloud with her boss. Surprisingly the cloud was in the center of a ginormous library, bright yellow lights shined down on them, and her head rested gently on his chest.
"Leilani," Mr. Vanderbilt, snapped his finger, hoping to pull Leilani out of her trance. "We're outside of your home." He informed her.
Leilani literally shook the thoughts from her head and pulled herself together. She couldn't believe she just daydreamed about her boss!
"Oh, sorry." Leilani tried to play it off. She gathered her purse and her briefcase full work tonight's work that needed to be completed. She looked back at Mr. Vanderbilt before exiting the limo.
Leilani wanted to say something, anything, but no words would come out.
"Think about my offer." Mr. Vanderbilt reminded her.
"I will." She told him, smiling weakly.
"Good night, Leilani." Mr. Vanderbilt told her, smiling.
Once inside her bedroom, Leilani closed the door behind her with both hands and stood in that position for a few minutes. She was trying to wrap her mind around the feelings that she was now harboring. His eyes, his smile, the way he dressed, his glowing skin, his smell, and his laugh.
She had a crush on Mr. Vanderbilt.
"Oh, god. Oh, no." Leilani cried out, dramatically.
This wasn't how she imagined her summer internship. Could she even be professional around him? She'd never felt like this before about anyone considering she had never had any real boyfriends before.
Hell, she had never even been on a real date before.
Leilani released her hair from the tight bun she'd secured this morning and situated herself at her bedroom desk.
She needed to think.
But most importantly, finish the revisions.