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Johnathan leaves me there at my desk, and I drop into the chair, feeling both overwhelmed and elated at the same time. I pull out my water bottle and the small framed picture of me and Griffin when we were kids, then neatly line up the notepad and gel pen set I brought.
“Are you new to the city?” I ask June.
“No, I’m from Jersey.” I hear the accent the moment she says it. “What about you?”
“Las Vegas area. I lived in Henderson and went to UNLV. I moved here a few days ago.”
“That’s cool. Where do you live?”
“Gramercy.”
Her brows lift. “How do you afford that with this internship?”
I know that Griffin and Emma’s place is not the norm for a twenty-two-year-old starting out. They have two adult incomes. Emma is a designer with her bridal gown line about to launch in Bergman’s department stores and Griffin is an in-house attorney for a major real estate development firm.
“I’m living with my brother and his wife right now, but I hope to move out soon. Find roommates.”
“Good luck. I live in Queens with three roommates and it’s still outrageous what we pay.”
My phone buzzes with an incoming text.
Griffin:Let me know you made it to work okay.
Typical Griffin checking up on me. The devil inside me wants to drop my phone in my purse and ignore him, but the angel knows Griffin’s doing it out of love and would be truly worried if I don’t respond. There have to be millions of siblings out there that wouldn’t send out a search party team if their text is not answered within five minutes. Griffin is not one of them.
Me:I’m at work now.
Griffin:Have a great day. I love you.
Me:Love you, too.
I sigh. Why am I such a brat?
I toss my phone in my purse. I’m determined to prove that I’ve got everything under control, that he doesn’t need to worry about me, and to start, I’m going to rock my first day at this internship.
CHAPTER2
Sophie
After settling into my desk, I introduce myself to the other interns.
In addition to me, the rest of the wedding planning interns are Maxwell, born and raised on the Upper East Side, Jaylah from Kansas City, and Lauren from Utah. Association is how I remember lots of new people at the same time.
June and another event planning division intern, Marsala, like the wine, are having an in-depth conversation about laser hair removal. I’m trying to follow the conversation, but I’m distracted as my skin pricks with heat and a wave of nausea crashes over me. I reach for the mug of chamomile tea on my desk.
When I told June my stomach was unsettled, she showed me the tea stash in the break room. A few of the interns that were local were able to come in last Thursday to do a tour, but today is the official intern start date and meeting with Marion.
I take what I hope will be a calming sip of tea, but my stomach revolts.
I press my lips together, willing my stomach to listen to reason and not demand that it evacuates its contents at work on my first day.
I’ll feed you so much good food later, if you do this one teeny tiny thing for me.
It rejects my peace offering.
June is mid-sentence when I jump up from my desk and rush for the door. I sprint to the restroom and lock myself inside. Almost immediately, the cooler air inside the restroom pacifies my desire to rush for the toilet. I lean against the cool metal door, thankful it’s a private stall where I can gather myself.
Pressing the back of my hand to my forehead to swipe at the perspiration gathered there, I take a deep, shuddering breath then release it. After a few more breaths, I push myself off the door and move toward the sink.
