The Intern
Authors: Brooke Cumberland
| The Intern |
| Brooke Cumberland |
| Brooke Cumberland (2014) |
She’s sexy, fierce, and a loud-mouthed know-it-all…and she’s
completely off limits.
Cecilia isn’t your typical college student. Hell, she isn’t a college student at all, but that doesn’t stop her from applying for one of the biggest and prestigious enterprises in the Midwest.
She wants it. She takes it.
She doesn’t let anything get in her way when it comes to finding out the truth.
When Bentley Leighton, soon-to-be CEO of Leighton Enterprises, meets “Ceci,” he’s instantly impressed. He doesn’t have time to train a new intern. However, when he sees her that first day, his intentions begin to change.
He’s the boss. She’s the intern.
Nothing can happen. It’s against the company rules.
Then again,
rules were made to be broken.
What starts as innocent flirting becomes raveled up into so much more—
secrets, lies, deceit.
*The Intern is a three-part romantic suspense serial.*
Not suitable for readers under 18.
Volume One
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Copyright © 2014
Brooke Cumberland
The Intern, Volume One
Edition 2
Cover Photo by
K Keeton Designs
Cover design by
Perfect Pear Creative Covers
Literary Editor
Rogena Mitchell-Jones, Manuscript Service
All rights reserved. No parts of the book may be used or reproduced in any matter without written permission from the author, except for inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, establishments, organizations, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously to give a sense of authenticity. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to another person except when loaned out per Amazon’s lending program. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then it was pirated illegally. Please purchase a copy of your own and respect the hard work of this author.
Blurb
She’s sexy, fierce, and a loud-mouthed know-it-all...and she’s completely
off limits.
Cecilia isn’t your typical college student. Hell, she isn’t a college student at all, but that doesn’t stop her from applying for one of the biggest and prestigious enterprises in the Midwest.
She wants it. She takes it.
She doesn’t let anything get in her way when it comes to finding out the truth.
When Bentley Leighton, soon-to-be CEO of Leighton Enterprises, meets “Ceci,” he’s instantly impressed. He doesn’t have time to train a new intern. However, when he sees her that first day, his intentions begin to change.
He’s the boss. She’s the intern.
Nothing can happen. It’s against the company rules.
Then again,
rules were made to be broken.
What starts as innocent flirting becomes raveled up into so much more—secrets, lies, deceit.
*The Intern is a three-part romantic suspense serial.*
Not suitable for readers under 18.
Chapter Seven – The Invitation
Chapter Nine – Breaking the Rules
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The Intern is a work of fiction. The story and events including place of work and job descriptions are fiction and made up appropriately for the storyline. Examples such as the
Caylee Anthony
murder case, though true, is used in a fiction storyline.
Cecilia
E
VERY LITTLE GIRL has a hero, someone they look up to. To little girls, their dad is everything to them. My dad was my everything. My hero, my role model, my best friend.
I was eleven years old when my world shattered—came to a crashing halt. Laughing and living a carefree life was easy when you were oblivious to the world’s cruelty. That was when I had my first real life lesson. The world is a cruel place.
My little brother and older sister were outside with me jumping in and out of the sprinklers on a hot summer day in Omaha. It was our favorite thing to do together, something we couldn’t fight about. My dad was sitting at the patio table reading his newspaper and drinking his coffee like he did every Saturday morning. From the outside, we were the perfect suburban family.
On the inside—lies, hatred, and secrets.
I witnessed something that day that’ll always be imbedded into my mind. I also have the evidence to prove it...on my very own skin.
Cecilia
The Interview
A
FTER SEVEN YEARS, the memory is still seared into my mind. Everything about that day. That moment.
I rub my shoulder as I always do when I think about him. That’s where I have the scar—the memory—of what that day entailed.
I engross myself into every crime and detective show possible. I’m fascinated with everything relative to murder or criminal cases. I know it’s an odd fascination, but it’s all I know. It’s all I’ve wanted to know.
I’m not your ‘typical’ high school girl. I don’t wave pom-poms around, wear short skirts to get boys to notice me, or even bury my head in a book studying. I’m not any of those, so if that’s what you’re hoping to get, it’s time to adjust your expectations.
I’m that girl in Chemistry getting an ear full right now. I’m the one that was so damn distracted that I blew up my Bunsen burner and nearly the entire school. I’m the one that’s fascinated with everything I shouldn’t be. The one who doesn’t have to work to get a guy’s attention or cares about popularity. The one distracted by my past, and it won’t ever go away until I know the truth of that day.
* * *
“M
iss West, what a surprise to see you in here.” Principal Jamison smirks at me from across his desk. I cross my arms and legs as I prepare for another lecture.
“It was an accident,” I begin to explain.
“I’m sure it was, Cecilia. But you’ve been having quite a
few
accidents lately.”
I shrug as if I’m bored, which I am. I’ve heard it all from Mr. Jamison.
“Seeing as you didn’t intentionally blow it up, and you didn’t harm anyone I’m going to let this slide. But—”
I roll my eyes. There’s always a freaking
but
.
“I need your mother to sign this form.” He hands me a typed out form explaining what I’ve done and what matters are going to be taken for my actions. I grab it from his hands and stuff it in my purse.
“Fine. Anything else?”
“No, Miss West. But please, try not to burn anything else. I’d rather like to keep this place in one piece.”
I stomp up and grab my bag that’s hanging on the chair. I turn my back and head for the door without saying another word—instead I flash him the bird.
“Good day, Cecilia,” I hear him say with amusement.
I’m sure you’re wondering how a teenage girl like me gets away with shit like that, but when the principal is your aunt’s husband who knows exactly the childhood you’ve had, you tend to get the sympathy card.
The tragedy of losing my dad—my hero, idol, and best friend—has forever altered me. I’m no longer his little girl—his
princess.
I’m a cold shell of a person forced to grow up and deal with the new complexities his absence left of my upbringing. I was forced to grow up much faster than I should’ve had to and face the realities of what the world was really like—cruel and unfair. I don’t know who I am, or who I should be, but I know one thing’s for sure—I can only rely on myself to find out the truth of that day.
“I heard what you did.” Simon appears next to my locker with a grin.
“Yeah, and what’s that?” I snap back as I turn the lock code on my locker.
“That you about burned off Montana Greyson’s fake eyebrows.”
I laugh. “That should teach her to be ninety-five percent fake then.”
“I could hear her screaming from outside the girl’s bathroom. She was cursing and crying.”
I roll my eyes. “What a fucking drama queen.”
“Well, to be fair, she wasn’t blessed with your perfect skin and naturally straight hair,” he teases, pretending to give her an excuse.
“True.” I smirk. “But I don’t care about those things.”
“It’s a shame you don’t see how freaking gorgeous you are.” I scowl as his eyes wander up and down my body like a dog in heat.
I quickly look in the tiny magnetic mirror that’s hanging in my locker and shrug unapologetically. “I see it. But I only care when it gives me an advantage,” I respond playfully.
If he only knew that’s exactly what my plans are...
I slam my locker shut after putting my bag away. “Well, I’m out. Tell Cora that I’ll call her later if you see her.”
He flashes me a disgusted face. “Yeah, like I’m going to purposely run into Cora.”
I laugh at his expression. “Fine, whatever. I’ll talk to you later, babe.”
After this morning’s incident, I’m ready to get the hell out of there. I have somewhere else to be anyway.
My older sister, Casey, is living at home while she attends college. It’s cheaper and that way she has our mom to do her laundry still. If it were me, I would’ve gotten the hell out of here long ago.
She’s only three years older than I am, but we look a lot alike. At least I hope people think we do, because I’m hoping to
be
her for the next sixteen weeks.
After showering and getting dressed, I peek into her room where she’s studying on her bed.
“Hey, Casey. I need your student ID.”
Her eyes never lift from the book. “It’s in my wallet.”
I walk over to her purse and pull out her tiny Coach wallet. I’ve been in it numerous times, usually to borrow her license to get into clubs or to buy alcohol. She never questions it, either.
“Thanks, I’ll bring it back later.”
I wasn’t dressed in my usual clothes. Instead, I’m wearing a navy blue pencil skirt, white silk blouse, and nude pumps. I look like a librarian, but I need to look the part.
My hair is up in a tight bun with a few loose curls. I wrap my late grandmother’s pearls around my neck for added effect. My face is naturally pale, so I add a touch of makeup—nothing extreme. My body is slender—a gymnast’s body—but I haven’t trained in years. Not since I was fourteen and could no longer deal with the memories each practice brought.
It used to be a passion of mine, but now it was only a reminder of my dad and the times we spent together every Sunday afternoon at the gym. I loved it before dad died and now it was only a painful memory
—a painful passion.
Who the hell dresses like this?
Someone who needs to pretend to be someone else, I suppose. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.
I walk into the building marked Leighton Enterprises and then take the elevator to the third floor. Confidently, I step off and walk straight to the secretary’s desk.
“Hello, may I help you?” She looks up at me bored.
“Hi, I’m Casey West. I’m here for an intern interview.”
“Welcome, Miss West. Mr. Leighton and his colleagues are a few minutes behind. Please take a seat, and they’ll be with you shortly.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
I hold the manila envelope in my lap as I take a seat. It contains my ‘college transcripts’ along with a lengthy essay on why I deserve this unpaid internship.
I forged all of it, of course. It wasn’t hard at all, actually. I used all of Casey’s college scripts and found her school schedule to look up her professor’s names. A few phone calls and I had my fake transcripts and recommendation letters. Add in Casey’s student ID, and I was now a makeshift college student.
I made sure to do extensive research on this company. It’s one of the largest investigative criminal reporting companies in the Midwest. They do a little of everything, but the part I’m interested in is the criminal cases. They hold files to every unsolved murder in Nebraska, which is exactly my reason for being here in the first place.
“Miss West? They’re ready for you now.”
I stand up and smooth my skirt. I thank the receptionist as I walk down the short hall to a boardroom.
The internship process is extensive due to all the private information held here. I had to go through an extensive questionnaire online as well as a phone pre-interview, but I’m prepared. I’m going to nail this interview head on.
