Brazen and Breathless (Untouchable #6) - Heather Long Page 0,49

wave. “I need to take this. Get set up and give me five, and then we’ll get started.” Then she was out of the room.

“How much coffee do you think she drinks?” Bryan asked me as he cracked open a bottle of the spring water and offered it to me.

“I’m good,” I said as I filled a cup with coffee. “And I have no idea, but she probably has to do this a lot for new employees and she has other things to do, too.”

“Point,” he said, unperturbed at me turning down the water. Bryan was a nice guy, but I didn’t think I was taking water from anyone ever again.

Just…my guys.

That was it.

I sipped the coffee and then set a couple of the croissants onto a plate and carried them back over to the table, before I added what looked like cheese and cherry danishes. It was like someone had added all my favorites.

The coffee was fantastic, too.

“Is it just me, or is this a lot swankier than you were expecting?” Bryan asked as he settled into the chair next to mine again.

I gave him a little shrug. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. At least so far, it’s not boring.”

He laughed. “True story. And we have each other, so that counts for something right?”

I grinned. “I hope Mollie got a friendly face wherever she ended up.” I needed to text her at the end of the day. She’d been happy about her law firm, I thought. Linda returned before Bryan could wind up to say anything more, and he settled back as she dimmed the lights and the first video started.

She was serious about us watching a lot of videos.

Holy crap.

They had a video for everything.

Videos on the company, and okay, the parts on the history of the company were kind of interesting. Especially the bits about Grandpa Ted. He even appeared in a few of them. I tuned out on the Edward parts. Just, no thanks. I kind of hoped Archie would be in one, but I only caught a glimpse of him in the background when they were talking about the future.

There were videos on each department. Then there were videos on sexual harassment and on behavioral expectations in the workplace. I actually caught myself zoning out on a couple of them, until they began discussing Standish’s work on the environment when it came to land development. The company was huge with sprawling and diverse interests.

I was the worst girlfriend on the planet. I literally knew nothing about what this company did, so I tried to take mental notes and real ones. All of this was going to be Archie’s someday, and that thought just froze me in place.

Seriously, when he talked about the company, he couldn’t sound more disinterested, but it would be his. My stomach bottomed out, and I forced myself to focus. Maybe this internship here was the best plan. I’d at least know what he had to deal with, and maybe I could be helpful.

How?

Well, I’d figure that out.

By the time we got to lunch, my head was swimming with facts and figures. At lunch, I shot off some texts to the guys so they knew I was alive, and that I’d just spent four hours watching videos about the company and my brain hurt.

Archie: Sorry, babe, it doesn’t get more interesting.

I didn’t say it wasn’t interesting, but I didn’t argue with him for now.

Bryan looked about as dazed as I was, and he spent as much time on his phone as I did while we ate and we didn’t talk. I took a quick bathroom break, and then we were on to the afternoon portion of the day.

I didn’t die of boredom.

But I did think I strained my brain trying to store all the facts and figures. I was so screwed when it came to meeting the department heads. I was never going to remember their names. Hopefully, I could check out their profiles on the corporate website.

We made it all the way to the end of the day before Mr. Standish put on an appearance. I steeled myself for the interaction, but I wasn’t sure what stunned me more—his brief welcoming smile and firm handshake before he left Bryan and I, or the black eye he had.

Well, that explained Archie’s bruised knuckles.

Holy crap.

By the time I got into the car to go home, I just wanted to go to sleep right there. Thankfully, Rachel talked to me