Theo was avoiding me.
It wasn't really a surprise; I knew he would do it. I just didn't see the logic in it. It was completely unnecessary. It wasn't going to make me give up on him. On the contrary, it only sharpened my tenacity.
I was walking toward the library. When I entered, I saw him right away. He was completely distracted by some book. He was turned away from me in a sort of hidden corner of the library. He was near the period romance section. I walked slowly towards him. There weren't many people there—only four, in fact: Mrs. Ruth, the librarian, who was a little grumpy sometimes but nice on other occasions; there was a guy reading at two tables before Theodore's; and there was a girl who was leaving some section carrying a bunch of books. She looked at me and I could see a bit of embarrassment on her face. I smiled at her, and she just walked away awkwardly and sat near the entrance.
When I finally got to Theo, I swung my legs over the bench, one by one, and sat down in front of him, startling him when he looked up.
"I imagine that running away from me is really satisfying for you."
He didn't answer. He closed the book and was getting ready to leave, but I stopped him. I placed my leg between his, under the table. He tried to close his legs, but it was useless.
"Scarlett... what are you doing?"
"Why are you running away from me?"
"You..." he hesitated. "You don't understand that what we did was wrong? You're taken, and I... well, I was shameless."
"I'm taken? By whom?" I asked, not understanding.
"By Brandon!"
Ah, this again.
"I thought I already made it clear that I only have sex with Brandon."
He blushed, and I heard a forced cough in front of us. It was the guy who was sitting there. I completely ignored him and returned my attention to Theo.
"Honestly, Theo, I made you come three times, and you seemed very satisfied. You just need to let that happen more often."
He looked at me, blushing. "I can't believe you're talking about this so casually."
"Casually?"
"You need to stop. This is wrong."
"Stop?" I looked at him sweetly. "That would be a great advantage for you too."
"How?"
"At some point in your life, you're going to have to get a girlfriend, you know?"
He didn't understand, and I continued. "You need to learn certain things, you know? And being chaste will stop you from learning a lot."
"I don't think I understand what you're suggesting."
"I want to teach you a lot of things, from getting to know your own body, to giving a woman pleasure, and everything else."
He didn't respond. He seemed really thoughtful but shook his head in denial and stood up abruptly.
"I don't know..." he suddenly stopped. "I don't know what kind of ideas you have in your head. I'm not interested in this, and I hope you understand that."
Without much effort, he moved my foot from between his legs and left the library. I watched his butt moving away from me and laughed. The guy in front of us looked at me again, and I looked back at him.
"Interested in the offer?" I asked, and he quickly returned his attention to his book.
I looked back at the library door where Theo had passed just minutes ago.
It's a challenge, and I'm ready to overcome it.
The next day, I was heading to the director's office. They said they wanted to talk to me after class. I knocked on the door and heard a "Come in," and I entered, surprised to see Theo sitting there. Besides the director, there was another guy, very well-dressed in a tailor-made suit. He adjusted his glasses and smiled at me.
"You called for me, sir?" I asked when I came in.
"Yes, please sit down, Miss Rose."
I sat down immediately, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Theo doing his best not to look at me, although I didn't understand why. I was dressed casually, in a simple blouse and a black pencil skirt. It wasn't even that daring, at least not like what I was preparing for him.
"Well, Scarlett, I was getting a head start with Theo while you weren't here," he said, pulling me out of my indecent daydreams. "The gentleman present before you is Mark Johnson, an employee of a large marketing firm in Chicago." He spoke, and the wonderfully handsome Mr. Mark extended his arm to me in greeting. I leaned in a little and shook his hand. He was warm.
"It's a pleasure, Scarlett," he smiled at me.
"Likewise, Mr. Mark," I said, smiling back, but I couldn't conclude if my smile was full of other intentions or not.
"As I was saying..." the director continued. "Mr. Mark is part of a very well-known company across almost the entire country."
I nodded.
"I believe you must be wondering what he's doing here," the director laughed. And I really didn't understand anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Theo looked confused too.
"I doubt he came to relive the past at the university?" I said, making him laugh, and wow...
"No," he began. "If you'll excuse me, Mr. Director," he said, and the director allowed it. "The company is indeed very well-known. I believe you've heard of Platinum Marketing Corporations."
I looked at him, ecstatic. "You work at Platinum Corporation?"
He nodded. "I don't just work there; I came on behalf of the CEO of the company in search of the two best students from the university for a two-month internship."
I looked at him in disbelief. "What?" he laughed.
"We have a partnership with many universities in the USA, and yours is one of them. Every year, we give the opportunity to two of the best students in the field of marketing or economics, of course, from any of our partner universities, to do a two-month internship. We know it's a great benefit for students to have an internship at our company on their resume."
"And it's also a great benefit for you," I said, without taking my eyes off his.
"Clearly, Miss. We had the pleasure of seeing you both win the economics and mathematics olympics last year, and I couldn't believe it when the director told me that no company had contacted you for an internship yet."
I didn't answer.
"We're students. We can't do an internship. Especially in..." Theo said and seemed to think. "... Chicago."
"We will have the pleasure of resolving any academic situation for you, Mr. Theo."
"And of course, you would go with a license to do the internship on behalf of the university, Theo," the director said, in disbelief that Theo had said that.
"But it's in Chicago," I said. "We wouldn't have a place to stay."
Mr. Mark sighed. It seemed that this was no longer his jurisdiction.
"The university will provide housing for you," the director said, and I was speechless.
"You'll do what?" Theo asked.
"We're talking about PMC. You won't get this opportunity again, gentlemen, and honestly, you are the best students in this entire university, and we're talking about more than five thousand students," he said without losing his composure.
"So?" Mr. Mark asked.
I looked at Theo for a moment, and he looked at me too. His blue eyes twinkled, and I almost got lost in them.
"I'll go," I said, determined, and we looked at Theo, who was still thinking.
"I'll go too," he finally said, and the director celebrated.
"That's great. Then you'd better go pack your things," he said.
"What?" I asked.
"You'll leave tomorrow," the director said without any suspense.
"How, tomorrow?" Theo asked.
"Mr. Mark, if you'll excuse us, please." He nodded, and I saw Mr. Mark leave his side and head for the door.
"I hope you're ready by later," he said and closed the door.
"So?" I asked when I saw that the director wasn't saying anything.
"Scarlett and Theo, do you think the CEO of an important company would send one of his best employees here to find the two best students and not see them ready to work the next day?"
That made sense.
"But... everything is so fast, sir. We have things to do," Theo said.
"Like what?"
He didn't answer.
"Good. Since we have nothing else to talk about..."
"And where will we be staying?"
"I've already handled it. Everything is ready. Don't worry, you'll be taken there when you arrive."
"How can you have already handled it if you hadn't spoken to us before?" I asked.
"You'd be going anyway," he shrugged.
"Even if we didn't accept?" Theo asked.
"Of course," he replied calmly.
"I can't be the only one who sees how selfish that sounds," I said with narrowed eyes.
"Look..." he started, looking tired. "I'm helping you too much. I don't even know why you're complaining."
"No one was complaining."
"And I hope you behave. It's a renowned company and a university partner. Any mistake you make will stain our good name." He looked directly at me.
"Are you trying to tell me something, Mr. Director?"
"You're not very good at following orders, Scarlett. I honestly hope you behave. If not for yourself, at least do it for the university."
"I don't like what you're trying to insinuate, sir," I said petulantly, and he sighed.
"You can go pack your things," he said without much enthusiasm. Theo was the first to stand up. Without delay, he left the room while I continued to sit, looking at the director.
"I said you could leave," he said impatiently.
"Oh, I thought you had more insults to direct at me."
"Look... I didn't mean to offend you, but we all know perfectly well that..."
"That what?"
"You don't obey what you're told to do."
"That's not literally true, sir."
"Nor is it figuratively a lie," he said, making me laugh. "It's only two months. That's all I need from you, Scarlett."
I stood up. "Alright, sir. Don't worry. As long as Theo is on my side, I won't behave badly."
He looked at me with doubt but didn't complain.
I definitely wouldn't behave badly. It was a great opportunity, and if I did well in the internship, they might even give me a job. I wasn't going to waste this opportunity, but I was going to take very good advantage of Theo. I thought as I opened the door and saw Mr. Mark smiling at Tinni, the secretary. I never really liked her; she throws herself at the students too much, but at that moment, I might have liked to be in her shoes because that smile...
He looked at me when he noticed me passing and came over.
"I'll be waiting for you at the campus entrance. I'll be with the director. I believe he will call for you," he said seriously.
"Of course," I said with a smile and started walking again, more specifically strutting, and I felt him looking at me.
Well, this internship is definitely going to be interesting.
When we were in the car, Mr. Mark was in the front with the driver, leaving Theo and me without any supervision, and I really liked that. We were riding in complete silence, except for the music coming from the radio. Theo was lost in thought, looking at nothing, and I slowly let my hand wander down his leg. He simply gave me a disapproving look, and I laughed but didn't take my hand away. And it went up... and up, right on his thigh, near the forbidden treasure. He stopped me, placing his hand over mine. I saw the temptingly handsome Mr. Mark look in the rearview mirror, and he squeezed my hand as if he were caressing it.
"So..." I started. "What do you work as again?" I asked.
"I work directly with the CEO of PMC."
"An assistant director, you'd say?" I asked.
"Exactly that."
"Sorry for the intrusion, but, didn't you have anyone with..." I saw him looking at me in the rearview mirror with narrowed eyes.
"Ah," I smiled. "I completely forgot what I was going to ask." I said, and a huge silence followed until we finally arrived at some place I didn't bother to recognize, where a private jet was waiting for us.
"Do all the interns get to take a private jet to your company?" I heard Theo ask, and I didn't bother to pay attention to the answer he was given.
I sat where they told me, and Theo sat in front of me. Mr. Mark was in front of us, explaining a bunch of things about the flight, but I only paid attention to the end.
"It's only about five hours and thirty minutes of travel. I hope you keep in mind what I explained to you so there are no problems."
I nodded, and so did Theo. He looked at us and smiled, turned, and went to sit on the other side. A few seconds later, we were already in the air.
I was looking at the apartment and couldn't believe the university was providing this for us for two months.
"Well, I believe you're home," I turned to Mr. Mark, and I don't know if it was the building lights, but he was really handsome. "Tomorrow morning, Spencer," he pointed to the driver next to him. "Will come get you and take you to the company."
"Alright. Thank you for the ride, sir," he nodded.
"I hope you both have a good night, and we'll see you tomorrow," he said goodbye and left with Spencer. I looked at his butt brazenly and laughed to myself.
"You can't look at him like that, you know?" I turned and saw Theo looking at me with a sour expression, and it was really cute.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Of course you don't," he said, and for a moment, I realized that he hadn't blushed at all today. I smiled, and he saw me staring at him.
"What is it?"
I shook my head. "I just realized what I need to do to get something very important." I said, and he just looked at me without understanding.
Let the seduction begin.
The night was very pleasant, too pleasant, to be honest. Clearly, there were two bedrooms here, to my disappointment, but that didn't stop me from seeing a lot. After all, I was able to see him walk around shirtless, although when he noticed me peeking, he quickly closed the door. If someone told me, I definitely wouldn't believe that there are still men like that.
The next day, as planned, at seven o'clock, Spencer was waiting for us at the building entrance. I dressed to make a good impression. I wore a thin white blouse, a black blazer, and a black pencil skirt, and of course, I wore nice, not-too-high heels. Theo, my God, was wearing a baby-blue button-down shirt unbuttoned at the top and black dress pants. He also made sure to wear nice shoes. His hair was a little messy, but in a sexy and eye-catching way, and the glasses, of course, were hiding those wonderful blue eyes. I stared at him and laughed, and he noticed me.
"What?" he asked, embarrassed.
"Are you going to introduce yourself as an intern or are you trying to harass all the girls there?"
He blushed. "Because if it's to harass, I'm already feeling very tempted. If you want, we can have a quickie before we leave." He turned his head, blushing, and the intercom sounded.
"Miss Scarlett and Mr. Theo, I'm waiting for you downstairs," it was Spencer's voice.
I quickly arranged my bag, and without further ado, we left the building.
When we arrived at the huge PMC facilities, I was definitely ecstatic. The company was simply impressive, with about twenty-four floors. When we entered, we were greeted by a very polite and beautiful girl who couldn't take her eyes off Theo.
"Welcome to Platinum Marketing Corporation! How can I help you?" The question was for both of us, but she didn't even look at me. I was finding it too funny.
"We're here to see Mr. Mark Johnson..." he hesitated a bit. "We're students from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. We're here as interns," Theo said.
"Ah, I'll let him know. Please wait just a minute," she said, smiling at Theo.
"Wait," I said, and she looked at me strangely.
"I'm sorry?"
"You said 'wait' for just a minute, and there are two of us. In that case, it would be 'wait'," I said, and she didn't seem to find the correction very funny.
"Oh, thanks for the observation," she said without much enthusiasm.
"Don't worry, it's a simple grammar mistake. It's not like it's going to get you fired," I said, smiling, and she didn't respond. She forced a smile and made a call.
Next to me, I felt Theo look at me, and I didn't even look back at him.
"Mr. Mark is waiting for you. Just take the elevator in the center and go to the twenty-fourth floor."
"Thank you," Theo said, and we headed toward the elevator in silence.
He didn't say anything, and I didn't either. I was looking at the panel, and it was going to be a long ride. Every two floors, more people entered the elevator, which made me have to lean against Theo. When we were on the thirteenth floor, the elevator was already completely packed, and I was completely squeezed against Theo. It wasn't intentional, of course, but I definitely took advantage of the situation by pressing myself even more against him. I felt his breath on my ear, and it was getting heavy. On the sixteenth floor, two people got out, but two more got in, and I felt Theo squeeze against the elevator wall. Slowly, I made movements as if I had some irritation in my legs and rubbed myself shamelessly against him.
"Scarlett!" he whispered my name, but I didn't stop.
At some point, the people in front of us bumped into each other, and I wasn't left out. Someone pushed me lightly, and my butt squeezed more against him.
"God..." he sighed a little too loudly, and some heads turned in our direction. He, blushing, squeezed my waist to keep it from bumping into him again. I held back a laugh and tried to rub myself against him again, but his hand on my waist stopped me. I put my hands on top of his on my waist and tried to guide them up, and he cursed. When the elevator reached the twenty-third floor, most of the people got out, leaving only Theo, me, and another guy who was looking at me maliciously. I gave him a dirty look, and he looked away.
The elevator finally reached the twenty-fourth floor. The guy got out, and then I did. I didn't see Theo pass me. I turned around and saw him taking a deep breath.
"Any problem, Theo?" I asked in an unbelievably sweet voice, and he just looked at me without answering. He walked past me and left me looking at his wonderful butt. When I got out of the elevator, I saw the wonderfully handsome Mr. Mark coming in our direction. He was elegant in a tailor-made dark blue suit. His hair was neatly combed and very well done.
"Jesus..." I whispered, and I saw Theo roll his eyes.
"Welcome to Platinum Marketing Corporations," he said when he reached us. "I hope your night was very pleasant."
"It wasn't as pleasant as my day is turning out to be, sir," I said, and he looked at me with curiosity.
"Well..." he hesitated and looked at Theo. "Come with me. The CEO is anxious to meet you," he said, and we followed him.
When we arrived at the CEO's office, I thought I would collapse with so much luxury. The room was immensely vast, with sofas and a coffee table on the left side of the room. Further in, in the center, there was a large desk with a very strange chair in the back. The chair was turned, with its back to us.
"Sir, these are Theo Delahaye and Scarlett Rose, distinguished and meritorious students from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, here for the internship they were assigned."
And with a single movement, the chair turned, and his gaze met mine. I felt I saw his eyes sparkling, but I preferred not to fool myself. Of course, he would be the CEO of that company. He was probably about six feet tall, had brown hair, and a very overwhelming smile. He passed the desk and approached us with grace. I could see that he had deep brown eyes. He was wearing a tailor-made gray suit and, well, he was simply handsome.
"Aideon Brown, it's a pleasure to meet you both," he extended his arm first to Theo, who greeted him back, and then to me.
"A great pleasure," I said when I shook his hand, and I felt that he, like Mark, was warm.
"He's all mine... Miss Rose," he said my name calmly, and I felt my body shiver.