***This is chapter three of a multi-part series. You'll want to read the preceding chapters first to get to know the characters and setting. If you have feedback, feel free to share it. Send me a message or write a comment. I hope everyone understands this is fiction. If you're anonymous and complain something is offensive or unsexy, I honestly couldn't care less.
Immediately after our intern meeting, our boss, Mr. Sumrall, headed back to headquarters and Elise and I found ourselves in our small office. It had been a consequential walk, because Cody had as good as made public their tryst with the plant manager. But we quickly moved on.
Our office was actually a small internal room with two tables serving as desks, a couch, and no windows at the end of a little used hall. There was a minute of quiet as we started to boot up our work stations, and then Elise got up and came over to me.
"Kevin, I'm so sorry about last night and this morning," she said. It sounded like she meant it, and there was a lot emotion in her words. Her voice was even but waivered a bit. I don't want to say she was on the verge of crying, but it seemed there was that possibility.
"I think I know how things started, but it was just so crazy how it ramped up and continued. It was unprofessional do that to you at a work dinner. It was a bitch move to have you catch me making out with him -- just a few weeks after...our own experience. And it was bad that you had to come in and see me like I was this morning."
She put her head down in her hands. Again, she wasn't crying. She just looked numb. I'm sure she was exhausted. If she'd slept, it wasn't for more than a few minutes at a time. Maybe it was a moral hangover. Maybe, though, she just might not like to have her debauchery hurt anyone.
"Elise, I won't say I was happy about last night or this morning, but I hope you realize that I don't think you're a terrible person. I do think there's some things you need to work out, but you're young. If you want to cut loose every now and then, go for it. My unsolicited advice to you is that you keep things above board when there's a big work obligationβespecially if it affects us both. I'm glad I could help this morning, but that obviously put me in an awkward spot."
"I'll keep my shit together," she conceded.
In my head, I was thinking her shit was probably far from together after the ass pounding she got at 3:00 a.m. this morning. But, hey, you've got to keep some things to yourself.
...
That weekend, we both stayed pretty close to our apartment. Elise came over to hang out, and it was great. We watched movies, cooked some food, explored the area a little. But we didn't have any drinks. Alcohol seemed to be the lighter fluid for Elise's sex-drive fire, and she seemed to be deliberately avoiding it to cool off following her marathon sex session with Cody.
It was weird, but I couldn't believe how quickly we settled into hanging out, not giving much thought to our own hookup or Elise's other activities. In fact, I don't think she had any idea how much I knew how much of her evening.
The Invite
After our laid back weekend, the work week passed rapidly. We kept coming in as usual, doing our normal tasks, just anxious to find out the status of our 'emergency work.' We had both cancelled our 4th of July vacation plans for the upcoming weekend, and we had both mentally prepared ourselves to hunker down in the office.
That made it particularly nice when we got the following e-mail:
***
To:Summer Intern Class
From:Sumrall, Vincent
Date:July 1
Re:Reprieve & Invite
I have just learned that the rumblings about a regulatory audit of the Pinewood plant will not happen in the next six months. I cannot explain why at this time. But you should take this as a reprieve! I'm sorry we had to put everyone in panic mode, but these things happen. If we had ignored the threat and dropped the ball, a lot of people could have lost their jobs.
In an effort to make up for your scuttled 4th plans, I invite each of you to join me at my mountain house for a relaxing weekend today through Monday. Food, drinks, and entertainment on me. Here is a link for directions.
VS
***
After receiving the unexpected reprieve from working over the 4th of July weekend, it was amazing that Elise and I were going to be able to not only take a few days off but also spend a long weekend Mr. Sumrall's mountain cabin. Elise told me that she had never been there, but her parents had been for the weekend. Based on the description, it sounded like we were in for an amazing weekend.
But also, this afternoon? I hadn't brought all my things to Pinewood. I had left a lot of casual clothes at home. Elise told me she was in the same boat, she hadn't brought a bathing suit with her. Why would she? Did Pinewood even have a pool? Probably not one that she would use.
...
We finished up the tasks we were working on and then started driving to Mr. Sumrall's house together around 1:00 that afternoon. As the miles counted down to the destination, our excitement grew. We both needed this. After a stressful couple of weeks, it could not be overstated how opportune a time this holiday was for our summer. I was also excited to see the other interns. We had not had any real connection with Jack, Ryan, Michael or Chris since pre-orientation. All six of us would occasionally be on an e-mail chain, but those were typically just messages where the firm relayed some helpful hints or suggested readings. There weren't any inter-intern personal chats, so we had no idea if the others were killing it at work, enjoying their living situation, or whatever else.
"Uhhh, this is exactly what the doctor ordered," I sighed as I sunk down into the shotgun seat. Elise's family had had her car brought up somehow, so we had access to that. The highly effective AC and sound system in her Audi made the ride extremely enjoyable.
Elise and I were back to our normal back and forth...She was asking, "I know, no work for the next few days. But...you don't think Mr. Sunrall will ask us to do any work, do you?"
"I mean, he will if he was wrong about that audit, but I doubt he'll want to work over the 4th any more than we do."
"Yea, I don't think so either. He's known for throwing quite a party...and he's never been an uptight asshole about getting in the way of people's fun in the past."
"What do you mean?"