Author's note: This is a slow burn lesbian romance series. Please be patient, because some of the chapters are less erotic than others.
Chapter 9
You know how some people say that fighting with each other makes your relationship stronger? Well, that never was the case with my ex-husband, so I'm not sure if that's entirely true.
Perhaps the saying was, crying together brings you closer? I guess that proved to be a bit more true, because though Alana and I still weren't on the greatest terms, we at least seemed to have an understanding of each other after my emotional outburst.
Of course, I was still sad, because Juri was out of my life. But for the first time in as long as I could remember, there was a weight lifted off my shoulders because I no longer carried the unwarranted hate for my husband's wrongdoings.
Now that my eyes had been opened, and I didn't care what the others thought of me as a supervisor, I was free to judge people based on their worth and not my own. I had even called out Paula and sent her ass home. That's how Alana and I got closer, because I started trusting her with more assignments.
We weren't the best of friends at first, but she at least respected me as her boss, and I respected her as a hard-working, intelligent employee, capable of doing anything that I expected of anyone in the office. And when it came down to it, though she was still just an intern, when I had to pick someone for an important assignment, I knew I could trust her with it because she would always give me her maximum effort.
Of course, there was still a lot of resentment coming from her side, but I could tell I was starting to win her over. It wasn't that I was even trying to win her approval; I knew I didn't deserve it. However, I was finally acting like the authoritative boss that she always wanted to learn from.
After that fateful day in the office when we both cried in each other's arms, we ended up having kind of a funny moment the next time we saw each other. It was the very next day, when we met back in the office. I had brought her coffee again, and she also did the same for me.
We both felt a little silly, standing in front of each other with Starbucks in our hands, not for ourselves. I guess we both lacked the foresight to predict each other's actions... or at least text each other beforehand...
The next funny exchange we had ended up being a bit more awkward than getting each other coffee. And unfortunately, I think I was the one to blame for that, after not completely thinking my actions through.
As more assignments piled up in Alana's inbox, courtesy of me, she was suddenly being treated like an actual employee instead of an intern. Unfortunately, despite her intelligence and overall talent, she was still having trouble with the assignment load because of all the little nuances she just wasn't familiar with. However, I had a plan to make the whole operation more efficient.
One day I approached her, with my hands behind my back and a bit of a smile on my face from how proud I was of my idea. "Alana, you remember how you told me you didn't like having a desk all the way in the back corner?"
"Uh... I don't remember saying that, but I guess that's true..." she responded, looking up at me nervously.
"Well, how would you like to have a desk with a great window view?"
Slowly, her face lit up at the prospect of getting out of that dark corner. "Can you really make that happen?"
"Can I? Not only am I able to, but I already have it all worked out!"
As soon as she stood up, I grabbed the back of her chair and rolled it all the way into my office. Confused, she followed me until we reached my desk. There, she raised an eyebrow as she watched me set up her chair on the side of my desk, which I had already cleared off for her.
"Wait... I'm using the end of your desk?" she asked as an uncomfortable look came over her face.
"That is correct.... just as soon as I move your computer over here," I said, making her cringe even harder. "Just let me go grab your desktop. I even measured my desk to make sure your monitor would fit."
Of course, Alana started to help me as I grabbed the rest of her belongings and brought them into my office. She definitely didn't want me grabbing that backpack of hers with her precious laptop. She made sure to snatch that as soon as I went to get it.
Once her side of my desk was all set up, I could tell how uncomfortable she was by the way she was sitting so quietly. She was practically too nervous to even make a move without looking over at me.
"This is the most efficient way," I urged, trying to get her to relax. "This way, if you have any questions, I'm right here to help you."
Still, that uncomfortable look persisted on her face. "I know, but... it's still kind of nerve-wracking to sit right next to my boss all day..."
"Try not to think of me as your boss. As a matter of fact, stop calling me Miss Ortiz. Just call me Karina from now on. Maybe that'll help you stop being so nervous."
"Oh... but..."
"Remember, it used to bother you when I forced you to address me so formally?" I interrupted, hoping to ease her tension by continuing to fix the past. "Well, now you don't have to worry about that. Just think about me as your equal."
"Okay... I'll try... Miss... I mean... Karina."
Honestly, I thought after she had seen me at my worst, that she wouldn't be so weird around me. It's not like I was on a pedestal anymore. She knew how much of a flawed person I was, so I didn't quite get why she was so quiet and antsy around me.
I eventually got a bit fed up with how nervous she was acting, and in an attempt to get her out of her shell, I decided to pull a little prank on her. "Okay, Alana," I said, with a little twinkle in my eyes. "You've been working pretty hard, so I think you deserve a break."
She looked at me, and a confused expression came over her. "Wait, really?"
"Yeah," I said before reaching into her backpack and pulling out her precious laptop. "Why don't you take some time to play on your computer? I don't mind what you do on there. I swear I won't look."
Immediately, I could see the panic in her eyes as she lunged out of her seat and attempted to grab the laptop from me. I held it away from her for a second, just to make her struggle.
Honestly, I could have kept it away from her if I really wanted to. However, I realized that my joke had caused more damage than good, so I relinquished it by letting her snatch it out of my hand.
The shy intern was practically shaking as she shoved it back into her backpack before moving it to the other side of her chair. I then giggled as I noticed how red she was in the face.
In another poor attempt at humor, I teased her by asking, "Are you sure you're not looking at porn on there?"
With that same intensity, like the laptop was still in my grasp, she clutched her fists and shouted, "I swear I'm not looking at porn!"
"If that's so, then why are you being all secretive about it?" I asked, feeling like I was onto something.
Even more so than before, she became so frantic that she stumbled over her words. "Miss Ortiz! I mean... Serena... I mean... Karina!"
"Oh, my goodness! You've wanted to call me by my first name for so long, and all of a sudden, you can't get it correct?"
"I'm sorry, Seren... Karina! You just... caught me off guard!"
"Why do you keep calling me Serena? You might as well go back to calling me Miss Ortiz at this point. At least my name is correct."
"I'm sorry!" she said, trying desperately to get herself back together. Then, after a deep breath, she took a seat and addressed both her behavior and mine. "I apologize, Karina... But will you please respect my privacy with my laptop?"
Nodding my head, I smiled at her before agreeing with her sentiment. "I apologize too, Alana. You just seemed so nervous that I became desperate to get you to act normal again. But I think I've overstepped my boundaries. You're obviously uncomfortable sitting next to me, so why don't you go back to your old cubicle?"
After staring at me for a couple of seconds, like she was contemplating whether she wanted to take up my offer or not, I saw that look of determination come to her eyes; the one I would see whenever she was ready to be brave. "No, you're right, Karina... I want to sit next to you so I can keep learning from you."
"Okay, good. This is actually a lot of work I've put on your plate. Let's get through this together, and you can go back to sitting at your own cubicle tomorrow."
She looked at me as a slight smile came over her face. "Yes, Karina."
I'm not exactly sure how it happened, and I definitely don't want to take any credit for this, but Alana seemed almost back to normal after that little fiasco I caused. I worked on my own stuff while she worked on hers. And to my surprise, she was much more diligent with her work than I would have ever expected.
She wasn't asking me simple questions about how to solve every little problem. Instead, she was more worried about making the documents perfect, so that I could present them without having to fix and edit them like I normally did.
From that point on, for the rest of the day, we worked side by side, taking on all tasks as a team rather than individuals. It got to the point where she was helping me with my stuff. It's not that she was better than me at any of it, but while I was on a phone call or answering emails, she was able to gather and organize information for me to make operations smoother.
Every time she did something that I approved of, I would whisper to her, "Thank you, Alana." And every time she would give me a document that looked good, I would compliment her with, "Great job, Alana."
With every bit of encouragement I gave out, I could see her face getting red, but I could also see the confidence building within her. However, I also knew how strong she could be, from the time she called me out so harshly, so I also gave her a push whenever she didn't think she was capable of something.
By the end of the day, we had completed not only all the assignments on her task list, but we had finished all my stuff too, including the things I missed during my week of absence. It was the most accomplished I felt in a long time.
