13. Chapter 13 #2
It was nearly two in the afternoon. These late nights were starting to make me feel nocturnal, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
My job at the bookstore on campus usually started in the morning, and I’d always considered myself more of an early bird than a night owl.
Bellissima was a whole different animal.
As I stretched out my legs, the memory of my moment with Dax last night came crashing over me.
I felt stupid and confused about how we went from a steaming kiss in the dark kitchen straight back to whatever weird relationship we had with one another.
Sure, he was my boss, but clearly both of us knew there was something more, beyond his promise to help me with Chad and Gabe.
I had just been naive enough to think there was a chance maybe he wanted me.
The way his body had pressed against mine as our tongues explored each other definitely made it feel like he did.
If that alarm hadn’t torn us apart, I knew it would have gone a lot further than that.
I’d wanted it to. I would have let him bend me over that cold stainless steel countertop and have his way with me.
Heat crept up my cheeks when I thought about what else could’ve happened.
The hypotheticals didn’t matter. He made sure to let me know he wasn’t interested and his actions were nothing more than a momentary lapse of judgment.
It hurt to know that, but what about everything else he said?
He was right about one thing; I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life in the back of that restaurant washing dishes.
I was close to graduating, and I needed to lock down an internship for myself.
The reminder of that prompted me to grab my laptop. My duvet wrapped around me like a cocoon as I stayed in bed. When I clicked open my email, my heart leaped when I saw there was a new message from Deana at Echelon Developments.
Hi Miss Conrad,
We want to thank you for applying to our student internship program.
As you are likely aware, Echelon Developments is a globally recognized architectural engineering, construction, and development firm.
Our company owns buildings and developments around the world as part of an ongoing investment portfolio that benefits all our team members.
This opportunity is a paid position with the chance to convert into a full-time position with the company post-graduation.
We are only offering one internship slot, and we want to ensure the perfect fit for whoever takes on this extremely specialized role.
We were impressed to read your application, especially with consideration of your full-ride scholarship to SFUD with your architectural design and engineering major. Echelon Developments would like to extend the offer for an interview next Tuesday, June 30th at 11:00 a.m.…
Oh my god. My heart raced as I read the email through a second and third time. She thought I would be a good fit for an internship at Echelon Developments. It was a paid position. This would be such an enormous opportunity for me and could open so many doors for my architecture career.
I spent the rest of the afternoon shuffling through my portfolio, piecing together some of my favorite projects and considered working on a few more.
The draft I’d started yesterday at Crissy Field came to mind, and I thought about how I would present something like that to a firm like Echelon Developments.
What they did was far beyond architecture—it was construction development and investment portfolios.
They had the kind of financial backup to create places far beyond simple apartment buildings.
They had the resources to build hospitals, landmarks, and more.
The opportunities could be endless with a company like that.
For years, I had dreams of designing the kind of architecture that could not only look beautiful but change the world. I had worked on countless projects conceptualizing schools, housing, and buildings that could enrich communities throughout the world.
My fascination with architecture started when I was eleven years old.
My parents took me on a road trip to Santa Barbara to go to my aunt’s wedding.
It was the first and only time I had been to California until I moved here for college.
On the way, my mom decided she wanted to stop and tour Hearst Castle.
I was immediately mesmerized by the sprawling estate.
The eclectic baroque designs of each room were more lavish than the next.
I’d gasped when I stepped into the library.
The arched wooden ceiling was carved with beautiful designs, and I had been transported to a dreamy world of detail and elegance.
The lavish indoor pool glittered in blue and gold, a statement of wealth and design. I wanted to live there.
The tour guide told us about Julia Morgan, the architect who designed the magnificent castle. She was the first licensed female architect in California. She designed over seven hundred buildings in her life. She designed places for institutions that empowered women's education and careers.
A light bulb in my head had turned on like it had been waiting my whole life to do so.
Inspiration danced through my core, and I spent the next several years learning about architecture and design.
I sketched and drafted constantly, building models and learning design software online.
When I was offered a full-ride scholarship to SFUD’s Architecture program, it had been the first real step in making my dream become a reality.
Now I was almost finished with school, I needed to be ready for what came next.
I really hoped I would get that internship.
By the time I got on the bus to head toward Bellissima, I was feeling more clear-headed and confident than I had in a while.
My life may have been a mess, but I still had a future.
There was so much more for me out there, and I wasn’t going to let my side quest for retribution get in the way of that.
In the meantime, I had a way to make some extra cash for the summer while I pieced together what that future could look like.
Even if it meant I’d have to deal with Dax’s seesawing personality.
Tonight, I would do my job and unless there were any updates on Chad and Gabe’s whereabouts or their connection to The Wire, I would leave as soon as I was done.
No gin rummy tonight. No hanging around the restaurant with Ricky and Bianca after it closed.
I would work my shift, then go home. And this time, not in Dax’s space shuttle.
I didn’t care what he said about the safety of public transit.
I wouldn’t subject myself to the same awkwardness I felt last night when he drove me home.
Just because he had some ridiculous need to keep me safe didn’t give him some kind of inherent control over my methods of travel. I would take the Muni home, just as I had countless times in the past from dozens of other locations throughout the city.
I arrived at the restaurant only three minutes before my shift started.
I tried to convince myself I wasn’t disappointed when I didn’t see Dax in the kitchen again.
So, I got to work in the dish-pit once more.
I could tell it wasn’t nearly as busy as the last two nights.
The dirty trays and bus tubs made their way to me in a consistent flow, but the pace was much calmer on a Sunday than on a Friday or Saturday night.
Every once in a while, I poked my head around the corner of the dish-pit to see if anyone new had arrived.
They hadn’t. When Mateo told me it was time to take my break, I went to see Ricky.
He had four people sitting at the bar and was flicking a metal cocktail shaker in the air above his shoulder with passion.
His glitter-dusted face lit up the moment he saw me.
“If it isn’t Miss Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! So glad to see you, gorgeous. How’s the vibe in the dungeon tonight?”
“It’s…calm,” I replied with a gentle smile.
Ricky raised his eyebrows at me. “He’s been in his office all night.” He shrugged and then winked.
“I didn’t ask.” I couldn’t keep the annoyance from plaguing my voice. Of course I wanted to know where he was. But I didn’t want to admit that to myself.
“Oof, trouble in paradise?” He feigned a pout.
“There is nothing between us,” I insisted. To myself or to Ricky, I wasn’t sure.
“Fine. If you say so, I’ll drop it. But just know I see everything around he—” Ricky stopped mid-sentence and stared at something right behind me.
Instantly, I felt that irksome wave of heat that trickled down the back of my neck. It was unmistakable.