My life felt like endless chips and salsa and a large pitcher of margaritas without the calories. It felt like having a good hair day minus the good hair. I was going to fucking rock this internship.

I didn’t know what the big fuss was. Oakley Davis was easy to handle, and I was totally slaying the first day of my internship. And now, I was going to impress the pants off of Dr. Haynes and get a kickass letter of recommendation from one of the leading experts in our industry.

Manifest that, motherfuckers. I couldn’t stop fist bumping the air.

I knocked on the door to Dr. Haynes’s office and smoothed my hair nervously while waiting for his invitation inside. I felt a flutter of nervousness and couldn’t wait to devour his brain. There was no shame in my zombie game.

“Come in.”

I twisted the handle and smiled.

Dr. Haynes’s office was smaller than I expected. The walls were lined in overflowing bookshelves, and his desk was organized chaos. It was cozy and helped to calm the rush of nervous excitement I was feeling. At least until I saw Dr. Haynes, that is. Holy. Shit. Seeing his pictures did not prepare me for this.

Even though he was sitting, I could tell that he was tall, at least six feet, and had a commanding presence. His thick silver hair was a little bit longer on the top than the sides and perfectly styled. I had a sudden impulse to run my fingers through it. His chin was dotted with salt and pepper stubble that played into his boyish charm. When he stood up to greet me, it was clear that his abs were rock hard under his button-down shirt and perfectly cut blazer.

“Hi. I’m Matthews. Amanda. Umm...Amanda Matthews,” I stammered. Great first impression. Super professional.

“Miss Matthews. Thank you for meeting with me this morning. I heard you had a late night,” he greeted me. Were the bags under my eyes really that bad? Just as I was silently cursing myself for not taking the extra five minutes to put on foundation, there was a knock on the open door, and Oakley burst in uninvited. What in the actual fuck was happening here? I thought this was a one-on-one meeting?

As Oakley shot me a smug look, Dr. Haynes said gravely, “Mr. Davis, thank you for joining us. I wanted to address your concerns with Miss Matthews so that we can all feel comfortable moving forward.” He gestured for us to sit in the chairs on the opposite side of his desk.

Shit. What? Shit. All of the confidence I had just moments before was gone. I didn’t know where this was going, but I knew it wasn’t good and the world was definitely not my fucking oyster anymore.