Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

During the week that followed Skylar and Ian did not speak much apart from the simple nod of acknowledgement or a small, friendly smile. Skylar spent most of her free time in the library or in front of her laptop screen, studying. Always studying. There were days when she only got around four hours of sleep, a bit over five if she was lucky.

She made her morning coffee extra strong with no sugar, she would also carry a mega can of Monster Energy in her school bag, drinking it little by little so that it would last her half the day. Her lunch break then consisted of a large iced coffee or another energy drink. And she always had a cup of Starbucks on her while in the library.

"You're going to get a heart attack," Jason said one day as he watched her type on her computer without even blinking. He had been in there studying as well, but unlike her, seemed more relaxed about his classes.

Skylar had been hanging out with Jason a lot more recently, they usually just studied together or met up for a quick chat during coffee runs.

"Says the person drinking coffee," she replied, her eyes still glued to  her screen.

Jason smiled. "Mine is decaf."

Skylar managed to roll her eyes but still didn't look up at him.

"You overdo it on the caffeine," he said. "You know that, right? There's such a thing called caffeine addiction and babe, you're there. Heck, you've been there for quite a while. I would recommend a cleanse."

Now Skylar looked up from her screen. "A cleanse?"

"Yes. A cleanse. It's for your health."

"Jason, I don't need a cleanse," she said. "I need more energy to manage my studies. Ian is getting me an internship and I need to learn how to manage a big workload. If I can't handle this, then I'm obviously not fit for the job."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Ian?"

"Ian is a friend," she said. "He owns a firm in San Francisco and is giving me an internship there."

"That's very generous of him," Jason said.

"It is," Skylar agreed. "And forget about that cleanse. I'll tone it down a  bit, but there will be no cleanse."

Jason sighed. "Don't say I never tried to help you."

Ian soon released the names of the students he was picking for the internship: Skylar, obviously, and the guy with all the question on the first day of classes, Micah Nesterovich.

"Congratulations, I heard the big news," Sarah said when Skylar walked into their dorm room. She sounded sincere, which surprised Skylar. Sarah usually wasn't this nice.

"Thank you," she said.

"Mr. Rinaldi must have really been impressed by you," Sarah added. "But I get it, you're really committed to this. I have to admit that you're one of the good ones."

Skylar didn't know what to say to that. "Uh, thanks," she said.

Sarah just smiled. "I'm applying for an internship at a firm in Palo Alto."

"That's great," Skylar said sincerely. "I'm sure you'll get it."

That was when Skylar noticed the mess on Sarah's bed, the makeup clutter all over her desk. Sarah was smiling and acting nice, she was putting on makeup and looking for a nice outfit! It all clicked.

"Are you seeing someone, Sarah?" Skylar asked.

Sarah froze for a millisecond. "What? No. No. Of-of course not. Why would you think that?"

"You don't have to lie," Skylar said. "It's okay to want to date, you know. He must be really great if you're this happy."

Sarah sighed. "I don't know if things will work out. It goes against everything I believe it. I want to focus on my studies and not worry about my social life, but he's just so...he's great, Skylar. But I don't know what to do. I've never really dated anyone, you know. I've always kept to myself. And just when everything is how I want it to be, he shows up out of nowhere and I don't know what to do." She was just babbling now.

"Sarah, calm down," Skylar said, patting her back. "Calm down. You don't need to worry about anything. He's just a guy and it's just a date. You need to compose yourself and make everything work out. Everything will turn out just how you want it to."

Skylar never imagined that she would end up witnessing Sarah in that sort of distressed state. She always seemed to be in control of everything, which had made Skylar envy her. But she was only human, Skylar realized.

"Everything is going to be great," she promised.

Ian was currently being led by a real estate agent around an apartment in Burlingame, California. There was a balcony just outside the living room which provided a great view of the San Francisco Bay. It was spacious and nicely decorated. It also sat in between his firm and Stanford, perfect for a certain law student that he knew.

"Of course this apartment comes fully furnished unless you'd rather it didn't," Janice Benson, the curvy, blonde, good-looking real estate agent said. "I assume a single man would want to add more of a male touch to this place."

"Oh, it's not for me," Ian said.

"Oh?" Janice raised an eyebrow.

"It's for a friend," he said. "She goes to Stanford, but I thought living in between my firm and her school would make things easier for her."

"Ah, I see." Miss Benson pursed her lips and motioned for him to follow her, her heels clicking with every step.

"So are you interested?" she asked eventually.

It was the perfect place for Skylar. Just fifteen to twenty minutes away from Stanford. It was a nice place, comfortable, spacious. Plus, she wouldn't have to live with her hostile roommate anymore which would surely make her stay in California so much better. Maybe she would start to realize that she didn't need to go back to Chicago, that living here was great.

"I'll take it."

Skylar was on her bed, dressed in yoga pants and a loose t-shirt, scrolling through Tumblr, finally allowing herself a little break. Then her phone rang. A smile formed when she saw the name on the screen. Ian.

"Hi," she said.

"Skylar." His voice, even through a phone, made her feel all warm inside. Good thing he wasn't there to see the big smile on her face. "Can I pick you up tomorrow?"

Tomorrow was Saturday, so that meant that she had no classes. But what did Ian need her for? She had to admit, she felt glad that he wanted to see her. It would be nice to be able to see him in person and be able to have a full conversation. Then they could discuss her internship.

"Sure. What time?"

"Noon sound okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she agreed. "But...why?"

"I was hoping that you and I could discuss your internship," he explained. "That, and I have a surprise for you."

That caught her interest. "What type of surprise?" she asked, suspicious.

She heard him sigh and chuckle a bit. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Skylar pouted. "That's no fun, Mr. Rinaldi."

"You have to wait less than twenty-four hours, Skylar," he reminded her. "Don't be so impatient."

Even though he could not see her, she pouted. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow, Ian."

"Goodnight, Skylar."

"Goodnight, Ian."

Skylar awoke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, which was more than enough to get her out of bed. She sat up and watched as Sarah waited on the coffee maker they had in their dorm to finish up, and then pour it into two mugs. Well, well.

"I though I'd make you coffee," Sarah said, realizing Skylar was already up.

That was very generous of her. "Uh...thanks."

She took the coffee mug and inhaled deeply. "How was your date last night?"

Sarah smiled widely and sat at the corner of Skylar's bed. "It was great. He was so nice and was quite the gentleman. We have plans to go out tomorrow."

Skylar was glad to hear that. At least someone was having quite the romantic experience, unlike herself who had feelings for an older guy that had a child already. Someone who probably still saw her as a kid.

"That's great, Sarah," she said sincerely. "May I know who this guy is?"

Really. Who was this mysterious guy that got through reserved, cautious, sometimes hostile Sarah? The girl had not been the nicest person at the beginning. After a few weeks, she started becoming friendlier towards Skylar, but even now, they weren't the best of friends. She was suspicious that her current state of mood towards her was only due because of this mysterious guy.

"I don't think you know him," Sarah said. "But he is great!"

"I'm sure he is. But what is his na-" She did not get the chance to finish her questions as her phone started vibrating.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Good morning, Skylar," Ian's dreamy voice said through the line. "I'm about to start heading over to Stanford."

"Crap," slipped out of her mouth. She had forgotten about that. The clock currently read 11:30, meaning she had slept in and should have woken up earlier to get ready. Ian would probably think she was very unprofessional.

Ian chuckled. "You slept in, didn't you?" he guessed.

"Sorry?"

"It's perfectly okay, Skylar," he said. "It happens. Hell, you deserve to sleep in on the weekends. I know just how stressful law school can be."

"I'll get ready right now," she promised.

"No rush," he reminded her. "But I'll see you soon." And the line went dead.

"Who was that?" Sarah asked.

"Ian," she said, not really paying attention to how excited she sounded.

"Ian Rinaldi?" Sarah asked.

"Uh, yeah," Skylar said, trying to compose herself. "We're just going to discuss my internship."

"Oh," Sarah said. "Okay."

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Skylar went on the hunt for a good outfit which turned out to be simple black skinny jeans, black Oxfords, a black blouse, and a burgundy cardigan. She put on minimal makeup and brushed out the tangles from her hair. Hopefully she looked nice enough that Ian would notice.

She almost groaned after that thought. She didn't need to look good for a man. Even Ian. Especially not Ian. She wasn't supposed to be this excited to see him. She didn't need his approval. He was just her new boss. That was it. That was all he would ever be. So she needed to get rid of all this false hope.

Ian sent her a text when he arrived. She quickly grabbed her purse and said goodbye to Sarah before heading out.

He was waiting outside his black Audi and, like the total gentleman, opened the door for her to get in, right after he complimented her appearance and brought out the blush in Skylar's cheeks.

"Where are we going?" she asked as soon as the car was in motion.

"It's a surprise," he reminded her. "We've been over this, cara mia."

Skylar frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"

Ian laughed. "It's nothing bad, I promise."

"Do I need to learn Italian now?"

"No," Ian said. "Don't worry about it, dolcezza."

"Ian."

"Yes, piccola?" he asked, enjoying his little game.

Skylar obviously wasn't. She had no idea what he was calling her. He could be insulting her for all she knew! Quickly, she pulled out her phone.

"You're so annoying," she groaned.

"Oh, come on, cucciola," he said.

She glared at him. "Did you just call me a dog?"

"Are you seriously using Google Translate?" He laughed at her. "And no. Literally, it means puppy. But it's an Italian term of endearment."

She frowned once again. "You Italians are weird."

"I know," he agreed in a joking manner, looking over at her confused face. He found it to be quite adorable.

When they reached the apartment complex in Burlingame, Ian helped her out of the car and led a very confused Skylar inside and into the elevator that led them to the floor of the apartment he had gotten her. She obviously didn't know that yet.

"Why are we here?" she asked, looking around the well-decorated apartment. Had he moved?

"Well, this is your welcome present from Rinaldi & Associates," he explained in quite the casual manner.

"What?" she demanded.

"Perfectly situated in between school and work. What do you think?" he asked.

"You got me an apartment?"

"Yes."

"You shouldn't have."

"But I did."

"Ian, you really didn't have to," she said. It was too much. Too much indeed.

"I wanted to," he said.

"I can't-" but she couldn't finish, because Ian put a finger to her lips.

"Come," he said, taking her hand in his before leading her out of the apartment.

He showed her to the parking garage and led her to a shiny, red Mercedes-Benz.

That was when she knew it was just too much.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

She loved it. But...

"I can't accept such extravagant gifts, Ian," she explained.

He sighed. "Think of it as part of your job. I don't want my employees to struggle with getting to work. Or being tired because the drive back was too far. Skylar, please."

"Ian."

"Skylar."

"I can't."

"You can."

She pursed her lips. "Fine. But I'll think of it as a loan. A work-related loan."

"Fine," he agreed. "As long as you take it."

"Wasn't me agreeing to take the internship enough?" she asked.

"Maybe. But this is just my selfish way of making you see the great part of living here."

Skylar didn't know if she wanted to punch him for making her take such extravagant gifts, or kiss him.