Blossom in Winter (Blossom in Winter #1)(41)

But as she said, what if we could…

Nope. Stop right here. You said no more boys.

I know, but Alex is not a boy, he is a man… and a very special one, actually.

Forget it. You’ll always be his goddaughter. That’s it. He’ll never look at you differently. Now stop being silly and sleep!

Indeed, I promised myself I’d focus and that’s what I’ve got to do. I close my eyes and force such thoughts away.





Chapter 10





Manhattan, August 20, 2019

Petra Van Gatt





Emma has been gone for over two months. The tabloids and blogs say she has met a Saudi prince in the south of France and is partying with him and his friends all over the Mediterranean. But sadly I haven’t had time to chat with her about it. I have to make sure my entire art collection gets leased by galleries and museums in order to generate the income I’ve forecasted. Everything must be negotiated and sorted out before I finish this internship. Luckily, I’ve invested only in artists I know will be in high demand.

“Why’s everyone leaving their desks?” I ask Rach, who’s sitting beside me.

“Andrew wants to talk to the interns,” she replies, standing up.

I do the same and follow her, wondering why I didn’t know about it. We walk down to one of the small conference rooms. Since all the chairs are already taken, we have to stand near the door.

Andrew arrives, his pace dynamic, positioning himself in front. He’s holding a rugby ball, rolling it between his fingers, gently tossing it up and down and catching it. I wonder why. Maybe he’s going to a game after work.

“Thank you all for coming.” But he doesn’t say more. He waits for the whispers and murmurs to stop.

The room finally becomes silent.

“Very well, I gathered you here because I’ll be attending a conference in Rome next week. And the exciting news is, I’ve selected seven of you to join me for three days in the Italian capital.” He pauses, smiling at the curious and excited faces in the crowd. “This’ll be an amazing networking opportunity,” he asserts, the tone as enthusiastic. “Think hedge fund managers, executives, private bankers, big players, all in one place. So you better have your business cards ready.”

I’m radiant, but not for the same reason. Andrew out? Oh, thank God! I won’t miss him here for sure. My last week will feel like heaven on earth.

He glances around the room. “Jess!” And he suddenly throws the ball at her. She manages to see it coming and grabs it tightly. “Hope you’ve got your passport ready for Rome next week.”

Her face beams with excitement. “Oh yeah!” She sends him the ball back. I’ve never seen Jess before, but I barely know anyone here anyway. She has medium dark-blonde hair, is a bit taller than me, and is dressed in a navy pantsuit with a white shirt and black heeled sandals—probably an MBA student.

He looks around for someone else.

“Luke?” he calls before passing the ball to him.

“Oh boy, that’s amazing. Thanks Andrew.” And Luke sends it back.

Andrew plays this little game with three other male interns, all impeccably dressed, people I’ve never seen before.

Finally, his eyes dart to the door where Rach and I are standing.

Say Rach, say Rach…

“Rach!” he shouts before throwing the ball to her.

Phew!

“Yes!” All excited, she stares at Jess, apparently her work bestie. “Passport ready as ever, Andrew!” Rach sends him the ball back a bit more abruptly than the rest.

There’s only one person left.

Tension is rising in the room. Every intern follows Andrew’s eyes attentively, ready to catch their ticket to Rome at any time.

“Williams!”

What? I still manage to catch the ball right before it hits me in the face.

The crowd is as astonished as I am. After all, I’m the most antisocial and introverted intern. Indeed, after nearly three months here, I’ve barely spoken to anyone except to Rach, who’s also part of Andrew’s team.

Oh God, why me? I’m speechless. Everyone is expecting me to be excited and smiley, or to say something fun and cool, but nothing. I just roll the ball thoughtfully.

“Williams?” I look up at Andrew. “Is it a yes or a no?”

I send him the ball back with a strength I didn’t know I had.

After a few seconds of pondering, I say one word, uttered with no visible excitement. “Okay.”





I wait near the door as the interns are leaving the conference room, the majority quite disappointed. I don’t understand why he picked me. I always see him hanging out with his other interns, like John and Rob—I call them his cheerleaders—they would’ve been perfect candidates. He even used to invite them over for drinks after work…

“Why did you choose me?”

Andrew glances around the room—there’s no one left but me. He hesitates to reply, but he knows I’m not leaving without an answer. “Because you’re stubborn, strongheaded, show no respect whatsoever for the authority—”

“I thought those were the reasons why you didn’t like me,” I manage to interpose.

“Indeed, but I could’ve also added bold, determined, perseverant, focused… and those are the reasons why we make it in finance. So, good for you.”