Over the next few days, Nerissa dove back into her schoolwork, busier than ever.
Time flew by, and life slipped back into its usual rhythm — so much so that all those crazy things from before started to feel like a dream she might’ve made up.
And just like that, her internship period rolled around.
During this time, Liam bumped into Nerissa a couple of times.
But his attitude had mellowed out a lot.
Aside from a few harmless jokes, he kept his hands and comments to himself.
Looks like Jace really left an impression.
*****
Lately, Nerissa had been busy hunting for a place to live.
With her internship and summer break kicking off, the school dorms were shutting down, and she had to find somewhere to move out to.
Originally, she’d planned to room with Chloe, but then Chloe made things official with her situationship, and the two lovebirds moved in together.
Nerissa didn’t want to be the third wheel, so finding a place on her own it was.
Near campus, there was this old neighborhood that looked like it was on the edge of falling apart — definitely showed its age.
Still, there were plenty of rental spots.
The prices were cheap too, so lots of recent grads ended up staying there.
Nerissa took half a day to find herself a tiny studio — one bedroom, one bathroom, nothing fancy.
Yeah, it was cramped and a bit hard to stretch out in, but she was honestly thrilled.
It was the first time she’d ever had a place all to herself.
After paying the rent and deposit, she lugged her suitcase over that very night.
A quick tidy-up later, she flopped down onto the bed.
“Bzzzz — ”
Her phone buzzed out of nowhere.
She rolled over to check the caller ID, and immediately sat up straight.
It was Quentin calling!
“Hello?
Professor Lowell…”
His voice came through, low and calm.
“Nerissa, I heard you moved out today?
Not staying on campus anymore?”
“Yes, Professor,” she answered quickly.
“I found a small place, thought it’d make commuting easier.”
With her internship pretty much confirmed for the month, she’d been in frequent contact with him — mostly to prep for work.
“Perfect.
I’ve got a project kicking off.
Start work tomorrow.
I’ll have someone sort out your onboarding.” Quentin laid out the plan for her loud and clear.
“Great, thank you, Professor!
I’ll definitely show up on time tomorrow!”
Nerissa quickly replied a few affirmatives.
As soon as she hung up, pure excitement hit her — she literally rolled on the bed twice in glee.
Quentin’s firm was one of the top architectural firms in the city.
If she could land this internship?
Game changer.
Who knows, maybe one day Northveil City would have a landmark with her name stamped on it.
Buzzing with hope, she eventually drifted off to sleep.
*****
The next morning, Nerissa was up early and took the subway straight to Lowell Group.
Being her first day, nerves kicked in — she even took extra time to do some light makeup and skipped breakfast entirely.
The onboarding went smoothly.
A front desk staffer walked her around the place, then showed her to her desk.
“Miss Noland, this’ll be your spot.
Your direct supervisor is Mr.
Lowell himself.
He’ll be here shortly, just hang tight.”
Nerissa nodded politely.
“Thanks a lot.”
“No problem at all.
He’ll be here soon — take a look around if you’d like.” With that, the receptionist wrapped things up and headed off.
Nerissa sat at her desk, glancing around — this floor was pretty empty, most of the workstations were unoccupied.
Right next to her was Quentin’s office, the door shut tight.
No one inside.
Her spot?
Yeah, totally screamed “assistant corner.”
Still, getting to be Quentin’s assistant?
That was like winning the lottery.
Not long after, Quentin walked in.
He had on his usual light grey loungewear, one hand casually tucked in his pocket, a lazy smile on his face.
Looked relaxed as ever.
“Morning, Nerissa.”
She quickly stood up, “Morning, Mr.
Lowell.”
“No need to be so formal — we’re teacher and student, right?
Take it easy.
Got all your onboarding stuff sorted?” he asked.
Nerissa nodded, “All done.”
“Perfect.
Come with me then.
There’s a design project today — I’ll take you along for some hands-on experience.” He waved as he spoke, motioning her to follow.
First day of the internship and she already had a project to jump into.
Nerissa was both thrilled and a little nervous, and she quickly fell in step behind him.
About half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of Northveil Hospital.
Looking at the familiar building, Nerissa’s heart unexpectedly skipped a beat.
This hospital…
“Come on, Nerissa.
Keep up.”
Quentin had already stepped out of the car.
Nerissa snapped out of her thoughts and quickly opened the door to follow him.
As they walked, Quentin led the way with practiced ease, casually explaining, “Right now, our team’s handling the renovation and interior redesign of this hospital.
Figured I’d bring you over to get a feel for the place.
Later, you’ll be tagging along with the designers to do measurements.”
Nerissa nodded earnestly.
“Got it.”
She trailed behind as Quentin made a couple of turns through the corridors, giving her a full tour of the hospital’s layout.
Eventually, they reached the internal medicine wing.
Caught up in how detailed and layered the design was, Nerissa wandered a few steps down the hallway without realizing it.
As she passed a stairwell door, she instinctively reached out and pushed it open.
The next second, she was caught off guard by a pair of cool, deep eyes locking straight onto hers.
Wait…
him?
Her heart skipped a beat.