If there is one thing I can confidently claim to have mastered in my twenty-one years of existence, it is being single.
Not occasionally single.
Not between relationships single.
I mean single since birth.
At this point, being single wasn’t a relationship status anymore.
It was practically a personality trait.
Unfortunately, being single for most of my life came with one particularly annoying side effect—I had somehow become the designated third wheel in almost every situation.
Dinner with my sister and her boyfriend, Hanging out with friends, Group conversations, Somehow, the topic always became relationships.
And then there was me, sitting quietly in the corner, wondering whether anyone would notice if I slowly melted into the furniture.
Being single wasn’t entirely terrible, though.
There were advantages.
For one, I had become extremely comfortable with my own company.
So comfortable, in fact, that sometimes I preferred being alone to being around other people—even my parents.
Another advantage was daydreaming.
I could spend hours imagining the endless possibilities of what having a boyfriend might be like.
It wasn’t exactly a real advantage, considering none of those things had ever happened to me.
But fantasy was still better than reality.
At least in my fantasy, nobody left me on read.
I sighed and stared at the ceiling.
Just one more year.
One more year, and I would finally graduate from college.
Unfortunately, my final year wasn’t going to be as peaceful as I had hoped.
Every student in my course was required to complete a one-year corporate internship before graduating.
And finding a decent internship was already stressful enough without having to worry about interviews, applications, résumés, and the horrifying possibility of having to interact with strangers every single day.
Luckily, I had an easier option.
My sister, Paige, already worked for one of the most prestigious companies in the country.
She had suggested that I apply there and, preferably, work under her department.
It sounded perfect.
Or, at least, as perfect as an internship could possibly sound to someone whose greatest professional achievement so far was surviving group projects without strangling anyone.
There had been another option.
Dad had offered to arrange an internship through one of his friends.
I had refused.
I didn’t want my first real professional experience to begin with everyone knowing that I was somebody’s daughter.
So I chose Paige’s company instead.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was suddenly confident.
I still had to attend the interview.
And I had done that yesterday.
With a heart that had felt like it was trying to escape through my chest.
I had stuttered.
I had forgotten answers I had practiced for days.
At one point, I had even answered a question and immediately realized that my answer made absolutely no sense.
So naturally, I had already accepted my rejection.
My sister, however, seemed far more confident about my future than I was.
Paige had always been the bright spot in my rather gloomy world.
She was the person who pushed me whenever I wanted to retreat into my shell.
She encouraged me to take the internship seriously, but at the same time, she wanted me close enough that she could keep an eye on me.
Which was probably why she had been so determined to get me into her own department.
Her boyfriend, Alden, worked there too.
They had actually met at the company.
They had worked together for about a year before falling in love, and Alden had asked Paige out shortly after she ended her previous relationship.
Four years later, they were still together.
And, apparently, they had reached the stage of their relationship where they had decided that living together was perfectly reasonable.
Our parents, however, knew nothing about that arrangement.
According to Paige, she was still very much single.
At least, that was the story she maintained whenever she went home.
Which brought me to my current living arrangement.
Technically, I was staying at my sister’s apartment.
In reality, the apartment had become little more than a very expensive storage unit for Paige’s belongings.
She spent most nights at Alden’s place, while I had been instructed to stay in her apartment so our parents wouldn’t worry about me living alone.
So there I was.
Curled up on her couch.
Scrolling mindlessly through my phone.
Waiting for her to come home.
I was just about to call her when the front door opened.
Paige walked in first, followed by Alden.
Both had bags hanging from their shoulders, and both looked exhausted.
I lowered my phone and stared at them.
“You two look like you just came back from a war.” Paige dropped her bag onto the floor.”It feels like it.” Alden walked past her and collapsed onto the couch opposite me.”No, it will be worse for you.” I raised an eyebrow.”Why?” “Interns are more likely to get overworked.” Alden replied.
I stared at him.
Then at Paige.
Then back at him.
“Wonderful.
Exactly what I wanted to hear.” Paige rolled her eyes and sat beside Alden.
I checked my phone again.
“It’s been more than twenty-four hours and they still haven’t announced the interview results.” I looked at them solemnly.
“I’m pretty sure I didn’t pass.” “Who said you’re not going to pass?” Paige asked.
“The HR department is still completing the selection process.” she added.
I sat up straighter.
“I practically stuttered my way through the entire interview.
At one point, I couldn’t even remember the name of the company I was interviewing for.” Alden stared at me.
“You forgot the name of the company?” “I remembered eventually.” I replied.
“That’s reassuring.” Alden said with a smug smile.
I glared at him.
He grinned.
Paige nudged him with her elbow.
“Don’t encourage her.” “I’m not encouraging her.
I’m preparing her.” Alden said to Paige.
“For what?” I asked Alden.
“Disappointment.” Alden replied.
I threw a cushion at him.
He caught it effortlessly.
Paige sighed “Don’t worry about the interview, Maevy.” Alden added after her “Your sister has everything under control.” I narrowed my eyes.”What?
What do you mean everything is in control?” I looked at Paige.
Then at Alden.
Then back at Paige.
Something was wrong.
Paige’s smile became noticeably less convincing.
“Nothing, Maevy.” Paige replied with a nervous laugh.
I turned toward Alden “What did she do?” Alden rubbed his side and looked at Paige.
She gave him a warning glare.
He ignored it.
“Your sister made sure you passed the interview.” My mouth fell open.
“What?” Paige immediately shook her head “That’s not what he meant.” I stared at her “What exactly did you do?”.
I looked at both of them “Aren’t you both being suspiciously terrible at lying right now?” Alden looked away.
Paige sighed.
“Your academic scores were good.
I simply made sure HR knew about your achievements.” I continued staring at her.
She avoided my eyes.
There was definitely something else.
Alden looked at Paige.
Paige looked at him.
They had a silent conversation right in front of me.
I didn’t understand a single word of it, but somehow I knew I wasn’t going to like the conclusion.
Finally, Alden gave in.
“Your sister bribed the HR guy” My jaw dropped.
“What?!” Paige’s face went pale.
I turned toward my sister.
“You bribed HR?” “I did not bribe him.” paige said panicking.
I looked more suspiciously at her and then finally Alden blurted “you mean how you bribed the bald guy to get meavy to intern in our department even when their were no positions available for her” “Look, Maeve…” She paused.
Her expression softened.
“I just wanted you to work with me.” Her voice became quieter.
“I know how difficult this is for you.
You turned down Dad’s offer because you wanted to do this yourself, and I didn’t want you to struggle unnecessarily.” She reached for my hand.
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” My anger softened.
That was Paige.
She could be overprotective to an almost ridiculous degree, but she always meant well.
Still… I wasn’t letting this go.
“Fine,” I said.
“But what exactly did you bribe him with?” Paige hesitated.
I looked at Alden.
He immediately raised his hands “Don’t look at me.” Alden finally sighed.
Finally giving in after our long match of glaring “She told HR that if they accepted you into the company, she’d buy him that luxury blue-diamond watch he’s been wanting.” I blinked, Once, Twice.
“That watch?” Paige looked down.
“The one that costs more than your salary?” I said to paige She didn’t answer.
I stared at her in disbelief.
“You ordered that watch for him?” Paige gave me a guilty smile “It was already on sale.” “That is not the point!” I said in disbelieve.
Alden started laughing.
Paige elbowed him again.
Earning him a wince from his mouth.
I buried my face in my hands.
I had spent the last twenty-four hours worrying that I hadn’t passed my interview.
Apparently, I had been worrying for nothing.
My sister had already negotiated my way into the company.
And somehow, I had a feeling this was only the beginning of my problems.
Because I still had no idea that the internship I thought I had secured in Paige’s department…
wasn’t actually waiting for me there at all.