Free The Intern - Full Submission by Tara Laws Page B

camera.  She pulled her hair up in a twist.  She put on a white blouse over which she pulled a pinstriped vest and matching slacks.  She didn’t bother with shoes since they wouldn’t see her feet.  She was excited about this.  At the agreed upon time, she signed into WebEx using the information they had emailed her and waited for them to arrive.  She opened up a word document and began to type some notes so that she would appear busy while she waited.
    Moments later, three gentlemen sitting on one side of a conference table appeared on her screen.  She would say they weren’t what she expected but she didn’t know what to expect.  On one hand, you would expect older uptight engineering types but these guys worked with sexual devices and she couldn’t imagine that they’d be anything less than laid back.  She was right.  One looked very feminine and the other two looked like skateboarders.  It was sort of funny.  It put her at ease and the interview went well. 
    They offered her a very nice compensation package in exchange for her services.  She would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement and report in weekly with her progress.  They would send her the designs that required attention and all of the notes regarding what needed to be improved or changed.  She would receive samples of the items she was working, so that she could see them first hand.  There would also be some items in development that they would ask her to work for them.
    When the interview was over, Lexi thanked them and closed out of the WebEx.  She breathed a huge sigh of relief.  She was going to make it through this.  She moved the screen that was blocking the view of the kitchen and put it back into the closet before changing into a t-shirt and shorts.  Then she tossed some diced peppers, onions and tomatoes with some egg whites and sat down at the kitchen bar to eat.  She jumped when her doorbell rang.  Her heart started pounding.  Damnit, Lexi, she thought to herself.  Are you going to be like this every time you hear the door?
    She got up and looked out the peephole.  It was her neighbor, Sam.  She opened the door and let her in.  “Well, hey there stranger.  How was your trip,” Sam said brightly, giving her a big hug.  Lexi gave her all the details of her trip and the job she had just accepted while she finished eating her late afternoon breakfast she had prepared.  Sam congratulated her and told her that she had to run; she was due for a shift at The Cheetah.  Lexi saw her to the door and grabbed her Kindle.   It was the first time she’d had time to herself just to sit down and read in ages.
    She never heard from Drake Whitson, but she did hear from the human resources manager at Whitson Engineering a couple of weeks after she left.  She received a nice letter in the mail advising that they were sorry she had not found their program to her liking and had elected to resign.  It contained paperwork that she might need as well as her final check from the firm.  Lexi stared at it for a while and laughed.  The check was for fifty thousand dollars.  So, Drake had no intention of ruining her engineering career.  He planned to buy her silence instead.  She was tempted to tear the check up, but instead just laid it on the kitchen counter.

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    The next couple of months were busy for Lexi.  She had ended up converting her small apartment into mostly office space.  It had involved her going out to buy some portable cabinets to put against one side of the wall so that she could store some of the devices being sent to her for examination.  Some had been so odd that she had been forced to ask exactly how they were used.  The company was extremely happy with the changes she had made to some of their designs and so were the end users, based on product reviews.  Lexi was quickly outgrowing her little apartment and needed something bigger.  She thought about the check on the counter and made a decision as to