The car drove in silence, the familiar city streets blurring past as Estelle stared out the window, lost in her thoughts. The weight of everything—the clothes, the tension between her and Celeste, the strange dynamic that had only grown more intense—pressed down on her. She wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about all of this, but before she could gather her thoughts, something clicked in her mind.
She blinked, suddenly recognizing where they were headed.
“Wait… this is my apartment,” Estelle said, glancing over at Celeste with confusion. “Why are we going to my apartment?”
Celeste didn’t bother to look at her, her gaze fixed ahead, a smirk playing on her lips. “To drop your stuff off, obviously. Or were you planning to carry all of this into the office?”
Estelle felt her cheeks flush slightly. “No, I… I just hadn’t thought about it.”
The car pulled to a stop in front of Estelle’s apartment building, and as they climbed out, Estelle noticed that Mia’s car wasn’t in the driveway. Good. The last thing she needed was Mia popping up with her endless questions about why her professor was helping her carry luxury shopping bags into their place.
They grabbed the bags from the back seat, and Estelle made her way up the stairs to her apartment, struggling slightly under the weight of all the clothes and accessories Celeste had insisted on buying. Celeste, of course, looked completely unbothered by it all, casually holding one or two bags as if the whole ordeal had been a mere errand on her daily agenda.
Unlocking the door, Estelle pushed it open with her foot and glanced around. The apartment was empty, the quiet unnerving after the whirlwind of the day. She quickly dropped the bags on the couch and glanced at the suit that had been neatly laid out.
“I’ll clean this up later,” Estelle mumbled, more to herself than anyone else, as she took in the chaos. “After my first day of my internship.”
Celeste stepped into the apartment, surveying the space with a detached curiosity. Her eyes flicked to Estelle, and then to the clothes scattered around the room. She gave a nod, approving in her own silent way, before turning back toward the door.
“Chop chop, Estelle,” Celeste said, her voice taking on that authoritative tone that made Estelle’s stomach flip. “We need to get back to the office. Your day is about to start officially, Miss Brooks.”
The way Celeste said her name sent a shiver down Estelle’s spine. It was a reminder—both of her position at the firm and the strange, tangled connection that had formed between them.
“Right,” Estelle muttered, snapping out of her daze. She grabbed her bag, taking one last glance at the mess of clothes and the still-empty apartment. She felt a brief pang of relief that Mia wasn’t there to witness this. Mia would’ve teased her mercilessly—or worse, tried to figure out exactly what was going on between her and Celeste.
As they headed back down the stairs, Estelle felt the weight of the day pressing down on her shoulders. She hadn’t even officially started her internship yet, and already it felt like she was in over her head. But there was no turning back now.
Back in the car, Celeste was already typing something on her phone, her posture impossibly straight and composed. As they drove back to the office, Estelle couldn’t help but glance over at her professor, wondering how much of this—how much of her—Celeste was orchestrating behind the scenes.
Was it all about control? Or was there something more to it, something neither of them was ready to admit yet?
When they finally arrived back at the firm, the sleek, modern building loomed before them, a stark contrast to the chaotic thoughts swirling in Estelle’s mind. As they stepped out of the car and into the lobby, Celeste’s demeanor shifted instantly back into the professional, unflinching woman Estelle had first met. But now, Estelle knew better.
There was more beneath that polished surface—layers of desire, control, and tension that would make the coming days at Thorne & Associates far more complicated than Estelle had anticipated.
Celeste turned to her, her gaze sharp as ever. “Now,” she said, her voice cool and authoritative. “Let’s get to work, Miss Brooks.”
And just like that, Estelle’s first day had officially begun.
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