Chapter 4

"Sign their off-campus placement forms. Don't make these kids late for work."

Marcus wore such a look of righteous authority that I nearly applauded.

What I said was, "No."

His face darkened. "Claire, are you deliberately taking me on?"

"I'm looking out for my students."

He drew a breath and changed his tone.

"If you're going to be like this, then you and I may need to reconsider the wedding."

Brooke's eyes lit up.

Diane hurried in between us. "Director Hale, the two of you can talk this through calmly. Don't drag your personal life into a professional disagreement."

She glanced at me. "Claire, if the director inspected the company himself, maybe it isn't as bad as it looks. Maybe—"

I shook my head and looked straight at him.

"If you want to end it, I agree."

Something shifted behind his eyes. He clearly hadn't expected me to take it without a fight.

"But I'm not authorizing a single placement until we've spoken to their families."

Brooke stepped in with a helpful smile.

"Ms. Morgan, Director Hale runs the whole program. He must have his reasons. Contradicting him in front of this many students is pretty disrespectful, don't you think?"

That was the last of Marcus's restraint.

He snatched the phone out of my hand and threw it out the sixth-floor window.

"You're impossible."

His voice carried to every desk in the office.

"Nobody needs Claire's permission. I'll approve these internships myself."

He jerked his chin at the group.

"My office. I'll sign every form personally."

The students stared for a second, then erupted.

"Director Hale's the best!"

"Finally, somebody reasonable."

"Come on, we don't have to beg her."

The crowd poured out into the hall. Brooke went last. At the doorway she looked back at me, triumph all over her face.

Diane sighed. "Claire... was that really necessary?"

I looked down through the window at the pieces of my phone scattered across the concrete and didn't answer.

Within days they'd all signed on at Meridian.

Their feeds turned into a nonstop advertisement for their wonderful new lives.

Rachel posted the free coffee and imported snacks in the break room. Her caption read, "Third day on the job and I've already gained two pounds."

Dylan photographed himself giving a thumbs-up in the company gym. "This is what a real corporation looks like."

The rest showed off dual-monitor workstations and marveled that the chairs were ergonomic.

"Intern life is amazing. There's hardly any work."

"Thank you, Brooke, for carrying this entire cohort!"

Brooke posted every single day. One afternoon it was a seafood spread for the department. The next it was cake and specialty drinks delivered to the floor.

A month in, she uploaded a collage of more than twenty boarding passes, tagged at the international terminal.

"Somebody almost destroyed our futures, but we held the line. Thank you to the person I love for backing me without question, and thank you all for trusting me."

It already had dozens of likes. The comments were nothing but praise for their fearless class president.

After they landed, they posted a group shot in front of the bus waiting to collect them.

"Arrived safe! The service here is unreal. We're barely off the plane and they're already taking us out for a real local massage."

Every face in the picture was beaming at the camera.

I took a calm sip of my coffee.

Smile away, I thought. I hope you're all still smiling in an hour.

Sure enough, by the time that bus reached the end of the road, Brooke and the rest of them weren't laughing anymore.