Ascendant

Of all days that I couldn’t afford to be late, today was one of them.

Actually, today was the day not to be late. Every year, the head of Ascendant Publishing chose five students from our university to intern for him. Generally, landing this position determined the future for most English majors. If Styles put in a good word, you would be set.

The man had connections – or so I’ve heard.

I had applied the past three semesters to no avail. His team had contacted me and Kacey both, stressing that we both needed more experience and resources before we were going to be accepted.
If we were going to be accepted.

Kacey had managed to get there early, and I would’ve been early too, if she hadn’t asked me to stop and grab her keys and damned coffee from our dorm room. And that was the ironic thing about the situation – Kacey was perpetually late to everything where I made it a point to be ten minutes early.

Except today.

To make things worse, it wasn’t just one of his secretaries that were in the auditorium speaking to us today, either. No because that would’ve been too much of a blessing.

It was Styles himself.

So if being late wasn’t enough already, the universe was really trying to fuck me over for good measure.

As soon as I slipped in through the glass doors, I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that one of the doors was still propped open. I held my breath as I made my way inside, keeping my eyes trained on the back row of seating.

“How nice of you to join us.”

His voice echoed throughout the auditorium and it was then that I noticed he wasn’t on the stage. The sudden onset of nerves made it hard to focus and the room fell silent within a matter of seconds. I cursed under my breath, forcing a sheepish smile on my face as I looked up.

He was walking in between the aisles, small clipboard in his hands. In a few strides, he was in front of me, a small smirk on his lips as he looked up from the clipboard. The man nearly radiated confidence and power.

He wore a loose-fitting black silk shirt, tucked tightly into a pair of slacks, a pinstriped blazer covering both. His shoulder length hair was tucked neatly behind his ears and his eyes were shining with amusement.

“Coffee was more important, hm?” He teased, his voice laced with a British accent. “Name, please.”

“Uh.. Emma. Emma Adams?”

His eyes met mine for a second before he checked his clipboard, scribbling something next to my name. “Is that a question or a statement? Surely you know your name, dear.”

I refrained from making a sarcastic remark, but I didn’t know if I’d be brave enough to get away without stuttering, anyway. “Of course, sir.”

He looked back up at that, a hint of a smirk on his lips. “Very well, then. Take a seat.”

I scurried past him and found Kacey, handing her the keys and coffee, sinking in my seat slightly. If I had any hopes of securing the internship before, I was sure it was gone now.

“As I was explaining to your peers, Miss Adams, I’m not someone that takes tardiness well. There are repercussions, as you can assume, and after the second time, the internship is terminated. If you can’t handle the stress of a job and college and I find that your grades slip, you will be terminated. School is a priority, and I won’t tolerate education being put on the backburner.”

He started his walk back down the aisle, his eyes scanning over the rest of the students. “The first week will entail a set of tasks, and you’ll only be at the office a few hours a day. This will be paid, but only if you manage to get through the first week. After that, I will assign each of you a different genre to go through. One of you, though, will assist me in choosing the four novels I plan to have published by the end of this quarter. This isn’t an easy feat, but I know I have some of the best in front of me. By tonight, five of you will hear from me. If you don’t, you’re free to re-apply to next semester if you choose. Are there any questions?”

When no one so much as moved, he took the silence as an answer. “Very well. Good luck.”

As soon as we were dismissed, we filed out of the auditorium row by row, only because we were told the times prior to this that Styles preferred organization over chaos. When it was our row’s turn, I turned to Kacey, letting out a breath.

“That was fucking – I hate you, just so you know.”

She let out a small laugh, shaking her head. “You should’ve seen your face, Em. You looked like a deer in headlights.”

“Miss Adams, I’d like a word.”

I stiffened at that, halting my movements to follow behind Kacey. I looked to her helplessly, my stomach churning.

“You’re dismissed, Miss Sanders.”

I gave a roll of my eyes when she retreated, knowing she’d end up waiting for me outside. I started the walk towards the stage, folding my arms across my chest. “Sir?”

He was leaning against the stage now, his arms mimicking mine as he turned to face me. “I suggest you don’t make a habit of being late, Miss Adams. I’d hate to have to find a replacement, and I’m sure you can’t afford to miss out again this year. Have a good day.”