Devil in a Suit: A Steamy Enemies to Lovers Billionaire Office Romance

Madison

“No, no, no! This can’t be happening!”

Blaring honks answered my anguished sigh as I stared ahead at standstill traffic in the city. The tall, glistening building of Ashland Consulting was right down the street, and I should’ve been walking through the front door right about… now. It was my first day as a marketing intern, and I had already messed up by arriving late.

I needed to complete this internship, or I wouldn’t graduate on time! I already fought my way through nearly four years of college. I couldn’t fall short during my last semester and take on even more student loan debt. I already had to cross my fingers and hope that my business marketing degree would lead to a job that was good enough to pay off those loans.

After what seemed like countless minutes, the light ahead turned green. Instead of the line of cars ahead of me launching forward, it crawled inch by inch. I groaned and tilted my head back, the long strands of my black hair falling behind my shoulders. I had to figure out something, or I was going to get fired on the spot for being so late. So many other students had fought for this internship like I did and they were waiting in the wings.

I glanced over to the right, spotting an open parking spot in a two-hour parking zone. I would be at my internship longer than two hours, but what choice did I have? At this pace, it would be an hour until I would be walking into the office. I would have to deal with the ticket later. Hopefully, this internship would be worth it.

I cut to the right, speeding into the spot and parking before I could change my mind. I threw open my door and stepped out, my hands moving down my figure to smooth down my black pencil skirt and white blouse. The last thing I needed to worry about was how I looked right now, but I was going to worry about that and every other little thing regardless. I was caught in a crisis.

I hurried down the sidewalk, my heels clicking against the concrete as I dodged through people walking astronomically slow for eight o’clock in the morning. When I finally made it inside of Ashland Consulting, I didn’t feel relief just yet. I had to figure out where the office of the marketing head was. Thankfully, there was a directory between the two elevators.

Brittany Hammond – Marketing – 1505

My feet moved quickly once they hit the grey, carpeted floor of the fifteenth-floor hallway. I glanced left and right as I walked down the hallway, stopping when I saw Office 505. I could already hear murmurs from inside the office, prompting me to step into the open doorway and lightly knock on the frame.

“Hi, I’m Madison Palmer. I’m so sorry I’m late. The traffic was terrible this morning,” I immediately apologized as my eyes fell on a curvy brunette woman in her thirties. I expected to only see her at her desk, but I also spotted a very familiar blonde woman seated across from her.

What was Sara Deland doing at my internship? Not to be too mean, but she was a bit of a snobby narcissist that happened to be in my same major. We only had a few classes together, but it was hard to overlook her when she made it a point to always make herself the center of attention.

“It might be helpful to set your alarm earlier to accommodate delays like that,” Sara commented as she turned in her seat to smirk at me. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, exposing the perfect lines and curves of her flawless face. In the spirit of her cocky personality, she was dressed boldly in a red pantsuit that she pulled off quite well. Sara was proving to be more of the same. We had shared maybe ten sentences with each other since we started having classes together, so she was still comfortable acting snooty with people she hardly knew. I wondered where she garnered the nerve from.

Brittany merely smiled as she stood up from behind her desk.

“It’s okay. It happens,” she told me as she stuck her hand out. “I’m Brittany, head of marketing.”

“It’s nice to meet you. Thank you again for the opportunity,” I said as I shook her hand.

“We’re excited to have you! I know the listing said only one intern would be selected, but there was such a great pool of applicants that we decided to take on two instead. This is Sara,” Brittany explained gesturing to Sara.

I plastered a polite smile on my face as I shook Sara’s hand. She shook my hand like she thought I was dirty, adopting the lightest grip possible. I kept myself from rolling my eyes as I sat in the cushioned chair next to hers. I wasn’t that keen on sharing this internship with Sara of all people, but I was grateful that I was here.

“First off, congratulations on being chosen. Both of you excelled in your classes and extracurriculars. During this internship, we’re going to teach you valuable information for your future careers and give you the experience that will set you apart from others,” Brittany told us with an excited look on her face.

This internship was exactly what I needed. Plus, Ashland Consulting was a huge company in Chicago. This would look great on my resume when I applied for marketing jobs after graduation. However, I had to pass this internship and the rest of my classes first. I wasn’t in the clear just yet.

“Thank you. I’m excited to get started,” I replied, hoping that I did well with any task or assignment that they threw my way. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. We were just interns at a billion-dollar company, so I doubted that they would trust us with anything very important.

“Same! I was so excited that I got here thirty minutes early. I couldn’t wait to start,” Sara added with an airy laugh.

We weren’t in competition anymore. We both got the internship, but she was still going to treat me like a competitor. I wasn’t here to play games, but people like her always dug their way under my skin with their cockiness and sense of entitlement. Maybe I would play her little game this time.

“I’m loving this enthusiasm,” Brittany said as she looked between us. She then stood from her desk. “I’m going to go grab some paperwork for you two. Be back in a jiffy.”

My green eyes trailed Brittany as she walked out of her office, leaving Sara and me alone. I didn’t want to look at her, but I could feel her eyes on me. I met her gaze, trying not to appear as annoyed as I felt. I knew that she had something to say.

“So, have you seen the hot boss yet?” Sara asked as she cocked an eyebrow at me.

That wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. I gave her a confused look, wondering what she was talking about. From what I knew, Brittany was the one in charge of the internship since she was the marketing head.

“Hot boss?” I questioned her.

“Tyler Ashland. You know? The owner of this company,” Sara replied. Her tone insinuated that I should’ve already known what she was talking about.

If I was honest, I didn’t do as much research into this company as I should’ve. I was desperate to find an internship for my final semester, so I jumped on this one without a second thought. Everyone in my major had heard of Ashland Consulting because it was a major business in the city that worked with huge clients.

That was the extent of my knowledge, though. I didn’t know anything about the guy who started this company or the company’s history. They didn’t give me a quiz about any of that when I interviewed for the internship. They just wanted to know about me and what I could bring to the table. Surprisingly, I was good enough.

“Oh, I haven’t seen him. I doubt we will. I’m sure he’s a busy guy,” I replied. Anyone running a billion-dollar company probably didn’t have much leftover time to waste on meeting interns that would be gone in a few months.

Sara reached up and tightened her ponytail, her glossy, pink lips curling up into a coy smile.

“Well, I hope I run into him. It’s not every day we get to be around a billionaire bachelor,” she said.

It seemed like this guy was popular with the girls. I had no idea what he looked like, but I suspected that he was some older guy that actually brushed his hair and wore expensive suits. Paired with his money, that was enough to have girls falling at his feet left and right. I wasn’t in the market for a man, but I did want a killer letter of recommendation.

“Good luck with that,” I told her. The more distracted she was by the supposedly hot boss, the easier it would be for me to pull ahead in our little competition. I didn’t even know what I would win, but maybe that didn’t even matter. She was the one who started it, so I would finish it.

“What? Are you too good for that?” Sara asked me as she leaned back in her seat, eyeing me. Whether she was asking questions or joking around, it always seemed like she was judging me.

It was hard to know what to say around Sara. Anything I said could be twisted or used to her advantage somehow. Having a conversation with her felt like I was caught in a catch-22. I wanted out before I was dragged deeper into it.

“I just want to pass this internship,” I said. That was all there was to it. I didn’t come here to ogle over hot bosses and get distracted. This was my senior year. It was the real deal now.

“Well, I’m going to have a little fun while I’m here. Suit yourself,” Sara replied, not looking all that impressed with me. She turned back forward in her seat once Brittany strode back into the office with a stack of papers in her hand.

Admittedly, I wasn’t the craziest, most fun person on the planet. I didn’t do many spontaneous things, and I stayed out of trouble as much as possible. My parents were hard workers themselves, so I grew up doing whatever I could to make their lives easier. That meant doing what I was supposed to do and not doing things to stress them out. I hadn’t grown out of that mindset.

“Today will be an easy day. I just want to get you guys used to the building and where everything is. We have plenty of time to work,” Brittany said as she handed us our copies of paperwork.

I flipped through the papers, seeing payroll documents and time log information. At least I was getting paid a little for this internship. I had to give up my part-time job as a barista on campus to do this instead.

“Do we get our own offices?” Sara asked. “My last internship let me have my own office.”

“Of course. If you two will follow me, I’ll give you a little tour,” Brittany replied as she waved at us, motioning for us to follow her to the door. “You’ll love our building. Personally, I think we have some of the best amenities for our employees.”

I couldn’t help but smile a little as I followed Brittany down the hallway. It made me feel better knowing that Brittany felt pride in this company. If she liked it, maybe I could find a real devotion to this place as well. Not that I would be invited to work here as my first actual job, but I wanted to like the work that I was doing.

“These two offices are reserved for our interns or temps. We’re still clearing out some boxes in this one, but they’re both equipped with mini-fridges and microwaves,” Brittany said as she gestured to two offices that were next to each other.

Sara barged past me to open the door to the office that was already cleaned out.

“I’ll take this one,” she said as she switched on the light, fluorescent lighting flooding the bare room. It could use some décor, but the furniture inside was clean and sleek. There was also a nice view of the city from the window behind the desk.

I bit my tongue and walked into my own office, which was exactly the same as Sara’s besides a few boxes of supplies stashed in the corner. I placed my hands on my hips, breathing in the smell of wood and stationery. Dealing with Sara wouldn’t be fun, but this was my chance to secure future success for myself. I couldn’t mess up when I was so close to graduating and building the life that I wanted to have.

Right now, I didn’t know what that life looked like outside of having a successful career, but I figured that everything would fall into place. The rest, like family life and self-improvement, were things that I didn’t know how to approach right now.

Brittany took us around the rest of the fifteenth floor, which was the main floor for the higher-up executives and departments. She wasn’t wrong when she told us that Ashland Consulting had some of the best amenities. Not only was there a breakroom for employees to sit and relax in, but there was a yoga room, a small market and café on the ground floor, and a rooftop deck with tables to eat at.

As cool as the amenities were and how spoiled we would be while we were here, I latched on more to the actual benefits of having this internship. Being able to say that I interned under Tyler Ashland would catch future employers’ attention, and I would learn the inner workings of a successful marketing department. My experience here would be invaluable, and I started to have a really good feeling about this internship.

As the tour started to come to an end, I was ready to finish this day up and meet with my closest friends and fellow business marketing majors, Hannah, and Nick, to tell them all about this gold standard internship I managed to land. They already completed their own internships, so I was bringing up the rear in our little pack. I already knew how excited they would be for me.

“Isn’t that the best cup of coffee? We buy the finest espresso machines,” Brittany said cheerfully as we stood in one of the multiple breakrooms throughout the building, holding steaming cups of coffee from the well-stocked coffee bar.

“It’s great,” I replied after taking a sip, enjoying the faint sweet tones of the caramel syrup that I put in mine. This company certainly went all out, not sparing any expense. From the success that it had had over the last few years, it didn’t have to.

Brittany checked the time on her Apple watch, her face brightening. “How would you guys like to meet Mr. Ashland? He should be out of his meeting soon,” she asked us.

“We’d love to!” Sara spoke up, answering for both of us. She smoothed her hand over her hair, taming any flyaway strands. This was the most excited that I had seen her look all day.

I merely smiled and nodded, not expecting this. Honestly, I didn’t expect to see Tyler at all during this internship. Now that I was faced with the opportunity to, I couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. I had no idea what he was like besides the rumors about him being some handsome bachelor. I would get to see if he lived up to all the hype that Sara spoke about him.

I wondered if he was old and strict or if he was one of those young bosses who tried to act all cool and casual. There was only one way to find out, though. I followed Brittany and Sara out of the breakroom and down the hallway toward Tyler Ashland’s office, my heartbeat quickening with each step that I took.