The elevator pinged behind her, and she heard men's shoes rap against the hard terrazzo floor. She turned and saw Lawson walking across the lobby. When he saw her face, he stopped, and his skin paled.

"What are you doing here?'' he asked.

​​

"Good morning to you too, uncle," she said, smiling. "I'm here to start my internship. Didn't you hear?"

"Your internship?" he asked with a sly smile. "No, that's impossible. The company doesn't take interns this late in the summer. And especially not interns without any credentials. You know, we have a very prestigious internship here, only a select few business majors are accepted each season."

"Well then, I'm honored to be able to have such a prestigious internship," she said calmly. "I'm sure I'll learn a lot."

"That's not possible," he snapped. "As I said, the company isn't taking any more interns this summer."

"Funny," she said. "That's not what Andy Jones told Sean."

Lawson's face darkened, "You can't use your husband to get an internship."

She shrugged, "I shouldn't have needed to. After all, it was my father's company, and I was meant to run it for him."

"That's not—" Lawson began.

She gave him a pointed stare and added, "Unfortunately, management fell apart after his death. It seems if I want the company to survive, I have to begin working here earlier than I'd planned. Anyway, don't trouble yourself about me—Mr. Jones will be out to speak with me shortly."

A vein jumped in Lawson's temple, and he stared at her with hatred. She returned his look with a polite and bland smile.

"I'll wait too," he said. "I want to have a word with Andy."

"I'm sure you do," she said coolly.

"I don't care how many shares Sean owns," Lawson grumbled. "This is clear nepotism, and I won't stand for it."

"Oh, if you want to talk about nepotism, I'm sure you'll be very concerned to learn about another case," she replied. "Apparently, Alec has been given a senior manager position in the company. Can you believe that? Someone so young and unqualified in such a high position?"

"Alec majored in business," Lawson snapped. "He's finally come home, and it only makes sense he'd work here."

"Why doesn't he start from the bottom in an internship then?" Catherine asked. "He may have studied business, but he has no real work experience. How will others feel to see an inexperienced graduate promoted over them?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Lawson said. "Alec as an intern?"

"I thought it was an incredibly prestigious internship," Catherine replied.

Lawson opened his mouth to say something and then snapped it closed. He glared at her, and she smiled pleasantly back. She hadn't expected her internship to upset him so much, but his anger was an added perk.

The elevator pinged again, and she turned to look. As the door slid open, she saw a man with dyed blonde hair step out. He was of medium height and build, and he wore a flashy pinstriped suit and expensive-looking alligator loafers. His tie was loose around his neck, and he carried a large briefcase in his right hand. She fought the urge to roll her eyes—Alec Stewart had changed little since she'd last seen him.

"Well, well, well," Alec said, meeting her gaze. "What's our little princess doing here?"

"Hello, Alec," she said cooly.

"Hello, Cathy," he said. "You're looking pretty grown-up today. I guess being a married woman has changed you. By the way, a bit offended you had the wedding without me. You know I love a good party."

"You can blame that on your father," she snapped.

"Oh yes," he said. "I heard you've been blaming a lot of things on him recently. I'm shocked, Cathy. After everything we've done for you—this is how you repay us?"

"After everything you've done for me?" she scoffed. "You squandered my father's fortune, almost ruined his company, and sent Maria and Samuel to live in poverty. How exactly would you like to be repaid for such treatment?"

His eyes narrowed, "My father has been weakened by his poor health, and my mother and sister are just silly socialites, but now that I'm back, things are going to be different. Just you wait and see."

"Are you threatening me?" she asked.

"That depends," Alec said with a nasty smile. "Do you feel threatened?"

"By you?" she laughed. "Not for years."

She glared at him, and he returned the look. Though she had been close with Madison, she and Alec had never gotten along. He bullied her whenever he got the chance—pinching her when his parents weren't looking and breaking her toys when she let him play with them. She'd been relieved when his parents sent him away to boarding school and had tried to avoid him when he returned home for holidays. As she got older, she'd learned to stand up to him—before her father died, he was the only person she ever fought with.

"You may think you're a big man now," she said. "But I remember you as the pathetic little boy you were."

Alec's jaw clenched, and he raised a hand as if he were going to slap her. Footsteps echoed in the lobby, and his hand fell to his side. A man in his late thirties strode across the lobby. He was tall and surprisingly thin, and he wore a simple black suit and black-framed glasses.

"Good morning, Mrs. Sean," the man said. "I'm Andy Jones. It's a pleasure to have you here."

She stood, and he shook her hand firmly. He turned to Lawson and Alec, and a slight frown appeared on his face.

"You're both late," he said to the men. "This is the third day in a row for you, Alec. I don't know how they do things in America, but this is a professional workplace. You can't just waltz in whenever you like. And you, Lawson, you should know better."

"Actually, sir, I wanted to talk with you about something," Lawson said.

"Is it about the quarterly report I asked you to have on my desk yesterday afternoon?" Andy asked. "Because I'm still waiting for it."

Lawson's face paled, "Uh, well, you see, I—"

"I'm not interested in excuses," Andy snapped. "When you deliver the report, we can talk."

Both Lawson and Alec glared at her but turned to leave, heading toward their offices. She smiled politely at them, enjoying the hatred on their faces.

"Anyway," Andy said. "I'm afraid I don't have time to show you around today, but if you talk to Alan, he'll explain everything. He's in charge of our internship program, so if you have any issues, go directly to him."

"Thank you, Mr. Jones," she said. "I'm excited to begin working here."