He does't hate you. He doesn't hate you. Everything will be fine.

As these words of encouragement play over and over again in my head, I still can't help but feel uneasy. As I walk into his office, my inner self is screaming at me to run.

Far, far, away.

I knock on the door, feeling my heart pound in my chest. When I hear Shane's faint voice on the other end, I slowly open the door and reveal him typing away on his computer.

He glances up briefly and pulls away from his computer, turning his attention to me.

"Natalia. I was just about to come to get you. Please, sit." He says, friendly smile plastered on his face. It's almost as if he wasn't yelling at me and Grayson only ten minutes ago.

"Hello, sir." I try and say as confidently as possible.

"Please, don't call me sir." He groans, rubbing his face over his hands. "The last thing I want is for you to start acting different around me now."

I sit in silence, not even sure if I should reply or not. I mean, what the hell is the right answer in this case scenario?

"Listen, I'm sorry. I completely overreacted and the last thing I wanted was for you to start crying. I was never going to fire you and I shouldn't have ever thrown that at you. It wasn't fair of me. I'm sorry, Natalia. I've already talked to Grayson and we've come to the conclusion on what has to happen." He says, folding his hands together.

"I want to go back to my old team." I blurt out.

"You want to go back to your old team?" Shane asks, making sure that he heard me correctly.

"Yes. Listen, it's clear that my being apart of this has caused nothing but problems. I don't want to cause any more for either one of you." I say.

"Okay, but we don't exactly want you to leave." He says.

"I need to." I reply.

"But, you don't. Listen, this thing with you and Grayson is very-"

"There's nothing going on between the two of us." I say, cutting him off.

"Okay, but there clearly is. It's not my place to tell you who you can and can not date. There is however, a policy for when things like this begin. Especially between a subordinate and his or her superior. This is a very rare case that usually isn't seen as often as others, at least to this extent. There is nothing wrong with this, though! I am not here to tell you who you can or can not date in the workplace. I blame myself because I have given you and Grayson both some...mixed signals. I'm sorry for that. We both still want very much for you to stay with us. There does have to be some corrective action taken, though." He says.

"Corrective action?" I ask softly, waiting for him to go ahead and show me the write up slip now. Hell, do write ups still apply in the corporate world? Or do we go straight to termination?

"Yes. You see, with the policy that GRIP has over workplace relationships, there has to be some distance between the two of you. This isn't going to be a bad thing, though. Grayson and I were talking, and I think we came to the conclusion that you can no longer work under him. However, we were thinking that it could be a very easy swap that leaves no room for rumors or anything to start over what has happened. Instead of being Gray's intern, you will be mine." He says with a positive smile.

He's kidding right? I mean, he has to be kidding. There is no way that Shane can be my new boss. Well, he has always been one of my bosses, but there is no way that me being his intern would help. Does he even know anything about computer engineering?

"No offense or anything...but do you know anything about computer engineering?"

Shane chuckles, but doesn't seem offended at all.

"I do not, no. But there is a building full of very capable people. People who are willing to share their knowledge with you and help you with anything you might need help with. I want to change what Gray was doing, just a bit. You would start your mornings off the same way that you always have. You'll get some coffee and check the emails. Help file away any paperwork that might need done. You know, that sort of thing. Then, I was thinking Grayson could assign some work for you to do with the teams by a monthly plan. I would want you to spend time with each one of the team leaders and really pick their brains. They have so many different skills that will be useful in your work. Of course, if there are any leaders you feel uncomfortable working with, I am more than happy to assign you to separate departments as well." He adds.

"Justin and I have sort have worked out our differences. He apologized." I tell him.

"Good, good. That great, really. Then I see no problem with this plan. Do you have any concerns? Comments?" He asks.

"I didn't know this was going to cause so many problems." I mutter out, picking at the skin around my nails once more. My nail tech is going to hate me once I go to get my nails redone.

"It normally wouldn't. However, Grayson isn't just some team leader here. He's the owner of this business."

"What if I just agree to not seeing him anymore? I'll sign a paper. I'll do anything. I love my job right now and I don't want to lose it. I can still work for Grayson and only have a work relationship with him. He'll be my boss and nothing more." I say, feeling the words in my heart as I speak them into existence.

"Is that really what you want?" He asks with a sigh.

"Yes." I lie.

"Natalia, you aren't losing your job. You have the same job that you do right now, we're just modifying it so that it works out in all areas of your life. I feel as though you've been isolated up here with us when you have an entire floor full of people who can teach you so much. You shouldn't be subjected to only staying on our floor. You need to get out there and work with others. As for you and Grayson, that is completely up to you. Whether you continue this relationship or not-"

"We're not in a relationship." I reply quickly, cutting him off.

"Yeah. Well whatever it may be is completely up to the two of you to figure out. As far as this situation goes, it's pretty much final. If you want to stay up here, at least. I can switch you to another team but you won't be working under Grayson. Given the circumstances, I am unable to see past that. This is strictly work and nothing personal. I'm not mad, okay? This is going to be what is best for you."

I sigh, feeling my lip quiver once more. I quickly pinch my arm to stop myself from crying. I can't cry. Not again.

"Yes, sir." I mutter.

"So are we good for your working as my intern or do I need to make other arrangements?" He asks.

"I'll be fine as your intern." I mumble in reply. I can hear the quiver in my voice, and he does too.

"Are you okay?" He asks in an unsure voice.

I nod quickly, but can feel the tears burning my eyes. I can already tell that my face is pale and my nose and eyes are beginning to look red. He looks at me with concern but hands a paper over to me, along with a pen.

"I'll have you sign this for me. It's just a paper saying that we've had this talk and that you are aware of the position change." He states.

"Is this a write up?" I ask, tears finally falling.

"No. It's not. It's just to show that you were aware of the position change and agreed to it. I can't just switch you out of a position without your permission." He informs me.

I nod and quickly sign the paper, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Hey, come here." He says, taking a stand from his seat and coming over to me. "Get up."

I stand up and am instantly engulfed in a hug from Shane. I hate myself for looking this weak in front of him. Hell, I would hate looking this weak in front of anyone.

"I'm so sorry. This is so embarrassing." I cry.

"It's okay. I'm sorry about getting upset with the two of you earlier. And for making you think that you were in serious trouble. That wasn't fair. I love having you here on our floor and i'm glad you're working for me now. Grayson is glad, too." He says, rubbing my back before pulling away.

I only nod at his response, not wanting to cry any more.

"I'm going to stay out of this now, but please just talk to him or something. There is clearly something there and now there is nothing stopping it from continuing. Just think about it, yeah?" He asks.

"I will." I mutter.

"Okay, well, go ahead and finish whatever you were doing today. I'll get with Gray and we'll figure out a game plan for you." He adds.

"Yes, sir." I reply, heading towards the door.

"God, please just call me Shane." He groans with a laugh.

I smile in reply and quickly slip out of door. I avoid all eye contact with anyone who passes. I walk briskly past Grayson's office, not wanting to give him even a second to talk to me right now. I can't handle it right now. I will talk to him later, but definitely not right now.

As much as I want to fight it, I can't help but wonder what will happen the next time that I see him.