Third Person's POV
Cliff was irritated by the noisy directors. He knocked on the table and said sternly, "As far as I know, Vanya sold that land a long time ago. She has nothing to do with this mall."
The glimmer of hope that had risen among the board members was instantly shattered.
Thinking of Vanya, who hadn't been home once in the past three months, Cliff waved his hand irritably and said, "Adjourn the meeting."
The directors had no choice but to leave the conference room one by one.
"Alpha Cliff, the dean called today. He said Miss Coleman's graduate studies have been arranged," Elliot said reluctantly. "Miss Coleman mentioned she'd like to invite you to dinner."
Cliff, seemingly not hearing him, asked, "Where's Vanya?"
"Luna Vanya... she's been busy with her internship lately," Elliot replied.
"Internship?" Cliff echoed.
"It's a school requirement for graduate students to work outside for a month and then write a thesis report," Elliot explained.
"Which company is she planning to go to?" Cliff pressed.
Elliot hesitated, unsure how to respond.
He couldn't exactly say that anywhere but the Todd Group was fine, could he?
After all, in these three months, Luna Vanya had been in a cold war with Alpha Cliff, with no signs of reconciliation.
"Contact the dean and arrange for Vanya to intern at the Todd Group," Cliff ordered.
"But Luna Vanya might not agree," Elliot ventured.
Cliff glared at him, and Elliot quickly lowered his head, realizing he'd said the wrong thing.
"Then arrange her at a company that has ties with the Todd Group. In any case, I want Vanya within my sight," Cliff insisted.
"Yes, Alpha Cliff," Elliot agreed, though inwardly he was already dreading the task.
How on earth was he supposed to arrange that?
Vanya's POV
I was chatting with Grace and the others about my upcoming internship when Grace suddenly slapped the table and shouted, "Come to my company!"
Derrick wasn't about to be outdone and pounded the table, shouting, "No way! Come to mine!"
They exchanged glares, the tension between them palpable.
After a few seconds, Derrick turned to Theodore for help. "Theo, tell me, which company is better for Vanya?"
Theodore, who was helping me tidy up the documents on the table, said indifferently, "Better not to go at all."
I nodded vigorously in agreement.
I'd been swamped lately—juggling Dalton Media and a bunch of miscellaneous tasks at M Group.
With the commercial street just opening and so many things still needing my attention, this internship felt like a complete waste of time.
Grace looked puzzled. "But is it really okay not to intern?"
Derrick shrugged. "What could go wrong? Just get Vanya a stamp of approval. A thesis? That's nothing for Vanya."
Three out of the four people present could easily get me that stamp.
If Theodore's company wasn't overseas, getting ten stamps would be no problem.
"Ding-ding!"
Derrick's phone rang, and he rushed to answer it. The caller ID showed the dean.
Derrick frowned as he listened, then fired off a series of "What?" "Why?" and "Alright."
After hanging up, Grace asked, "What's up?"
"It's from the school. They say this year's graduate internships will be centrally assigned by the school," Derrick said, looking annoyed. "I've never heard of the school doing this before. What's the deal? To prevent cheating?"
I absentmindedly typed on the keyboard and said, "Assign away. Worst-case scenario, I'll slack off at work and just get through this month."
This month was crucial for me. I didn't want to waste time on internships and assignments.
Derrick said, "Just hope you don't get assigned to the same place as Melinda."
My fingers froze on the keyboard. I frowned. "Melinda?"
"Melinda?" Grace was also taken aback. "When did Melinda join the graduate class?"
"A transfer student. I just found out myself," Derrick said, waving his phone.
On the surface, I remained calm, but inside, I knew Cliff favored Melinda. It was common knowledge in L.A.
This time, he'd even broken his own principles to pull strings for her at the Wolfe. Clearly, Melinda was important to him.
But I remembered Melinda was supposed to study abroad. Why the sudden change of heart?
Then again, since I'd been reborn, a lot of things from my past life had changed. Such surprises didn't seem so strange anymore.
I said, "I hope things go smoothly. I really don't want to intern with her."
The thought of being in the same workplace as Melinda made my skin crawl.
"Ding—"
My phone buzzed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it was a message from Cliff.
"Veronica's coming over tonight. Elliot's already on his way to pick you up."
I frowned and glanced at the clock. I immediately stood up.
Derrick was startled by my sudden movement and asked, "What's going on?"
"Cliff sent someone to pick me up. I have to go back right away!"