Page 3 of Bad Boy Bachelor Christmas
Chuckling, I draped an arm over her shoulders. “I’ll drive you and help you pull them out. Are they still in your storage locker?”
She patted my stomach. “You’re a good man, North. That would be wonderful.”
The flurries thickened into earnest snowflakes outside and a young couple burst out of a basement entry apartment across the street. He was in a T-shirt and jeans, and she wore pajamas, but neither of them seemed to care about all the eyes on them as they turned their faces to the sky, laughed like they were children, and enjoyed the first snowfall of the year.
For a moment, I caught myself smiling at their wonder.
CHAPTER2
WINTER
Dr. Allison Kent sat at her desk in front of me, hands clasped together, regal posture daring me to sit up a bit straighter. Behind her, her office window was trimmed in twinkling Christmas lights, framing an image of the University of Oregon’s grounds covered in rain. It always rained here in the fall and winter.
Dr. Kent regarded me with kind eyes. “You’ve excelled here, Winter. Your work speaks for itself. I think you have a promising career ahead of you in interior design, and if you’re interested in the internship program, I’d be happy to discuss it with you.”
It was a lot to think about.
I’d spent the last three years fighting for my degree in design. Part of me really wanted to take a semester off before diving back into the extended program in the spring, but another part of me knew how competitive the job market was in my industry. I’d be competing against other green candidates who didn’t have a measure of experience on their resumes and were fresh out of school. Somehow, I had to ensure I stood apart.
The internship program might be my best shot at achieving that.
“I was hoping to make a bit of money before the spring semester,” I said. “This whole life-of-a-struggling-student shtick is getting a bit old, if you know what I mean.”
I looked around Dr. Kent’s lavish, nicely appointed office full of collector’s edition classic novels and treasures she’d acquired on her worldwide travels.
She probably didn’t know what I meant at all.
“I understand,” Dr. Kent said, her eyes still warm and kind. “Ramen for lunch and dinner gets a bit old after a while, doesn’t it?”
Relaxing a bit, I nodded. “Yes. And I saw Christmas as a chance to—I don’t know—step away and take a break. Stay with family. Reset.”
My counselor nodded gracefully. “You can absolutely do that. In the end, I don’t think it would be the difference between you having a successful career in interior design and not. However, I do think the experience you would get during this internship would be priceless. It’s one more season of sacrifice. Then you would wrap things up in the spring and be ready for job applications come summer. Unless you wanted to upgrade further from your degree.”
I rubbed the back of my neck.
Truth be told, I was getting a little tired of school. Most of my friends had graduated last semester, and I’d been so swamped that I hadn’t had time to connect with other students. My spare time was consumed by nights spent studying or working on design plans in the library. I was sick of the cafeteria food and the ramen in my dorm room. All I wanted was to go home to Ashland, watch Christmas movies, sip hot chocolate by the fire in the house I grew up in, and lounge around in cozy PJs. In short?
I needed to press pause.
But my career was important to me too, and maybe this internship would give me the boost I needed come summertime.
I chewed at the inside of my cheek.
“You don’t have to decide anything right this second,” Dr. Kent said, “but I do have some connections with a friend in New York who could pass your name along to the right person. It’s a great opportunity—a particularly unique one—where I think you would be able to hone some new skills not taught here at the university.”
“What sort of skills?”
“Adaptability, communication, confronting obstacles when working with clients and a boss who is… particular.”
I sighed. “Where do I apply?”
Dr. Kent grinned. “I’ll email you a link. In the meantime, I’ll get in touch with my friend in New York so your name doesn’t pass them by. I think this is the right decision, Winter. All of your hard work is going to pay off in a big way if you keep your pedal to the metal.”
I stood up, collected my raincoat and scarf from the back of my chair, and managed a smile. “Thank you, Dr. Kent. As always, I appreciate your help. I’ll apply tonight. You’re right. Now isn’t the time to get comfortable and take a break.”
“I’m sure there will be some wiggle room for you to go home to Ashland to see your family during the internship. Reach out to me if you need some assistance making that happen.”
I thanked her once more, stepped out into the hall, and made my way past the other students waiting for their session with the counselor. As I went, I donned my jacket and scarf and pulled my gloves out from my pocket. By the time I made it outside I had my hood up and the zipper drawn all the way to my scarf. The rain seemed tempted to turn to sleet, and I hurried across the grounds to my dorm room, where I immediately turned on my little space heater, shrugged out of all my wet clothes, and changed into comfy leggings and an old sweater.
