Hi Guys and Welcome back to Business Intern. So, my exams are finally over, and everything is done, so I have 10 days of bliss! I say this, but my Christmas break ended a week ago, so you know... I'm just being lazy. Uni is so hard and idk how I'm coping. I'm going to stop being sarcastic now, and carry on with the story.
Carlos POV:
When Monday finally arrived, I was buzzing with anticipation, and I think my facial expression showed as much. As usual, I got up, dresses and showered before making my way downstairs. This was another of those rare mornings where my mum would still be in the house, although the soon came to regret it. "Morning Sweetie. You look unusually happy today" was her opening sentence, and if I wasn't in such a good mood, I probably would have taken it to heart.
"I'm just so excited for today! I finally in programming! I get to see inside the network of ATOS properly, and see how all the devices are coded. Its AuraTech's biggest secret!" I raved back, but it didn't stop there. For the entirety of breakfast I talked about programming, my mum blindly nodding along to everything I was saying. I didn't notice Ben arrive, and it was only due to my mother ushering me out of the house that I did.
"Oh look, Ben's here. Time to go, love you sweetie" were her exactly words as the front door closed behind me. Again, if I wasn't in such a good mood, I probably would have been offended. Ben walked up to me, and placed a small kiss on my forehead, before we both got into the car, and made our way to work. The whole car journey, I repeated everything I had told my mother to Ben, and he gave me the same response, blind nodding. He did however contribute to some parts of my rave, but it was mostly me spouting nonsense.
The usual routine for a new week began. I arrived at the front desk, being met by the 'new receptionist' as I call him. I still hadn't caught his name. That is slightly bad, as it has been two weeks, but I also had a lot going on. "Morning Ben, Carlos" the receptionist said, and this time I managed to catch his name tag 'Xander'. "Carlos, here is the information for what you're doing this week. Doug said he will be in his office when you arrive, so just walk right in. Ben, someone has phone in, saying they are sick, and there has also been a couple of phone calls from a few of the company's board. They've left a message for you. Shall I forward it to your office" Xander said, handing me the folder, and waiting for Ben to give a reply.
"Nah, I'll take it here. Carlos, why don't you head up, and I'll maybe see you at lunch ok?" he said, and I nodded. Just as I stepped into the lift, I heard Ben shout "Oh, and good luck. I love you" which caused me to blush slightly.
The ride up to floor 40 was probably the longest lift ride in the world, but that could have just been me. When the doors finally opened, I practically sprinted to Doug's office, excited to begin the day, but when I arrived at the door, I calmed myself and tried to act as casual as possible. I opened the door, seeing Doug sat behind his desk, typing furiously into his laptop, while trying to sip a cup of coffee. He was completely engrossed in what he was doing, and it wasn't until I cleared my throat, that he jumped and noticed me.
"Oh god, Carlos you scared the life out of me" he joked, gesturing to the seat in front of him, which I so graciously took. "Ok, so welcome to programming. As I said on the tour, this week, you'll be shown the inner workings of the ATOS software, and get you familiar with it, and then from about mid-day Wednesday, you and a small group with start to program some of the basic functions on the watch. Sound good?" he said, the smile growing on my face every moment he spoke. When he finished, I just nodded as it was the only thing I could do without either jumping about or crying in exciting. "Ok, follow me, and I'll show you to your work space" he said, getting up from his desk, and leading the way.
My work space for the week was perfect. It has a beauty view of the city, but it wasn't so direct that I would get distracted from my work. The desk itself had two screens, with a tower computer, the program reloaded onto it. I took the seat at the desk, whilst Doug leaned over me. "Ok, so I've reloaded a few tutorial session on for you. I know it's dull, but for today, you're just gonna have to follow them, to try and grab some of the basics. Tomorrow, I'll spend the day with you, and I'll take you through some of the more advanced stuff. By Wednesday, you'll have all the information you need to start coding the watch!" Doug said, as I reviewed the screen. By the looks of it, it was a training program designed especially for their ATOS software, so it would be different to some of the stuff I was used to.
"Thanks Doug. I'll let you know if I get stuck" I replied, but to be perfectly honestly, I wasn't looking forwards to this. I was expecting programming, not a training session, but I did need to learn the basics of their system before I could toy with it. "Ok, let's get to work" I said to myself, as I loaded the first session.
Three hours later, and lunch had finally arrived. I'd managed to get through the training sessions brilliantly so far, and by the looks of it, I had completed most of the list. At first I was quite sceptical about doing them, but now I was loving it. It was nice to be learning something new, but at the same time it was relaxing, as some of the stuff was familiar to me. The three hours passed relatively quickly, and I didn't notice they had until Ben came up to me. "Hey C, wanna go grab some lunch?" he asked, startling me, and drawing my attention away from the screen.
"Wait, its lunch already?" I responded, checking my watch to see it was 1:30pm. "God, I've been so engrossed in the programming I didn't notice." I chuckled, as I saved my progress and locking the computer. We made our way down to the cafeteria in the business, Ben and I both grabbing a heated cheese and ham toasty. I got myself a coffee, while Ben grabbed himself a tea, and I started my little talk. "It's funny. Doug got me doing 'if' and 'then' statements at first. I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty boring, but now I'm going some more advanced stuff, and it's really enjoyable" I raved once again to Ben, with him giving the same reaction as earlier. I probably continued for about 5 minutes, before I asked him about his day.
"Yeah, it wasn't bad. Just been looking at the business' finances, and seeing how we can cut down on them. You know, the basic stuff. Had to deal with a couple angry phone calls from some investors, but I shot them down quick." He replied, but I could sense the sadness in his voice.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked, taking his hand into my own.
"It's just… I gets me down sometimes. I mean, I'm trying my best with this business, and I thought it was going well. But then the investors phoned today asking why there weren't getting as much money as they were, and the phone calls from the board were asking similar questions. I suppose the release of the AuraBox wasn't what we expected, and with the predictions we made, I suppose they're annoyed. But that's not my fault you know? I'm just fed up of taking the blame for it." He finally finished, sipping from his cup as he looked around the cafeteria. I squeezed his hand slightly, causing him to turning his attention to me, and tried to behind my pep talk.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I mean, you run the biggest company in the entire country. So what if the business isn't making as much money as it was, and who are they to judge? At the end of the day Ben, you're doing such an amazing job, and you've only been in it what? A few months" I said, and he chuckled nodding his head. "So screw them, and just do what makes you happy." I finally finished, and I could see his was looking into my eyes.
"Thank you Carlos, that means a lot." He said, squeezing my hand in his, causing me to chuckle.
"It's fine. And if you ever need another pep talk, just let me know, and I'll be straight up to your office. I'm here for you Ben" I replied, with a sweet smile, which he returned. We probably sat there for another half an hour, before deciding we should get back to work. Ben dropped me off at my desk, placing a small kiss on my lips before he headed off for rest of the shift. I hated seeing Ben like that. He was always so happy and bubbly, that it pained me to see him so sad. He gave me a small smile, and a wave, before the lift doors closed in front of him, and I continued with my work. Looking at the time, it was 2:15pm, so I only had a few hours left before my internship for the day ended. I continued on with Doug's training programs, although to be honest, I'd managed to get through most of them this morning. Looking at the list, I had about 6 more to complete before I was done, so I cracked on.
Finishing those 6 tasks within an hour and a half, I decided to load up another programming software on the computer, and have a bit of a toy around. I mean, there was no harm and I needed the practise. I started to write a small amount of code, using another type of code, and decided to start to type up a small game. It wasn't much, just a 2D platformer, but it helped me refine some of my skills. It was only when Ben approached again that I realised what time it was, and chuckled to myself. "Hey, ready to go?" he asked, and I nodded.
"Yeah, just give me a sec" I replied, plugging my memory stick into the computer tower.
"Woah, you're not stealing secrets are you?" he joked, and I laughed.
"Only a few small ones. But look at this, I programmed it, and wanted to continue it at home" I chuckled back, showing him the progress of the game. He nodded, and before long we were out of there. Ben spent the night with me at the De Vil residence, with him and I cooking a meal for my mum, as a thank you for all the times Ben stayed round. We then went upstairs, Ben and I snuggling together sticking on a cheesy rom-com film as I snuggled into my arms.
The next day at work proceeded similarly to the day before, the only main difference was that I finally got my hands on the proper ATOS software. Doug sat with me the whole day, and he started to show me some of the more complex layers of the software, letting into a few company secrets as he did so, which was nice. I finally got to toy with one of their test phones, with Doug helping me write the code that made the phone function. It was very different from the rest of the programming I was doing, so no wonder the company kept it secret. To be honest, I felt kind of honoured that they trusted me with this information, and I finally started to feel like part of the company.
Ben and I spent lunch together again, and it once again consisted of me raving to Ben about what I was doing. This time, he was generally curious, asking if I liked the company's secrets which I agreed to, and he chuckled. However, it also brought what I thought would be one of the sadder moments of the day. He revealed to me that he had to stay late that night, as he was emailed through a rather large file that he had to complete. He kept apologising, but I told him it was fine, and that I would make my own way home. The rest of the day was spent with Doug, continuing my practise on the test phone, and before long 5:00pm hit and my day was over.
I was overjoyed with myself, finally grasping the ATOS code, and I knew with the help of Doug tomorrow, we could start to program the watch itself. I said my goodbyes, and made my way out of the building, as I usual would. When I stepped outside, I was instantly greeted with the cold air, and the darkness of the sky. Today it was overcast anyway, but with night slowly descending, the city looked extra bleak. I knew my mum was attending some sort of formal dinner, so she was unable to pick me up, meaning I would unfortunately have to get the bus home. Ben offered me the money, but I refused, joking that I was no good if I couldn't pay for my own bus ticket.
As I began to walk away from the building, I felt like I was being constantly watched. But every time I looked around, no one was there. I decided to pick up the pace a little bit, focusing my attention on the ground, but I didn't get too far before I accidently ran into someone, and fell to the ground. "Oh god, I'm so sorry" I said, looking up at the shadowy figure above me. There was something about it, its outline looking familiar, but when it spoke up, my brain finally clicked.
"Don't worry about it Fag" he said, and I knew the voice instantly. James. I was quick to pull myself from the floor, and apologise again, before turning fast, and try to make my way back to the building. I didn't get very far however, as I felt him grab my wrist, effectively stopping me from moving. "Hey, where are you going?" he asked, pulling me back, and essentially into his chest, my face now resting on it.
"James let me go" I said, as I tried to pull away, but he hold on me was tight.
"What, I just wanted to catch up with you. So, you got yourself a fancy little internship at AuraTech huh? That must be good. You know, I applied for that internship as well, but got rejected. I wasn't mad about it, until I saw a picture of you and the boss holding hands. Then I realised that I was beaten by a little fag, and that got me real angry" he said, essentially squeezing me, so tightly that I could breathe. "Luckily, I got an internship at Gaston Enterprises. You see Carlos, Gaston promised me that if I could get AuraTech's secret, that he would offer me a job right there and then. And luckily for me, here you are." James finished, and without looking at him, I knew an evil smirk had grown on his face.
He slowly pulled out of the hug, and stared down at me, speaking once again, this time very slowly but I could hear the anger in his voice. "So, why don't you tell me AuraTech's little secrets, and I promise you won't get hurt" At this point, he still had a strong grasp on my waist, so I knew I couldn't run from him, but there was no way in hell, I was giving up the secrets.
"I don't…" was all I managed to say, before I felt a powerful force hit my stomach, winding me causing me to fall to the floor.
"Let's try again. Tell me the secrets" he said, as I clutched my stomach in pain.
"I promise I don't…" I managed to breathe out, before I felt his foot slam into my stomach, adding to the pain I felt before.
"Come on De Vil. Don't lie to me. I know you're playing boy toy to the boss, so he must have told you something right?" he taunted, causing me to try to push myself from the floor. I pushed up onto my hands, but before I could find my footing, his leg swiped my arms from under me, causing me to face plant the floor, the full force of my body landing on my right wrist. "You know I hate doing this De Vil" he said in a sarcastic tone, as I received another kick to my gut. "So just tell me something juicy, anything" he said, but all I could do was scream. I wasn't too far from the building, so I was hoping that at least the receptionist would hear me. He was still working when I felt, so I just hoped and prayed that he hadn't left yet.
"HELP ME. SOMEONE PLEASE H…" I managed to scream out, before receiving a kick to the jaw, very effectively shutting me up.
"Oh, you done it now De Vil" he said, as I saw him raise his leg above me. From the position I was in, it looked like he was going to stomp me, but before he could drop his leg, I heard someone else shouting.
"Hey, get away from him" the voice echoed, causing James to run, without any second thought. "Oh my god Carlos. What happened?" I heard the voice say, and before long I was lifted to my feet, seeing Xander supporting me.
"Thank you" I managed to squeeze out, as I placed one arm around his neck, while he placed one around my waist, and he helped me back into the building, and onto one of the chairs in reception.
"Just hold tight, I'm going to ring Ben" he said, before picking up the phone. Sitting in the chair made me feel comforted, and I started to feel very sleepy, and tired. Before long, I was engulfed my dark, but it was because I fell unconscious due to all the pain my body was experiencing.
I was very rudely awoken by the furious shaking of my body, and the repeated shouting of my name. "Carlos! Carlos, buddy, please wake up. Please, please wake up" was the shouted I was greeted with, Ben's voice being the one I recognised.
"So, were only buddies now huh?" I replied, my tone very groggy, and hoarse.
"Oh thank god you're awake" he replied, wrapping his arms around my body. "Are you ok? What happened? Xander said he heard shouting coming from outside, and when he walked out, he saw someone about to stomp onto you. As soon as he shouted, he said they ran away. Did you see who it was?" Ben bombarded me with questions, making my head go slightly dizzy. Well, it could have been the questions, but it also could have been the painful headache I was experiencing.
"I'm a little sore, but I'll be ok" I replied, and he frowned and shook his head.
"Well, I've called an ambulance, and they'll be here any minute to check over you. Did you see who it was?" he asked again, and my face paled, the memory still raw in my mind. For some reason, I had to debate this decision. 'If I told Ben, he could get James arrested, and I would never have to deal with him again. However, if James was arrested, who's to say his friends couldn't come and beat me up. I mean, if he could inflict all this damage, then what could a group of people do? But after this, surely Ben would be extra protective, so I would be alright' I debated, weighing up the decisions. I slowly nodded my head, but avoided all eye contact with Ben, frightened by his response when I told him.
"It was…" I began, but I couldn't muster enough courage to say the name. I voice dried up as soon as I approached the word, and my sobs only got worse.
"It's ok C. Just breathe, and take your time" Ben replied, pulling me tighter into the hug, so my chin rested on his shoulder.
"J-James" I managed to whisper into his ear, the word itself very disjointed.
"James? Your old bully?" he replied, as I nodded into him. "Thank you C. I'll be sure to take care of it" was all he said, before I heard the doors to the front of the building open, and two new people rush in, and straight over to me.
"It's Carlos right?" one of the paramedics beside me said, and I nodded. "Ok, Carlos. Is it alright if you come with us? We need to get you to the hospital to run a few tests ok" the paramedic continued, and I nodded once again. I looked over to Ben, and he nodded, accompanying me to the hospital in the back of the ambulance, but once we arrived, we were separated with him being told to wait in the waiting room.
So there we are. Poor Baby Carlos was set to have such a good week, and that's now been ruined by James. Who saw it coming? I hope this chapter satisfies the needs for some drama in the story, as up to this point it has been kinda mushy, lovely stuff.
Anyway, thanks to White Collar Black Wolf for the review on the last chapter, and until Monday for chapter 3 for Water Under the Bridge,
TTFN :D