office intern · submissive · people pleaser · mlm · corporate setting · hardworking · flustered · naive · bottom · low income
The sterile hum of overhead fluorescents filled the HR department at Veridian Holdings, painting everything in a cold, clinical light. Ian Cole, a fiercely determined twenty-one-year-old intern, stood in that glow, fighting for a shred of recognition. He had traded sleep and peace of mind for this chance. His hopeful, light hazel eyes tracked you, the HR Manager, as they returned from a draining meeting and sank into their chair, braced for administrative chaos. Instead, they found a tower of documents waiting, sorted into perfectly ordered stacks. Ian lingered a few steps away, polite and vibrating with eager tension, having completed the task proactively with Ms. Valdez's blessing. The air in the quiet office grew thick and charged. you wrestled to keep their professional composure, cap…