Seductive Scientist Daddy by Scott Wylder

CHAPTER ONE

 

Lily

I bit my lip as I looked over the orientation information, again. I was starting my first internship and I was so nervous. It was just an unpaid one, sourced through a local non-profit in Knoxville. It would be my first experience in the professional world, unless babysitting and lawn-mowing counted.

The organization was called Clean Futures. It was an environmental science non-profit dedicated to helping preserve the ecosystem around Knoxville. It operated out of a small storefront at the edge of downtown Knoxville.

I entered the front door and walked into a little gift shop area with living jewelry, plants, and solar-powered garden decorations. The entire place smelled like fresh potting soil. The scent quickly comforted me.

A backdoor opened and Ellen, the woman who had first interviewed me, came out.

She smiled, "Hi, Lily. Welcome. As you can see, this is our gift shop area. It's also where we do educational presentations for class trips as families."

"This is fantastic," I said. "It looks so pretty."

"Thanks. We try our best. The gift shop and educational presentations are our main sources of income. Now and then, a local musician does a benefit concert for us, however, and we use that money to fund bigger projects. You'll be working back here."

She led me to the back, which was a small, clean office with two desks and a coffee and tea station in the corner. The entire operation was frugal and adorable. I felt a little flutter of excitement at the sight of it.

"In the back is our greenhouse where we do a lot of research about the local plants. We also have a freshwater oyster farm. We're researching the oysters’ ability to clean the water sustainably. If it's a success, we'll set up freshwater oyster farms in local lakes and rivers and we can sell the oysters to restaurants as another income stream."

I grinned. I knew all of this from researching the company online, but it was a lot of fun to hear in person. "Cool!" I said.

She smiled. "Well, I'll get you set up. You'll mostly be working on typing up scientific reports and data entry. Evan will be around later. He's currently at City Hall. We've been trying to get permission from the city to clean up Crystal Lake for forever, but it looks as if they might finally allow us up there."

Evan was the scientist who ran the entire non-profit. I couldn't help but admire him. He had done a lot to help the local environment. When he was my age, he’d lobbied the government on behalf of renewable energy and conservation. Now he was running his own non-profit. It was impressive. I wished I had the energy to do all of that.

Ellen got me set up at one of the computers and showed me how to use the system and what to do. "Feel free to help yourself to the coffee and tea. We also have granola bars in the drawer. I'm speaking at the local elementary school today, so I'll be back in a couple of hours. If you have a question, just text me, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

I smiled. "Thanks."

With Ellen gone, I got to work on the data entry. There was a lot that needed to be processed. When was the last time someone had updated it? Last semester with their last intern? However, the work was easy enough and it was kind of fun. I was so absorbed in it I didn't hear the front door open. When the office door opened, I jumped.

"Easy, I didn't mean to frighten you."

I looked up to see Evan looking back at me with an easy grin. Even though he was in his late thirties, he was still attractive. His messy brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a clean button-down shirt and pants, but his tanned skin betrayed him as a rugged outdoorsman and not someone who was stuck behind a desk all day. My stomach gave a slight flutter at the sight, but I pushed it aside.

I stood up and held out my hand. "My name is Lily," I said. "I'm your new intern."

He nodded. "I gathered as much. How is everything? Are you settled in okay? Do you need anything?"

"Uh yeah, I'm fine. Ellen was really good at explaining everything." My face felt warm. I definitely didn't need to be feeling like this right now, especially around my new boss.

He smiled. "Glad to hear it."

"Um." I bit my lip. It felt weird asking a question, but I was curious. "Did you get permission to clean Crystal Lake?"

"Ellen told you about that, huh?" He grinned. "I finally did."

"That's awesome!" I said. I sounded way too excited. I flushed. "Sorry. I grew up around here and that lake's been off-limits for as long as I can remember. So it would be really exciting to get it cleaned up."

He nodded. "Absolutely. The city was hesitant about us taking care of it because it's a safety hazard but I finally got them to see reason."

"Thank goodness."

He smiled softly. "I'll let you get back to work. I'm looking forward to working with you, Lily."

"You too," I said. I felt myself blush again. God, I needed to get a grip.