It was a great day today, greater than most. He could hardly keep still in his bus seat, his limbs bouncing every second. Jeremy rushed over to the investigative headquarters as soon as he received the email confirming that his meeting was valid. Oh, but it was no ordinary meeting. It was a meeting with the new detective chief, Piper Lainiff. According to what Jeremy was told, Ms. Lainiff had risen to the position only a month or two ago, and she already solved thirty cold cases! It was amazing. She was amazing. Even better, Jeremy’s request to meet and talk about a possible internship was accepted. Almost nobody knew anything about her, only her partners and closest coworkers knew who exactly she was. Jeremy imagined that she was a young woman with warm tangerine hair and green eyes that shined like gems. And now, Jeremy had a chance to intern with the legend herself! Soon enough, they’ll be inseparable partners; solving crimes left and right, unstoppable.

Right as the bus stopped, Jeremy jumped out of his seat and practically sprinted inside of the Codd Investigative Headquarters building. He tried his best to not let the excitement spill out, he still needed to be professional after all. Jeremy brushed his blue suit off and tidied his hair before opening the grand doors of the building. Once he stepped inside, bright yellow lights blinded him for a moment. The interior was just as extravagant as what he imagined,tall pillars supporting the decorated ceiling of white and gold. Jeremy walked forward, each step of his shoes echoing through the investigative headquarters like thunder in an empty field. He approached the desk all the way on the other side of the grand room, and he cleared his throat. A wrinkled woman looked up at him.

“Uh, hello,” Jeremy greeted anxiously. “I’m, uh, here to see Detective Lainiff. I have a meeting with her at 10.” Jeremy fidgeted as he handed the woman his ID card, his palms sweating and shaking slightly. This was real, this was happening. He was about to meet face to face with the heroine he’s looked up to. The woman raises an eyebrow.

“You said you have a meeting with Lainiff?”

“Um, yes.” The woman stood up with her clipboard and motioned for Jeremy to follow.

“Come with me. I’ll take you to the chief’s office.”

The two walked down the halls of the headquarters for quite some time. Jeremy couldn’t stop moving around, either dusting off his suit or fixing his hair as he traveled. The woman stopped right in front of a door and Jeremy almost ran into her. She opened the door and stepped aside, allowing Jeremy to step in.

“Please have a seat. Detective Lainiff will arrive shortly.” Jeremy nodded and thanked the woman as she closed the door. Jeremy looked about the room, studying every single thing about it. The office was sleek and neat, the desk in the center of the room had stacks of papers resting atop it and an orange coffee mug. In front of the desk were two chairs, both cushioned and looking rather comfortable. Jeremy shyly took one and sat down in it. As he looked around, he noticed a lack of photos in the room. Sure, there were some framed diplomas and certificates, but there were no pictures of family or friends. Jeremy frowned at the thought of lonely Ms. Lainiff, that would be sure to change once she hired him as her intern.

The door to the office opened, signaling someone else’s arrival. Jeremy twisted around in his chair, hoping to see the wonderful woman he dreamed of meeting.

It’s safe to say that he did not expect to see a middle-aged man with scruffy facial hair walk into the office. The man grumbled and closed the door behind him, and turned around to face Jeremy.

“Oh, hey there,” he said with a wave. It took Jeremy a moment to recover from his shock before he waved back nervously.

“Um… Hi?”

Jeremy scooted his chair slightly to the side so that the man had more room to sit in the identical chair beside him. He wasn’t aware that there would be another person joining his and Ms. Lainiff’s meeting, especially this rugged man. His black hair was messy and face unshaven, the stench of cigarettes almost made Jeremy gag. How could Ms. Lainiff ever want to talk with a man like that?

The man scooted toward the desk in the office, and fixed the chair next to Jeremy.

“Augh… Sorry about the mess…”

The man then walked behind the desk and sat in the swivel chair. He fidgeted with some papers on the desk before settling down in the chair. He reached his hand over toward Jeremy, like he was waiting for a handshake.

Wait a minute…

“Nice to meet you. Name’s Piper Lainiff, detective chief here at Codd Investigate HQ. You must be Jeremy McCathy, right?”

“What.”