Stephanie awoke to the sun peeking through the upstairs bedroom windows. She was glad to be back in her own bed. The conference in London had gone wonderfully. Jake had spoken on the political consequences of colonialism on the African continent, such as civil wars, the Rwanda genocide, and apartheid. Stephanie had spoken specifically about how education had suffered due to the consequences of the Colonial Era. The weekend had flown by, and before she knew it, they were back on the plane flying home. She hadn't even gotten to show Jake her newest sexy lingerie, but there would be another time for that. It had been a fun, but exhausting few days. Then Stephanie remembered what day it was.
"It's Monday, isn't it?" she groaned.
Jake stirred next to her.
"Yep," he said groggily.
"Shit."
Stephanie reluctantly got out bed and went to take a shower. Unlike her husband, who was now on summer break now that he was finished with faculty meetings, Stephanie still had to go to work. She finished showering, dried her hair, put on her makeup, and got dressed. She donned a dark blue pencil skirt, and a short-sleeved black button-up blouse. As she left the room, she looked over at Jake.
"I know you're on break, honey, but try to do something useful today."
"Don't worry, I won't," Jake mumbled.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Stephanie said.
Half an hour later, Stephanie entered her office and lit her computer. She was checking her work email when there was a knock on her office door. Stephanie looked up to see her boss, Eva Masters, standing in the doorway. Standing at 5'11", Eva was an intimidating woman. She had jet black hair, amber eyes, and a smooth caramel complexion. She had a reputation for being tough as nails, but, as Stephanie found out, she was very nice once you got to know her. Eva was from England, and Stephanie loved her accent.
"Morning, Eva," Stephanie said.
"How was London?" Eva asked.
"Wonderful, thank you. The conference was great. I really got a chance to spread the word about what we do."
"Wonderful," Eva smiled. "Speaking of spreading the word, I have someone to introduce you to."
Eva poked her head out the door and motioned. Stephanie watched as a lovely young women, college-aged, entered the room. Stephanie sized her up at around 5'5" and about 120 pounds. She had wavy reddish-brown hair down her shoulders and lovely light brown eyes. She wore a navy blue sleeveless jumpsuit.
"Stephanie, this is your new intern, Ella de Clerk," Eva said.
"Since when I did I get an intern?" Stephanie asked.
"Since this young lady was accepted into our program last week," Eva said. "This is what you get for missing staff meetings. I'll leave you two to get acquainted."
Eva left the room, closing the office door behind her. Stephanie walked over to Ella and took her hand.
"Nice to meet you," Stephanie said, gently shaking Ella's hand.
"Thank you," Ella said. "Nice to meet you, too."
Stephanie noticed an accent.
"Are you from South Africa?" Stephanie asked.
"How did you know?" Ella asked.
"I am good with placing accents," Stephanie smiled. "Have a seat."
Stephanie motioned to the two red plush chairs to the left of her desk. Ella sat, and Stephanie poured her some water from the pitcher on the small table next to the chairs.
"So, Ella, tell me about yourself."
"Well," Ella began. "I am originally from Johannesburg. My family lived there until I was thirteen, then my father was named ambassador to the United States, and we've lived in Washington, DC since then. I am currently a junior at George Washington University, majoring in economics."
"What made you decide to apply for an internship in the education division of UNICEF?" Stephanie asked.
"I like to study all aspects of economics," Ella answered. "And I think it will be interesting to see how economics affects different areas of life, such as education."
Stephanie could see why Ella had gotten the internship. She was polite, genuine, and intelligent. Stephanie saw something special in Ella. She wasn't like other interns she'd had over the years. Ella had drive and knew what she wanted. Stephanie knew that, given the chance, Ella would prove herself and could find her niche within UNICEF.
Stephanie stood and walked to her desk. She picked up a thin folder and handed it to Ella.
"As you probably already know, UNICEF builds schools throughout the world. We just finished finalizing the budget for two schools in Mozambique. We're looking at building an all-girls school in Burundi. We need government support and funding for building these schools. We also have to ensure that the nations where we build the schools have enough money to keep them running."
