Billionaire Undone(3)

Ally rolled her eyes. In the four years that she’d worked for Travis, she hadn’t fetched him coffee for the last three years, but he never stopped trying. “I’d love some, Mr. Harrison,” she replied, not looking up from her computer screen. “Cream only, please,” she reminded him politely, like she did every single working day. Some days he cursed her; other days he would grudgingly get his own coffee but wouldn’t say a word. Ally wondered which way it would go today.

Travis hesitated at the door to his private office, turning around to glare at her. “Four damn years, and I still can’t get a cup of coffee in my own office?” he complained obstinately.

Ally swiveled in her chair and folded her hands on her desk. “Of course you can,” she answered reasonably. “I made a pot this morning.” She gestured to the small kitchen behind her. “And I only stopped fetching for you like an obedient dog three years ago.”

Maybe if you’d thanked me just once, I’d still be doing it. Jackass!

Travis straightened his already pristine tie as he moved across the room, entering the kitchen without another word. Ally cringed as she heard the slamming of glass on glass as Travis poured coffee. Really, maybe she shouldn’t have stopped getting his coffee for him years ago; his awkward skills in the kitchen had cost Harrison a lot of money in glassware replacements. But she’d made a stand, refusing to do his bidding like a personal servant because that was exactly how he’d treated her. She worked her butt off to do good work for Travis Harrison as a secretary and assistant, hoping that maybe she could use her work experience at Harrison to go back for her MBA, but she drew the line at doing everything he demanded now. Ally had learned a long time ago that if she gave in to Travis just a little, he’d push her to the limit, continue to treat her like a personal servant. And she had way too many other responsibilities now at Harrison, and more important duties than fetching his damn coffee. So she’d stopped fetching for him altogether unless it was related to business and not a personal need, rather than drive herself crazy trying to please him. There was no pleasing Travis Harrison, and the words “please” and “thank you” simply didn’t exist in his vocabulary, even when dealing with his peers. Just the fact that she still had her job was testament to her value here at Harrison Corporation, which she supposed was the only validation she was ever going to receive. She may not have applied to an MBA program, but she’d learned enough in her undergrad work to know exactly how to make herself nearly indispensable to Travis, and she’d done it in a year. And the moment she realized just how valuable she was as an employee, she’d stopped taking a lot of his crap.

Travis exited the kitchen, slamming a mug on her desk as he passed. “You can add your own damn cream,” he said abruptly, moving toward his personal office with his own coffee as he added, “I’ll need—”

“Your schedule for the day is on your computer, along with the information you requested yesterday,” she finished for him.

“And I have a meeting—”

“With Jason Sutherland? I know. It’s already on your schedule. He called me.” He’s a considerate billionaire. Ally smiled as she picked up her mug of coffee and the two packets of creamer Travis had left on her desk. He’d even added a stir stick. Obviously he was playing nice today…for now. Lately, he’d been doing that more and more often. Not to say that he was exactly pleasant. Today, he was obviously in a mellow mood, which meant he was merely hard to get along with. No doubt, he’d eventually show his “bastard” side. He always did.

“Sutherland called you?” Travis asked irritably.

“This morning before you got in.” Ally looked directly at Travis, something that was harder to do when both of them were standing. He was so tall, she was usually staring at his massive chest and shoulders, and she wore the highest heels she could tolerate to bring her up a little taller. Any advantage she could get when dealing with him was another weapon in her arsenal.

His appearance was impeccable and flawless as usual. Travis’s twin, Kade, liked to tease Travis about his dark, boring suits, but nobody could fill out a designer suit quite the way Travis Harrison did. Sure, the immaculate clothing he wore was always dark, just like him. But the dark gray suit he was wearing today fit to perfection, accentuating broad shoulders and covering what Ally already knew—from seeing him in more casual attire or without his suit jacket—was a majorly ripped physique. He didn’t have one single raven-colored hair out of place, and his dark, chocolate eyes were way too sharp for her comfort.