Page 22 of Secret Revenge

Shit shit shit shit.

What if Travis realized something was up, after I’d personally told him I wouldn’t work for him?

Worse—what if he asked me to dinner again?

I edged closer to the crowd to hear what Jessica was saying as she led us into a large conference room with glass walls at the far end of the plush hallway.

Through the glass, I spotted two men waiting inside the room, and recognized them as Brendan and Jackson, Travis’ younger brothers. I exhaled in relief, thankful that I wouldn't have to face the challenge of encountering Travis again that day.. Part of me was disappointed by his absence, but that was the part I was doing my best to lock away in a box deep, deep in my subconscious.

I scolded myself quietly, then decided to listen more attentively as we entered the conference room and took our seats. Jackson welcomed us warmly, thanking us for honoring the invitation by showing up. He had a deep voice and a courteous tone like his brother, and just like that I was lost in fantasizing about Travis again. About his wicked smirk, and his strong hands…

Oh boy. This could become a real problem.

To keep myself on task I texted Michael, giving him updates on how things were going so far.

Excited murmurs erupted through the room, causing me to look up from my phone. And almost fell out of my chair.

Travis was standing near the door of the conference room, handsome and commanding.

I bowed my head awkwardly, trying to hide my face. Travis politely greeted the journalists one by one, so I realized he’dsee me eventually. I felt myself blushing, terror and excitement mingling into a surprisingly pleasant feeling in my gut..

I hated that I liked this.

Travis worked his way through the crowd and finally spotted me. He smiled and approached me. I tried my best to hide the fact that I was simultaneously horny and panicking.

Travis’s smile widened and took on just a hint of wickedness. I had expected him to be angry or suspicious, but it looked to me like his head was exactly where mine was..

Shit.

His lips curled up slightly into a knowing smile and I hoped no one else noticed the clear recognition on his face.

“Hello,” he said, extending a hand for a shake. “I’d love to welcome you to the company. Please, don’t hesitate to ask me for anything you need. Anything at all.” His eyes glittered.

A tingling sensation spread through my body when Travis took my hand and spoke to me in his rumbling voice.

“Will do,” I replied as calmly as I could.

Travis looked like he wanted me to say more, but I stayed as quiet as the others. He took a long look at me before turning around and facing everyone else. “I wish all you journalists the best with your work at Ross Industries.” He turned, waved and left the conference room.

I watched him leave. It felt as if my heart had stopped beating for a bit, only functioning again after Travis left the room.

Well. Now we won’t have to meet them again, right?Surely the billionaires themselves wouldn’t be hanging around checking our work. But Travis did read his own emails…

I snapped out of my thought to find Jessica addressing the group. She explained Travis’ instructions to us as we took down notes.

Our job was simple. We were to show up at the company for the next few weeks and observe the operations, while payingattention to how we were treated as well as the treatment of the staff. We would also have privileged access to company files that showed what was going on internally.

At the end of the exercise, we would write individual and independent reports based off our investigations. The resulting articles should be as sincere or as scathing as they need to be, so long as it was the truth.

That’s what Jessica said, anyway.

The purpose of the whole exercise was for us to assess the work culture of the company, how the company was run, and the treatment of the employees and ourselves. We were supposed to see if the day-to-day realities and the budget sheets we were given access to matched the shiny image projected by the Ross brothers in their own PR campaigns.

Despite how nice Jessica’s words sounded, I believed the entire exercise was an act for the media. I doubted the files they gave us access to would tell the whole truth—but that was okay. Once I got Michael into the system, he could help with that.

After the introduction and office tour, I was both tired and charged up. I walked out of the building with the other journalists. but I was waved to the side by a security officer. He informed me that my presence was required immediately.

I followed him, my heart pounding as I scanned for exits.