Big Bad Wolf Chapter 11: Coffee Break

Unlike most afternoons, the break room was strangely empty when Harper walked inside to fix herself a cup of coffee after what she just witnessed inside Alex’s office for the second time that week.

“Dammit!” She threw her head back in exasperation.

The coffee machine prattled and trickled slower. She annoyingly whined why things at the office were suddenly not working properly that day. First, the elevator, and now, the coffee machine.

Her heart was still pounding loudly in her chest after leaving Alex’s office. And as she adjusted the glasses on her nose, she had wished it was broke so she wouldn’t have a clearer image of Mira on her knees, playing with Alex’s obvious erection under his boxers with her mouth.

Harper shut her eyes closed. First was Alex’ naked ass, now his bulging manhood. What’s next?

She groaned.

“Come on! Hurry up!” she complained and pressed the button on the machine a few times, only to lean over the countertop and bury her face in her hands.

“I’ve never seen you that desperate for coffee,” she heard a voice coming from the direction of the door. She gasped and looked up from her hands.

Lucas grinned at her door. She inhaled a bit.

“You look tired.”

“I am tired, and this damn coffee machine won’t cooperate,” she spoke and adjusted her glasses, which were sliding down her nose.

Lucas walked over to the machine in question. “Let me try this old trick.” He adjusted the pot. And when the handle was to the side, he tapped the lid a couple of times.

“Damn machine,” Harper whispered loudly when it instantly started filtering.

“So, what happened?”

“What do you mean?” She adjusted her glasses once again, positioning it higher up her nose.

Lucas smiled. “I know you, Harper. Your ponytail doesn’t look right. You keep on adjusting your glasses. You’re very impatient. Need I go one?”

Once the coffee machine had stopped, Harper took two disposable cups from the dispenser. She grabbed the handle of the pot and poured coffee into the cups. “I just can’t wait to leave this hellhole.”

“Hellhole? That’s quite a harsh word to describe a multibillion-dollar company, don’t you think?” Lucas said.

Harper set the pot back and turned back to the counter. She lifted the cup to her nose and inhaled the strong scent of black coffee. Multibillion-dollar doesn’t guarantee a perfect and safe environment, Lucas.”

Lucas leaned back against the counter, looking utterly curious now. “Is there something I should know, Harper?” He paused. “Have you been harassed?” he whispered, his concern was very much evident in his voice.

Eyebrow raised, Harper laughed neatly and said, “Does seeing your CEO humping someone on his desk count as harassment?”

Lucas almost choked on his own saliva. “What the―what are you talking about?” He stared at her. “Did you really?”

Harper rubbed her temples. “And just this afternoon, I’m perfectly sure Mira was about to perform fellatio on him.” She inhaled the smell of coffee one more time and took a sip.

“What?!” An utter shock was written all over Lucas’ face.

“Ah-huh.” Harper nodded. “I just don’t like working for someone who thinks they can do whatever the hell they want, you know? He thinks he’s above the rules in this company.”

“And this is the reason why you want to leave?”

“Partly. I just can’t deal with the stress anymore brought about by his incompetence. I mean, it’s so obvious that he doesn’t do anything, but he still gets to sit in his high chair and be smug and prick.”

“Oh, Harper.”

“Remember what I told you back in college? I actually wanted to work for a company that I’d really be proud of; work for the kind of people that I could actually look up to, and encourage me to excel.” Harper sighed and took another sip of her coffee. Her brows furrowed at the lukewarm coffee that was left neglected as she continued finally confide in her boss.

Lucas smiled, and it suddenly didn’t matter that Harper was really upset because she immediately noticed how his smile made him look more genial as his brown eyes shone.

“How do you think can I work for someone who doesn’t hesitate to have phone sex even when a live human being is standing so close?” she asked.

Lucas sipped at his coffee and consciously forced his limbs to relax. “Are you telling me he tried to―”

“Yes!”

“When? With whom?”

“I was stuck in the elevator with him this afternoon. And after seeing Mira in his office, I’m absolutely sure it was her he was talking to. That guy is just unbelievable, Lucas.” Harper shook her head. “I just can’t work for someone like that anymore.”

“And what did he tell you when you walked in on him and Mira?”

“He said he’d make sure no company would hire me if I’d tell a single soul about what I saw.” And after hearing her said it, she frowned at the sudden realization of what she just did. “Please don’t tell him that I told you.”

Lucas nodded. “Besides being your boss, Harper, I’m your friend too. And I am so sorry that you had to go through all that. Alex is a fucking brat, that I can say. And he just loves women that he’d rather work them than do actual work. That’s why Collette’s been up his ass.”

“So you understand now where I’m coming from, Lucas. I just can’t stay here anymore. I can’t stand him. His smug face. His arrogance. He's so entitled I can’t stomach it anymore. And it even pisses me off when people are so okay with it because he’s the CEO and son of the chairman of the board. I don’t care that more than half of the female population in this company worships him, Lucas. I don’t care that he’s absurdly handsome, and his sex appeal may be through the roof. He’s a philanderer, a certified asshole, self-important jerk. He pisses me off. I’m so sorry. I swear to you I just can’t help it.” Harper scoffed.

Lucas nodded thoughtfully. “I’m so sorry that you feel this way, Harper. I never really thought you hate that guy so much. Like with every fiber of your being. And the funny thing is, you really know him well too.” He stared again at her for a moment before offering her a sympathetic smile while reaching over to give her a soft pat on the shoulder. “And I am really glad that you’re not like those women, Harper. I really am.”

Harper took a few sips at her coffee and set the cup on the table. She didn’t really know what to respond to that. If only Lucas knew how much what he said meant to her. Her heart was already doing a somersault.

And all those nights she had dreamed about him. Suddenly, her latest dream with Alex crossed her mind. She closed her eyes as if to shake it off her. She had told herself many times that the dream was obviously caused by the mounting stress she felt, and there was no other reason behind it.

But how could her dream be so opposite of what she truly felt and thought about Alex?

“…And thank you for telling me. I really hope that it has somehow made you feel better, calmer, and lighter.” Lucas’ voice interrupted her quick thought on her dream of Alex.

Then she thought about what Lucas had said and noticed that she had indeed felt better, calmer, and lighter now that she had told someone. Well, not just someone but Lucas, the only person she really trusted at the office. And the only real reason she stayed there for as long as she could.