Allie Brooks was only five minutes late, but she ended up in the CEO's office, facing his cold stare.
He gave her a full hour of hell.
When she finally stepped out, her cheeks were red, her eyes glossy and swollen, as if she'd been crushed.
She looked like she'd been crying.
Her coworkers at the office glanced at her with pity.
Allie was just an intern, assigned the usual grunt work—filing, proofreading reports, even arranging meeting schedules.
But for some reason, the CEO, Liam Hart, seemed to have it out for her.
Every chance he got, he'd find a reason to summon her, to tear her down, to make her feel small.
And every single time, Allie walked out of his office looking just like this.
Allie collapsed into her chair, drained.
Across the desk, her fellow intern, Jess, rolled over in her chair, shooting her a sympathetic look. "Liam's too much.
He's acting like he owns your life."
Jess huffed, shaking her head. "So, spill. Did you do something to piss him off? The first thing he did after getting back from that conference was call you in."
Allie tried to shake the image of Liam's cold, unyielding gaze from her mind, but his words still echoed.
"You need to be better, Allie. A lot better."
She clenched her jaw. Just one more week. Just one week until her internship ended.
Jess gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze. "Tonight's the department dinner, remember? We'll all be there to back you up. You coming?"
Allie's head snapped up. "Do I have to?"
Jess leaned in, whispering, "Yeah. Rachel's buying. She's got connections with the higher-ups, so pretty much everyone will be there. It's a free meal, at least."
Rachel Hillman. The star intern. Rumor had it, her family had ties to the company's board.
Allie sighed, trying to push away her dread. After Liam's remarks today, she was sure he'd dismiss her right after work.
The hours dragged on. When evening finally rolled around, she decided to go with Jess. Anything to avoid heading straight home to think about today's humiliation.
At the dinner, Allie tried to blend in, but it was useless.
The questions started coming from every corner.
"So, what did you do to tick off Mr. Hart?"
"Does he have it out for you or something?"
Allie shrugged, keeping her expression blank. "I honestly don't know."
Midway through the evening, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen.
It was him.
Her stomach tightened as she answered. His voice, low and commanding, spilled through the line.
"Where are you?"