Not Again

At the Ashford group, Travis walked into the building, dressed in a crisp black suit and tie, which perfectly complemented his body.

His wavy black hair cascaded over his left eye as his deep dark eyes scanned the room.

"Good morning, Mr. Ashford." The receptionist greeted Travis, standing up as soon as she saw him.

Travis gave a curt nod, not bothering to look in her direction as he walked down towards the flight of elevators lining the wall at the far end of the reception.

"Mr. Ashford requested that you see him first thing this morning." Alex stated as they walked into the elevator.

He was scrolling through the tablet in his hands and didn't see Travis stop. He was mere inches from bumping into his broad, hard back.

"God, Travis!" Alex exclaimed under his breath as he walked around him.

"I have more important things to get to right now." Travis hissed as he turned to face the closing elevator door.

Just before the elevator closed, they heard, "Hold the doors!"

"Hmm, I think that was…" Alex started to say something just as Travis reached out to the buttons and opened the door again.

As the elevator doors opened, they saw a smiling Michael Ashford, standing there with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Oh, I thought you were avoiding me." Michael said as he stepped into the elevator.

Travis remained silent as he moved to the right wall, away from Michael, who stood on the left. Alex stood behind them, surprised that Travis had opened the doors for Michael.

"How was your trip? I heard you made a lot of headway." Michael said, still staring straight at the door.

"Hmm, hmm," Travis grunted, not dignifying him with words.

"Let's hope it all does not go to waste. You know how Father hates operation costs that have no return on investment." Michael said, shrugging.

Travis remained mute, looking visibly unbothered by Michael's words.

The smile on Michael's face vanished as he turned to look at Travis, who had not so much as glanced at him since he stepped into the elevator.

"You like to act all strong and hard, like you're strong, but we both know that's a lie." Michael said in irritation.

Travis turned slowly to him, putting his right hand in his pant pocket as he pointed his left hand at Michael.

"Now there is the Michael I know." Travis said, his lips curling up at the side as he continued, "You don't have to pretend that you care, Michael; we have gone past that stage, you know. It's not like we are kids anymore."

"F*ck you Travis," Michael exploded.

"Now there he is! Finally." Travis stated, his face going hard as stone.

"Just wait, I'm going to have the last say when all these become mine. You can put up a fight all you want, but we both know that Father is never going to be on your side." Michael stated, his voice hard with anger.

"Funny, I say a few words, and the next thing you do is explode and run behind Dad's legs." Travis said, taking a step towards him.

"Travis," Alex called in caution.

"If you've got the b*lls to face me, do it and stop using Dad as your f*cking shield, mama's boy!" Travis snapped.

The tension in the elevator was thick to the point that you could almost hold it.

Suddenly the doors to the elevator opened, and Alex quickly said, "Oh, look, it's your stop, Michael," trying to douse the tension.

"Watch your back, Travis," Michael said, walking past Travis and out the elevator.

As the doors closed again, Travis sighed, closed his eyes for a few seconds, and rubbed his forehead.

"Let's head straight to Father's office." Travis muttered under his breath.

"Are you sure? I think you should…" Alex tried to convince him.

"Yes, I am." Travis cut him off as he opened his eyes and added, "Let's get all awkward meetings out of the way this morning."

Alex nodded and pressed the button for the tenth floor of the building and kept the rest of the argument to himself.

A few seconds later, they walked out of the elevator into the wide lobby.

"Good morning, Travis. Fancy seeing you here at this time." Gladys said, smiling as soon as she saw him.

"It's only your pretty face that has me coming here all the time." Travis said, winking at her.

Gone was the hardened expression on his face. He smiled as he walked up to Gladys and kissed her hand.

"He doesn't look stable to me." Gladys said, pulling down Travis's eyelid to inspect him like a doctor.

Travis laughed, the first real laughter Alex has heard from him since the night before. Gladys has been with the company for years, right from when Travis was still a boy.

"I love you too." Travis said, smiling as he pulled her into a hug.

Alex smiled as he looked at them; seeing the ease on Travis's face made him wish Gladys was working directly with him.

"Are you sure you don't want to change your mind and come work as my secretary?" Travis said, pulling away from her.

Gladys touched his chin, smiling brightly at him as she said, "Naah, I'm okay here."

"Mum really had an eye for picking the best secretary." Travis said.

"God rest her soul, and now I work for your father." Gladys said, tapping his shoulder.

Travis nodded, looked at the door to his father's office, and instantly his shoulders went right.

Gladys tapped his shoulder and smiled softly as fine lines deepened around her eyes.

"He is waiting for you." Gladys said.

"I'll be right back." Travis said over his shoulder to Alex before walking into the room.

"How is he?" Gladys asked Alex.

"Fine, he had a bit of a rough start to his day with Michael, but he is fine." Alex responded.

Gladys nodded and sat down, sighing in relief. Travis had grown up to be a good man if only he and his father…

At that moment, they heard a piercing sound of something shattering from the closed door, stopping Gladys in her thought.

"Oh God, not again." Gladys muttered as she hurried towards the door, Alex right behind her.