The traffic light fairy was in a mood. To add to the fun, finding a parking spot in the garage was nearly impossible. I ended up on the top floor in a spot next to a pole, my least favorite place to be. But I made it, and, based on the text my boss had sent back, they weren’t too pissed about it—or at all, really. They said they hoped everything was okay, which it was. But that would also mean they probably wanted an explanation, and mine was,Oops, I messed up. Don’t know how. Can’t say I won’t do it again. Not ideal.
I had to take the elevator down from the parking garage to the lobby to go inside to catch the elevator up to my floor. A security measure, but every added second right now felt like carrying another brick.
Once inside, I ran straight to the elevator, arriving just as it was closing. I didn’t look to see if the other one was coming, just called out, “Please hold!”
A hand grabbed the side, and it wasn’t until I was inside the elevator that I realized it was Vaughn holding it open for me.
“Thank you,” I said, quickly staring at my toes. The only time we’d actually acknowledged each other was with a head nod at Chained when I was little. There was no decent segue to,Hi, I’m in your professional workspace now.
“Hey, I think I know you.”
Fuck. That was the last thing I wanted to hear from him. Although, him saying,Weren’t you wearing a onesie last time I saw you, would be worse and equally true.
“I don’t think we’ve met,” I mumbled, still staring at my shoes.
“No. I didn’t mean it like…what floor?” His hand hovered over the number pad.
“The…that one.” I pointed, unable to form a complete thought after nearly revealing I knew exactly where his office was.
He pressed both buttons and leaned against the side wall. “What I meant was, you’re Hudson’s friend, right?”
Had he noticed me before the little room? Would it matter if he had? At least no one else was in the elevator.
“Oh yeah, I am.” I relaxed slightly, looking up at him for the first time since discovering he was the one in here. Gods, he was just as gorgeous as I remembered him being. “He and I used to work at the coffee shop together. You’re Bridger’s friend.”
Bridger was Hudson’s daddy and a really cool guy. Nobody had to say he was a daddy to make that clear. He just had that vibe. Hudson told me that was what attracted him in the first place.
“They’re pretty great, aren’t they?”
The elevator stopped between floors five and six. It wasn’t an unusual experience here. The elevators were always problematic. Didn’t mean it didn’t suck.
Normally I got a little nervous when this happened. Nothing horrible like my coworker who only took the stairs after a ten-minute adventure in the elevator. Today was weird in that I was kind of glad because it gave me some time with him, time I now realized I wanted. I’d spent so much time avoiding him that I hadn’t allowed myself to go there. And now that I was here? There was no avoiding it.
Having a conversation in the elevator wasn’t going to lead to him knowing about our Secret Santa. For all he knew, this was the first time I’d ever paid much attention to him.
“Oh, I wouldn’t know. I’m just getting here,” I said.
He looked like he was about to ask me why, so I kept going and told him the situation.
“That’s the worst,” he said. I had a feeling it had never happened to him in all of his adult life.
“Yeah, especially since I’m even later now.”Stupid elevators.
“Would it be wrong of me to say I’m glad?”
I blinked up at him. Surely I heard him wrong. He couldn’t be happy over any of this, could he?
“Glad I’m late?”
“No, I’m glad that if I had to be stuck in an elevator, it was with you.”
For most people, those words would’ve sounded like cheesy pickup lines and nothing more. But with Vaughn, there was such sincerity to them.
“The night I was at Chained, I saw you,” he added.
“Yeah, I saw you, too.” And actively tried not to keep seeing him. He didn’t need me there staring at him and if I hadn’t kept myself in check, that’s exactly what I would’ve been doing.
“And I wanted to come over and introduce myself, but it wasn’t the right space to do that. But an elevator? That works.”
