Page 10 of Matteo

So I smile.

This day is turning out to be not so bad after all.

I look away, now feeling the sting of her glare on me.

The elevator suddenly lurches and the lights flicker.

What the fuck?

The woman gasps, losing her balance, and I instinctively reach out to steady her, but she flattens herself against the wall. Eyes closed. Face tense.

I look around, wondering what the hell happened, but she rushes to the control panel, frantically pressing the buttons. “Hello? Is anybody there?”

She’s panicked. I get it. This isn’t supposed to happen, but I’m sure it’ll be fine soon enough.

“Hello? Hello?” Her voice is shaky, so not how I thought it would be.

“Great. Top-of-the-line system, billions in tech, and we still can’t keep an elevator moving,” I say, loud enough for her to hear.

She turns around. “Do you work here?” She looks petrified, but I sense this runs deeper. She’s too anxious for what I’m sure is just a glitch.

“Uh …” I struggle for what to say. “Don’t be scared. I’m sure they’re looking into it. This company has great tech. They’ll fix it fast.”

There’s a crackle from the control panel, then silence. She gapes at me wide-eyed and nervous. “Are we—stuck?”

I move towards her, because she looks like she needs comforting, but I’m not quite sure how to do that without coming across as a creep. I try to offer reassurance. “It looks like it, but hopefully not for too long.”

She lets out a long, hard breath, like she doesn’t like this. Like this is torture. Why some people panic so fast is beyond me, but I take a step back, giving her the space I feel she needs.

“Elevators don’t get stuck. They shouldn’t,” she insists. “Not in this day and age.”

“They shouldn’t.” I fist my hands at my sides because her ashen white face tells me that she’s really panicked. I hate to see her like this, and I’ll end up hugging her if I’m not careful. Seeing Mama fall apart has imprinted that memory on me and I can’t see a woman in distress.

“Hey, don’t be scared,” I tell her. “I promise you we’ll be out of here in no time.” But now that I think about it, she’s been on edge since the moment I saw her. Like she’s trying too hard. Like she’s off kilter. Like she’s stressed.

“I don’t like confined spaces.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?” I tilt my head, genuinely interested.

She doesn’t answer. To ease the tension I try humor. “It depends on who you’re stuck with, I guess. At least we’re not enemies.”

“Not enemies? I barely know you.”

I grin. “You could get to know me better. We have some time.”

She rolls her eyes. “Are you flirting with me?”

She was checking me out. I should call her out on it but I won’t. Not yet. “Just trying to be friendly, that’s all. It could be worse. You could be stuck in here with someone you hate.” I grin.

“I wouldn’t want to be stuck in here with my friends, let alone someone I hate.”

She didn’t say boyfriend.

I really shouldn’t do that, but my mind just went there. Trying to read between the lines to figure out whether she’s single or not.

“It’s probably just a safety pause,” I offer, half to calm her, half to convince myself. “System resets happen when the power switches. They’ll reboot in a minute.”

She peers up at me. “I expected more from a Knight Enterprises building. It’s meant to be a shrine to modern engineering.”