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“Sorry, sir. No idea. We will maintain contact through the emergency phone line. As soon as fire and rescue are on their way to you, we’ll let you know.”
CHAPTER4
Alex
“I’m sweating, are you sweating? It feels stifling in here.”
Sadie plucks at her sweater, pulling it away from her neck as her panicked eyes dart around the elevator.
She’s the epitome of a Christmas Hallmark movie heroine, like the ones I’ve seen in commercials. A crisp white collar pokes above the edge of her red sweater, her black tights and black skirt hugging her slim figure. She reminds me of the girls I went to prep school with; sophisticated and elegant, but with a touch of something mysterious simmering just beneath the surface.
“It is hot in here, yes,” I reply, tugging at my tie. “You know, you could take your sweater off.” I don’t mean for my voice to drop an octave, but it does, sounding much flirtier than I’d intended. Not that I mind. Besides, I want to keep her mind engaged and prevent her from spiraling into a full-blown meltdown over our current situation.
“I have a shirt underneath,” she says quickly, her eyes snapping to mine. Her hand is still clenched around the bottle of rum, her purse clutched to her side.
“I know, Sadie, that’s why I suggested it. I can see your collar.” She looks down, then back to me, and her expression softens. “What’s with the rum?”
“Oh.” She holds it up. “Last year, Marsha—you know the lady who took my place in Rio?”
“Yeah, I know Marsha.”
“Well, she bought me a mixer of eggnog last year and didn’t realize it didn’t come mixed with alcohol, and she felt silly. So this year, she gave me the alcohol.”
“Please don’t tell me you still have the eggnog from last year?”
She giggles and shakes her head. “No, but this will certainly come in handy once we get out of here.”
“Did you have plans tonight? Hopefully no friends or a”—I grit out the next word—“date waiting on you?” I begin removing my suit jacket, the heat starting to get to me.
“I—uh…” I look up when she stumbles over her words. She’s watching me intently as I slide the jacket down my arms, then remove my tie completely and undo another button. Folding my jacket in half, I gently place it on the floor before rolling my sleeves up to my elbows.
“You were saying, Miss Emmert?” Her eyes are trained on my hands as she swallows.
“Oh, yeah sorry. No, no plans. I guess I kind of forgot it’s Friday night. Talk about a lame way to start the weekend.”
“You mean spending it with your boss isn’t fun?” I tease, and her cheeks redden again.
“Sorry, no, that’s not what I meant.” She shakes her head in exasperation. “I think I should take my sweater off.” When she thrusts the rum toward me, her purse slides down her arm to the floor. Spinning around so her back is toward me, she struggles to get the sweater over her head and keep her blouse tucked in. She fails, and it pulls up a little, flashing me a sliver of her lower back for one brief second. I feel like a pathetic creep, getting excited over the tiniest glimpse of her bare skin.
“I think we should crack this open,” I say, holding up the bottle.
“Really?”
I look at my watch. “We’ve already been in here for almost twenty minutes, and there’s still no sign of getting any help. Might as well make the best of it. It is the weekend, after all.”
“Just straight? I don’t have anything to mix it with.”
“Come on.” I waggle my eyebrows at her. “Live a little.”
“Okay,” she agrees, flashing me a mischievous little grin. “Oh, I do have one small water bottle, so at least we can stay somewhat hydrated.”
“Always the good girl.” She tugs on her bottom lip with her teeth as I unscrew the cap and hold the rum out to her.
“You first,” she says, pushing it back toward me.
I bring the bottle to my lips, taking two healthy swallows.
“Fuck me, that’s good.”
