Bryson,
I was working late again. They had been upgrading the computer systems in the building, and for some reason, the service elevator wasn't working.
I wheeled the maintenance cart through the lobby of the darkened office building. The lobby was empty, except for a single security guard, who didn't even look up from his magazine as I coasted through. Normally, we can't take the carts up the main elevators. It doesn't look good for potential clients to see us lowly janitors, oh, sorry, maintenance engineers, wheeling their carts around. The building still had to be cleaned, so I had to take the main elevator. As I waited for the car, I heard the sound of heels clicking on the marble floor in the lobby.
"Good evening, Ms Ericson." came the suddenly alert voice of the security guard in the lobby.
"Working late?"
"Teleconference with Moscow tonight, Billy," was the rich, deep alto response.
Shit!
Sophia Ericson, executive vice president of Laif Industries, came click clopping around the corner toward the bank of elevators. Her eyebrows rose as she saw me. As luck would have it, the elevator arrived at exactly that moment, cheerfully pinging as the doors slid open. Ms Ericson strode purposefully toward the open elevator.
"Are you supposed to be here?" She demanded, somehow looking down her nose at me, despite being almost ten inches shorter than my own six foot two.
"Maintenance elevator's broken, Ma'am." I said, not making eye contact. "Gotta clean."
She stood there for a second, probably just to make me sweat a little, and then said "Well, I guess we can make an exception this time, in that case." Rumor had it that she was the reason we had to hump the carts down to the loading dock in the first place. She strode confidently into the elevator, and turned and looked at me expectantly.
"Well?" she said. "Aren't you going to get in?"
"I'll wait for the next car." I said. This woman could fire me in a second, on a whim. I wanted to be as far beneath her notice as I could.
"Bullshit." She said. "You'll get to work right now. You won't be hanging around down here goofing off. Now, get in."
Obediently, I wheeled the bulky cart into the elevator car, trying not to be too noticeable. The elevator gave little sensation of movement as it started upward. I had a second to look around. This elevator was all chrome steel and mirrors. I was careful not to look at Ms Ericson as we shot upward toward executiveland.
At about floor fifteen, the lights flickered briefly, and at the forty fifth floor, the elevator gave a distinctly un executive like lurch. Then lights went out. The dim red of the emergency lights flickered on.
"Shit." Ms Ericson said "What the fuck did you do?" She demanded.
"Nothing, ma'am." I said. I was sure to lose my job over this one. "I didn't even press a button."
"Bullshit," She said. Her voice had a kind of shrill sound, and she was obviously angry. "You assholes are always breaking something, so you can get out of work."
"No, Ma'am." I said desperately, "The techs are working with the power system tonight. That's why the maintenance elevator isn't working."
"OK, blame somebody else," She said. Her voice was definitely rising in pitch. "But I will see that somebody pays for it."
I started digging into the cart for the flashlight.
"What are you doing?" She shouted.
"Just getting a flashlight, Ma'am. I have one in the cart, I think."
