Elevator fright
Nervously, Leila had presented her pitch for the project, successfully gaining the board’s interest. They had agreed to go ahead with her magazine, as the main sponsor for their ad and Leila couldn’t be more thrilled. This accomplishment had definitively climbed her up the ladder to become editor. But everything faded when everyone filled out of the conference room, leaving her and Nate alone. “You didn’t tell me you were the president of a company” she remarked, smacking her lips together.
“I never said I wasn’t either” Nathaniel answered, swirling his blue pen between his index finger and his middle. Nathaniel licked his lips as he reclined back on the chair, smiling at her.
“Touché; but next time, tell me these things.” She said, hitting him on the arm.
“You sound like my wife?”
“You’re married!?!” Leila yelled in an utter panic, her eyes shooting a thousand mile wide. Her heart aching shocked at his painful words.
“No! No, God no. I mean you sound like what a wife would say; my mom always says that to my father, ‘you need to tell me these things’ when she finds about something”
“Oh”
“Why?” he asks, lifting one of dark filled eyebrow “You don’t want me to be married?”
No I don’t! Leila thinks to herself but she had the guts of a fireflies and she rather responded with,
“Just caught by surprised” Leila answers. Getting up from the chair Leila started to gather her stuff. “Well this was fun,” she says as she picks up her folder, but Nate’s hands touched her as he looked up to her.
“Where you going” he asked.
“To my job”
“Well isn’t this part of your job? I thought we had you until we reached an agreement” he asks her as his blue eyes twinkle in the light of the room.
“You did. And since we did reach an agreement, I can go now” she replies, holding her presentation folders in her hand.
Smiling at her, Nathaniel leaves his chair, fixed his long white dress shirt as he approached. Leila’s legs trembled under her as she looked upon he god of a man approaching her. His black dress suit fitting him perfectly while his white dress shirt is neatly tucked in, his Rolex watch clearly visible to the eye; By God was he a man chiseled by the gods their selves. When he finally approached her, he made no effort leave an appropriate distance between them. He simply lifted his right hand to her face, tucking the loose strand of hair behind her ear. Licking his lips, he asked, “What if I said that we haven’t reached an agreement?”
“I’d say your evil” Leila answered as her throat went completely dry as he smiled at her words. She didn’t want to believe what was happening and told herself that it was only her imagination at work. But right at that same moment, the door of the conference room opens and Sasha’s head appeared, “Sir?”
“Damn it Sasha; don’t you fucking knock!?!” Nathaniel screamed, startling Leila. “Get the fuck out!”
“I’m sorry sir, it won’t happen again. But your cousin is here” Sasha explained as Mike walks in the room.
“You better have a good reason to be yelling at the poor girl the way….” Before Mike could finish the sentence, his eyes rested on sweet chocolate that stood by Nathaniel. With a smug smile he asked without a shame “Hello sweet chocolate, we haven’t had the pleasure to get acquainted, I’m Mike Harrington, this thing’s cousin”
“Hi” Leila tells him, annoyed at his comment. “I’m the new editor for the new ad”
“Really, well, Ms. Editor, we can go somewhere private and you can edit whatever you want, starting with my clothes and ending with my…”
“Mike!” Nathaniel interrupts. “Back off”
“No you back off, you already have…”
“Have you met Leila?” Nathaniel interrupted with a nervous laugh. And his cousin’s eyes flashed with comprehension.
“The ‘Leila’?” He asked licking his lips, looking like the devil himself and the red shirt did nothing but emphasize the point.
“The Leila?” Leila asks, confused. But Mike simply smiled at her while taking her hand and kissing it.
“It was a pleasure, and if this guy cant do things right, there’s always me” he said with a laugh and walks out. Confused, Leila turns to Nathaniel,
“What did he mean by that?” She asks.
“I stopped listening to my cousin years ago,” he said as he places one of his hands on her back, just above her hips, guiding her to the doors. “Let’s go in my office.” He said as they start walking in hallway.
“You’ve been talking about me” Leila commented while they walk, looking up to see his face looking straight down the hallway.
“I might have mentioned you once or twice” he replied.
Disappointed, Leila gives a slight, “Oh” but she quickly changes the subject. “I think you should apologize.” She says.
“Apologize; For what? I haven’t done anything to you.”
“Yes, but you have to Sasha” she commented
“She interrupted me” he retaliated the minute they reach his office and they stepped inside.
“So?” Leila asks as she raised an eyebrow, but in a disappointing kind of way; “You didn’t have to yell, it doesn’t make you look good, it doesn’t show how good you are.” she says as she takes his hands.
Nathaniel’s heart ached as she touches him. He didn’t understand how one person can have that stupid effect on him; but for some reason he didn’t want to disappoint her. “If I apologize, will it make you stay?” he asked, squeezing her hand, edging for a yes.
“Ok, but you have to apologize,” she said.
“I will,” He told her and left her hands and headed for the door. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” He said and walked out.
Nathaniel rushed to his cousin’s office and closed the door behind him. “Nathaniel, I see that you’ve done playing with chocolate delight”
“Don’t even think about looking at her anymore” Nathaniel warned. “Hell don’t even think about her”
“Relax cousin, although Leila is a fine piece of ass, I wouldn’t go after her. I’m going to let you have her”
“What the fuck, Let me have her? Whatever. But seriously,”
“What is it?”
“I’m going stupid because of her; I’m going stupid. Until today, I have never flirted with a girl unconsciously, but with her, I’m saying these entire fucking cheesy ass lines that you think I’m fucking Shakespeare! So much that I promise to apologize for yelling at Sasha”
“Wait? You? Apology? She is good.
“Yeah, and I’m worried about how much influence she may have.”
“Dude, stop freaking out, you already have her, now you just have to let yourselves go, just tell her you apologized, case closed, but leave my office I have someone coming in to take care of something that Leila couldn’t”
“You are vile”
“I know!” Mike said with a shrugged as Nathaniel left the office.
Leila waited for Nathaniel to come back, while mentally having a battle whether she was imagining things or was Nate really flirting. The door opened and he extended his hand to her and she took it. Mentally she realized, this walking, this walking as they were doing, with his hand place on her lower back was not done by regular friends. This walking is intimate; then again, maybe it is her mind. “How about I take you out to eat to celebrate your accomplishment today?” he suggested.
“Nathaniel, that’s too much, you’ve already done so much.”
“Nonsense, we’re going out to eat” he said, rather a statement than anything, Leila sighed in contentment, relaxing against the support of his strong hand.
“We are going out to eat.”
They had hoped into the elevator both. No one accompanied them. The silence was deafening as the elevator made its way down. Then; suddenly, it stopped, the lights flickered, and it goes dark. “Nathaniel!” Leila called out n a panic and immediately felt his hand taking hers. “I don’t like this, no I hate this” Leila said in a panic in the dark.
“It’s going to be ok, it’s probably a power surge” Nathaniel told her, “They’ll get us out” he said squeezing her hands. But his actions were not helping as he heard Leila’s breathing accelerating. Nathaniel didn’t know what came over him, but he pulled her onto his chest and into an intimate embrace and she didn’t fight back, hugging him tight. “It’s going to be ok,” he told her. ‘”Everything is going to be ok, I’m here”