Elevator

Why did this have to happen today of all days? I already have an unreasonable fear of elevators, but today, I just so happened to climb on with my annoying coworker. I looked out of the window in the back of the elevator and tried to ignore my coworker who was currently glaring at me as though the entire situation were my fault. I wanted to curl up into a ball and hide because I hated the elevator, but I did not want to show that weakness in front of him. He already thought very little of me. Sighing, I watched as the cars passed by on the road outside.

We were only three floors up, but small places and my company was not my thing. To be honest, I had no idea what I had done to offend him in the first place. His name was William Roberts, in the same department as her, and he was always rude to her the first chance he got. Today, she would not give him a reason to get rude with her though. She was far too frightened to want to deal with him right now. When the phone within the elevator began to ring, she jumped almost a full foot in the air, surprise coloring her features as she turned to look at it.

“Hello?” His voice was polite as he answered, his eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, the elevator currently has no power? How long will repairs take?”

I sighed, sinking down to sit on the floor, careful that I did not reveal anything under my business skirt as I did so. Seems like it will be a while before they manage to fix it. What did my therapist say about enclosed spaces? Keep your breathing even, and focus on one thing in your mind. I let my mind drift to the things that made me happy, like chocolate, going for walks, talking with my friends. As I began to list off these things in my mind, I could feel my head clearing. Until, that is, Mister Annoying decided to interrupt me by clearing his throat.

“It seems we will be here for a while. What are you doing?” William asked, causing me to open my eyes to glare at him. “Meditating or something? Is now really the time to do something like that?”

“What does it matter what I’m doing. Feel free to play around on your phone or do work.” I replied hotly, closing my eyes again. “I do this to relax when I feel stressed.”

“What is stressing about being in an elevator?” He continued his questioning, causing me to sigh and open my eyes again. “Or, is it because I am here.”

“For your information, Mister Rude, I have a small phobia about elevators. If they work, I’m fine.” I stated, shooting him a daring look to say something about it. “If they don’t, I start to panic. Not that you would understand that.”

William grew quiet, his eyes focusing on the floor. The elevator shook slightly, causing me to jump slightly again. I hated this and I wanted out. I wanted to go home and get away from this annoying coworker and this stupid elevator that had decided it was my fate to get stuck today. But, with how unusually quiet he was being, I opened a single eye to glance over at him. His body was stiff but he was clearly trying to appear relaxed. The rough set of his jaw as he looked out of the window, and his tense form made me understand him just a little better. Apparently, he did not like this anymore than I do.

“My therapist says that when you’re feeling tense or stressed, you should close your eyes and focus on the things that make you happy.” I said, closing my eyes again, trying to find peace. “It works for me, and you look tense.”

“I did not ask for your help.” He replied, keeping his eyes off me. “Did I?”

“No, you didn’t.” I kept my eyes closed and focused on my breathing. “By the way, why ARE you always so rude to me? I’ve never done a thing untoward or rude to you to deserve that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” William countered, his eyes finding mine before he looked away again. “I’m not rude.”

“Yes, you are! We’re supposed to be partners, but you run off, trying to do everything on your own.” I stated, my eyes popping back open to glare at him.” I shifted to lean forward slightly, my irritation becoming clearer. “Since we’ve met, I don’t think you’ve ever been kind to me once!”

William said nothing, simply stared out of the window behind us. Sighing, I threw my hands up before crossing them over my chest. I hated confronting people, but the elevator situation had me feeling agitated and a little ready for a discussion to try and clear the air with him. I had long since grown tired of his smart aleck responses and wanted to figure out just what his problem was with me. I glanced over at him to find his gaze already on me. Part of me wondered if he was going to answer my question, but his eyes dropped to the floor between us.

“I don’t like this either.” He stated simply, his posture still tense. “Uh, elevators that is.”

I would not have guessed. At work, he was always on point, eyes forward. As much as he annoyed me, I admired his work ethic and how quick he was at getting his work done. When we were not arguing we actually made a really good team. Part of me wanted it to always be like that. But when we were just together, much like now, we often argued over the dumbest stuff. I leaned back against the window, stretching my legs out in front of me. Again, I felt eyes on me and glanced over right as he looked away. What was with him today? No snarky remarks, no making fun of my phobia?

“What?” I asked a frown on my lips. “Did you want to say something?”

“Look, it’s not that I don’t like you. I thought, at first, you were just some dumb broad coming in. Then you show up and not only are you pretty, you’re smart too. Every time I told you one thing; you’d do something else.” He said, sniffing in annoyance. “But then, it would work out in your favor and then I hated that about you. Truth is, I don’t dislike you in the slightest. You work harder than anyone, and I would know. I’ve seen it first-hand.”

“Then why all the arguing?” I questioned, leaning forward again, eyes focused on him. “Because what you say doesn’t seem to match what you mean.”

“Well…” William seemed to be hesitating slightly before he closed his eyes. “You’re cute when you get mad.”

I froze at this. So, he provokes me on purpose because he thinks I am cute? What kind of logic is that? I tilted my head again and he seemed to sigh in exasperation before scooting closer to me. It was then I noticed the scent of his cologne and had to shake my head slightly to clear it. Did I not hate him? But does he HAVE to smell good? I sighed before glancing over at him as he seemed to sink into thought. What now? I did not like how this had turned out and was confused over the whole thing. Who thinks someone is cute when they are angry?

“Listen, I know I haven’t exactly been kind to you, especially because I make you mad a lot, but…” He seemed to hesitate. “If I can prove to you that I’m not always a total jerk, would you consider going on a date with me?”

Okay, woah. Stop. No, there was no way I could accept that as an apology, because ‘I’m sorry’ did not even pass his lips. Turning to face him fully, about to give him a piece of my mind, I noticed the expression on his face. He was looking away from me slightly, a dusty rose coloring his cheeks. Okay, not what I was expecting. I thought he was just fooling around, picking on me as per usual. But that expression would not match his usual mean demeanor. Why did I suddenly feel bad for the idea of getting into an argument with him at a time like this? Any other time and it would be fine.

“You can take your time to think on it if you like and I’ll do my best to prove it while I wait.” William continued, covering his mouth with his hand as he propped its elbow on his raised knee. “There’s no reason for you to believe that I actually like you, especially with how I normally treat you.”

“No kidding.” I retorted, before softening my tone slightly. “What’s bringing this on anyways?”

“Well, like I said, I don’t like elevators that much either. But then…” His gaze turned back to me. “You did what you normally do when you can tell someone is uncomfortable. You tried to help despite your dislike for me. Even though we’ve butted heads a lot, you would still occasionally try to help me.”

As I considered what he told me, I thought about all the times we had worked together in the past. We had definitely got along when there was a major project, but on any of the minor ones, we argued a lot. In fact, it was more normal for us to be arguing than not, and a lot of people in our company knew about it. Then I thought about it in regards to being a couple, which proved one thing to me. We were not afraid to speak our minds to each other without it becoming a major thing. We could still come to work the next day and do our jobs just fine.

So, did that mean I was okay with everything he had said or done to me? No, at least, not without a proper apology. I sighed as I turned my gaze over my shoulder out at the endless blue sky. He not only needs to say it, he needs to prove it. And the best way to do that is to NOT try to provoke me. As much as part of me does not want to believe it, if it does improve our work relations, I am completely okay with starting over, at the very least. Turning my eyes back to him, I found his focus on me. I wanted us to work together well, not be at each other’s necks.

“Well, I don’t know about the date, but I can agree to start over with you.” I started, smiling slightly. “And if you promise to stop trying to provoke me and apologize.”

“I can agree with that as well.” William replied, smiling back. “I’m sorry for all the times I was so mean to you. Let’s work together legitimately this time.”

Do you like what you are reading? Please send me a gift below to help me continue making awesome content for you!

Please check out some of my other works as well! Thanks for reading!