Fated attraction

“Hold the door,” I screamed, pushing my way into the elevator where a bunch of well-suited men who looked like bodyguards were already standing inside, circling an important-looking man whose face I couldn’t make out yet. “Take the next one,” one of the strict-faced bodyguards said gruffly, but I was already inside the elevator. I pushed my way to the center, Even though the elevator was a little cramped and the men seemed to be standing in a circle, protecting someone who stood in the middle, I refused to leave. The elevator door closed just as I was still forcing my way to the back of the elevator and the bodyguards were trying to stop me. Someone tripped me. I fell to the floor, onto the expensive shoes of the man in the middle. “Aww!” I cried out. “Careful there,” I heard the dusky voice of the man with the shoes speak. He offered a hand down to me. I placed my hand tentatively in his palms and let him pull me up. He dragged me a little too forcefully, pulling me toward his broad chest. Our eyes met. His green eyes peering intensely into mine. The grip of his hand protectively around my waist, the intensity of his gaze, the handsomeness of his perfect face, the aura of his demeanor all disoriented me. For a brief moment, my legs wobbled, and I wanted to fall into his arms deeper. I wanted to take deep breaths of his masculine scent. “Um, sorry about that,” I said. He tightened his grip, digging his fingers deeper into my skin. “You should be careful. Pretty girls get hurt easily,” he said. My jaws dropped. I swallowed hard. Who the hell is he and why does he have this strange effect on me? Our sudden proximity nearly knocked me off my feet and shattered my ability to think straight. I have never felt myself so drawn to a stranger before? I have never longed to be held so protectively by a man? I have never desired to feel the taste and texture of his lips against mine. “There you go,” the man said, freeing my waist. I backed away from him, nearly bumping into one of the strict-faced men surrounding us. I desperately wanted to get out of this elevator. It was suddenly so hot and crowded, and I couldn’t breathe. I could feel myself shrinking inside. The man’s eyes did not leave me until the elevator door opened. His bodyguards left first and stood outside to wait for him. He buttoned his expensive suit jacket. “Have a nice day,” the man said to me before he left. I stood there like an i***t, watching him walk away and the elevator door close and continued to take me up to my floor. I exhaled and fell back on the wall, trying to catch my breath. This was the strangest encounter I’ve ever had with a man before, and I was glad it was over. The last thing I needed today was distractions. Today was my first day on the job at Green Enterprises. It was my first day in the marketing department. I wanted to make a strong first impression. I couldn’t afford to continue thinking about the strange hot elevator man. I brushed down my gown and rearranged myself. As soon as the elevator opened to the marketing floor, I got out to pure chaos. Even though it was barely 8am, the floor was already abuzz. Workers ran in all directions. “Justin is in the building. I repeat JUSTIN IS IN THE BUILDING,” I heard a woman scream. Someone nudged me out of the way. I walked carefully through that chaos to find the desk of my boss’s assistant. She, too, was busy on the phone. “Excuse me?” I called out softly. It took a few seconds to get her attention. “What?” she asked in a hostile voice. “I’m Anya. It’s my first day here,” I started to tell her, but we were both interrupted by the boss, Charity. Charity, the head of the department, had interviewed and hired me to join the internship program right out of college. “Anya, you are here. Good! Come on, follow me. We’ve been prepping for this presentation for weeks now. Today, Justin’s coming in, and we’re finally going to pitch it to him. Join us, this will be a good teaching moment,” Charity said. I joined her and a bunch of other people as we headed to the elevator and climbed down to the floor the man I met in the elevator had gotten off at. “Guys, this is it. We are ready for this. I’ll be making the presentation, but please, make sure that you all remember our meetings. Don’t say anything. Just let me do all the talking. Justin is easily irritated. I can deal with him as long as no one here embarrasses me,” Charity said. We all bobbed our heads. We climbed out of the elevator and headed to the conference room. Charity squeezed her hand nervously. I leaned in to the closest person and asked: “Is it always this intense around here?” The girl, a blonde, stares rudely at me. “Yes, of course. It’s Justin Green. He’s like one of the richest billionaires in the world and he’s an asshole to match. We’ve been preparing for this presentation carefully because we know how unpredictable he can be. He can decide he doesn’t like it and fire us all. Wait, you are the new girl, right? Do not say a word and follow our lead, okay?” the girl said. I nodded. Not a word. I clamped my mouth shut. “Okay, guys, this is it! Game face!” Charity said once we were outside the door. She opened it and we filed in. I could see a suited, tall man sitting down with his back turned to us. He was on a call. As soon as we entered, he ended the call and spun around. What the f**k? My jaws dropped. It was the man from the elevator! Justin Green? “Hello, guys. Let's do this, shall we?" he said.