Chapter 3 — Collision in the Elevator
1673 Words
I had been at Veyron Holdings for less than a full day when I learned that Sophie was right about one thing.
The elevators were dangerous.
Not because they were old.
They were the opposite.
Everything about them was polished, silent and expensive. The walls were made of dark glass, the floors reflected the ceiling lights, and the doors opened so smoothly that I barely noticed them moving.
The problem was the people inside them.
Everyone seemed to be in a hurry.
Everyone except me.
I stood outside the elevators with a folder pressed against my chest, staring at the numbers above the doors.
“Thirty-two,” I whispered.
Sophie had asked me to deliver a set of documents to someone in the legal department.
I had assumed it would take five minutes.
That was before I discovered that Veyron Holdings had elevators assigned to different sections of the building.
I pressed the button again.
Nothing happened.
I pressed it a second time.
Still nothing.
“You're going to break it.”
I turned.
A man stood a few feet behind me.
Dark suit.
White shirt.
No tie.
His sleeves were rolled neatly to his forearms, and he held a phone in one hand.
He looked like someone who had never waited for anything in his life.
I stepped aside.
“I wasn't breaking it.”
“You pressed the button four times.”
“Three.”
“Four.”
I looked at the elevator.
Then back at him.
“Were you counting?”
His mouth moved slightly.
Not quite a smile.
“Apparently.”
I frowned.
“Then you can have it.”
I moved toward the other elevator.
He didn't say anything.
The doors opened.
I stepped inside.
He followed.
Of course.
I pressed thirty-two.
He pressed the button above it.
I looked at the panel.
There wasn't one.
I frowned.
“Did you press something?”
“No.”
The doors closed.
The elevator began moving.
I glanced at him.
He was looking at his phone.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I realized we were going up much faster than the public elevators.
I shifted the folder in my arms.
“Is this the executive elevator?”
He looked up.
“Yes.”
My stomach dropped.
“Oh.”
I reached for the button panel.
“I'm sorry. I shouldn't be here.”
“You're already here.”
“I mean I shouldn't have gotten on.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm not an executive.”
He looked at me for a moment.
“Neither am I.”
I stared at him.
“You're not?”
“No.”
Something about his answer felt strange.
He looked too comfortable in the elevator.
Too confident.
But that wasn't my problem.
I looked back at the panel.
“I need to get off.”
“Then get off.”
I pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
I pressed it again.
Nothing.
I looked at him.
“Why isn't it stopping?”
“Because it's a private elevator.”
I stared at him.
“And you're only telling me now?”
“You didn't ask.”
I let out a frustrated breath.
“You could have mentioned it.”
“You could have asked.”
I turned toward him.
“Do you always talk to people like this?”
He slipped his phone into his pocket.
“Like what?”
“Like everything is their fault.”
One eyebrow lifted.
“I don't think everything is your fault.”
“You sound like you do.”
The elevator continued upward.
He looked at the floor numbers.
“Thirty-two.”
“What?”
“That's your floor.”
I looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“You said it outside.”
“Oh.”
I immediately felt stupid.
He looked away.
I folded my arms.
The silence became uncomfortable.
I hated uncomfortable silence.
So naturally, I spoke again.
“Do you work here?”
“Yes.”
“What department?”
“Executive.”
I nodded slowly.
That explained the elevator.
“Important person, then?”
His expression didn't change.
“Something like that.”
I almost laughed.
“That's a very humble answer.”
“I wasn't trying to be humble.”
I stared at him.
He stared back.
There was something unsettling about his eyes.
Gray-blue.
Sharp.
Focused.
He didn't look away when I looked at him.
I did.
The elevator suddenly stopped.
I stumbled forward.
The folder slipped from my arms.
Papers scattered across the floor.
“Oh my God.”
I bent down immediately.
At the same time, he reached for one of the pages.
Our hands collided.
“Sorry.”
We both said it at once.
I pulled my hand back.
He picked up the document.
“This is confidential.”
I looked at him.
“It's an internal report.”
“Exactly.”
“I know.”
He handed it to me.
“You shouldn't drop things like this.”
I stared at him.
“Excuse me?”
“You're carrying confidential documents. You should be more careful.”
I felt irritation rise in my chest.
“I know how to handle paperwork.”
“Then handle it.”
I snatched the page from his hand.
“Thank you.”
The doors opened.
I stepped out.
Then turned around.
“Actually, you could have helped instead of criticizing me.”
He stepped out after me.
“I picked up your papers.”
“After criticizing me.”
“I was pointing out a mistake.”
“I didn't ask for your opinion.”
His expression hardened.
“And yet you keep talking.”
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
He was impossible.
I gathered the remaining papers and checked the folder.
Everything was there.
Good.
I turned toward the hallway.
“Have a nice day.”
“I'm sure I will.”
I stopped.
Looked back.
He was watching me.
There was the faintest trace of amusement in his expression.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Are you always this arrogant?”
“No.”
I waited.
“Only when people accuse me of being arrogant.”
I stared at him.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“Forget it.”
I walked away.
I could hear his footsteps behind me.
For some reason, that irritated me even more.
I turned around.
“Why are you following me?”
He stopped.
“I work here.”
“So do I.”
He glanced at the folder in my hands.
“Apparently.”
I frowned.
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
“Then don't say it.”
He looked at me for another second.
Then he walked past me.
No apology.
No explanation.
Nothing.
I watched him disappear down the corridor.
“What a jerk.”
I turned back toward the legal department.
I was already late.
The legal department was quieter than my own floor.
I handed the documents to a woman named Patricia, who thanked me and disappeared into her office.
I checked my phone.
Three missed messages from Sophie.
Where are you?
Then another.
Please tell me you didn't get lost.
I typed back.
Legal department. Almost done.
Her reply came immediately.
Good. Come back before you accidentally offend someone important.
I smiled.
Too late.
I had already done that.
I put my phone away and headed toward the elevators.
As I walked, I kept thinking about the man from the private elevator.
There was something about him that bothered me.
Maybe it was his attitude.
Maybe it was the way he looked at people.
Or maybe it was because he seemed completely comfortable making everyone around him uncomfortable.
I decided I didn't care.
I had bigger things to worry about.
My first day.
My job.
My family.
My future.
Not some arrogant man in an expensive suit.
The elevator doors opened.
I stepped inside.
Then I froze.
He was already there.
He looked up from his phone.
Our eyes met.
For one second, neither of us moved.
Then he looked at the buttons.
“Again?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Don't start.”
“I haven't said anything.”
“You were about to.”
“Interesting.”
I stepped inside.
The doors closed.
I pressed my floor.
He pressed the executive floor.
Silence.
Then he said, “You argue with everyone you meet?”
I looked at him.
“No.”
“Just me?”
“Maybe.”
A small smile appeared.
It disappeared almost immediately.
“You're confident.”
“I wasn't five minutes ago.”
“What changed?”
“You annoyed me.”
He actually laughed.
It was brief.
Unexpected.
And somehow it made him look completely different.
I quickly looked away.
I didn't want to notice things like that.
The elevator climbed.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
“Yes.”
His voice changed.
The casual tone disappeared.
He sounded colder.
More authoritative.
“I'll be there in five minutes.”
He ended the call.
I glanced at him.
“Important meeting?”
“Yes.”
“With the CEO?”
He looked at me.
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“Good luck.”
“Thank you.”
The elevator reached my floor.
The doors opened.
I stepped out.
Before the doors closed, I looked back at him.
“Try not to terrify anyone.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“No promises.”
The doors closed between us.
I stood there for a moment.
Then shook my head.
“Definitely a jerk.”
I walked back toward my department.
I had no idea that within minutes, the entire floor would know I had just argued with the most powerful man in the building.
And I certainly had no idea that the man I had just called arrogant, rude and impossible was not merely another executive.
He was Adrian Veyron.
The CEO.
And tomorrow, he would remember me.
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