Chapter 5: The man in the elevator
1536 Words
Lena sat in front of the vanity table slowly brushing her hair.
The room was larger than the entire living room back at the ranch. Everything inside it looked expensive, polished and untouched. Perfect and befitting someone like Shane.
She kept brushing anyway, even though her thoughts were somewhere else entirely.
The wedding replayed in her mind in fragments she couldn’t fully organize. The fire alarm. The rush outside. The confusion. The signatures she didn’t fully understand. And Shane’s voice afterward, like nothing had gone wrong at all.
Her grip tightened slightly on the brush.
The bedroom door opened.
Shane came in still dressed, his jacket gone, his shirt collar open. His eyes landed on her and softened a little.
“You’re still up.”
Lena placed the brush down. “I couldn’t sleep.”
He walked closer and stopped behind her chair. His hands rested on her shoulders.
“About earlier,” he said. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”
Lena met his reflection in the mirror. “It’s fine. Anyone would’ve reacted that way.”
Shane leaned down and pressed a kiss to the back of her shoulder.
“As far as I’m concerned,” he said quietly, “you’re still my wife.”
“Shane.” She kept her voice even. “We don’t know that yet. Not until we find out who signed that document and sort out the legal side of things. Then we can do this properly.”
“As far as I’m concerned nothing has changed.” His head dipped and his lips touched the back of her shoulder.
She didn’t move. But something in her went very still.
His hands slid down her arms slowly. “I’m tired,” she said. “I need to rest.”
Shane watched her for a moment, then smiled faintly like she was being mildly stubborn. “You’re doing that again.”
Lena frowned. “Doing what?”
“Pulling away.”
She didn’t answer.
His voice dropped. “What exactly is the issue, Lena? You won’t let me touch you. Kiss you. Act like this is normal.”
Lena held her ground. “Because it doesn’t feel normal.”
The smile stayed for a moment. Then it didn’t. “Have you forgotten where you are, Lena? You are in my house. You are here because of me. The reason the bank stopped breathing down your family’s neck. I am the only thing standing between your parents and complete ruin.” He stood up. “You are my wife and—”
“I am not your wife.” Her voice came out steadier than she expected. “Not legally. Not yet.”
“You dare.”
“You don’t own me, Shane.”
That made him pause. He crossed the room in two steps and she held her ground even though every instinct told her otherwise.
“You should be careful how you speak to me.”
“I’m just being honest.”
“Your body belongs to me,” he said quietly. “I want—”
“I said no.” She stepped back. “If you force this,” she said quietly, “what do you think happens after?”
Shane frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“What will people say when they find out you forced yourself on your bride-to-be?”
“Bride,” he corrected sharply.
“Bride to be,” she repeated. “We are not married yet.”
He stared at her for a long moment. Then he stepped back. He ran a hand over his face and made a sound low in his throat.
“You always do this.” He reached for his jacket from the chair. “You always find a way to ruin everything.” He looked at her one last time. “Have the room. I don’t want it.”
He walked out and the door shut behind him.
Lena stood where she was.
She pressed her hand flat against her chest and let out a breath that had been sitting there for a while. She stood in the quiet of the room and looked at nothing in particular for a moment.
Then she sat on the edge of the bed. It was at this moment that she realized that she couldn’t depend on Shane. If anything changed, she would be left with nothing.
She needed money. Her own. Independent of Shane and independent of whatever this arrangement had become. She needed something that was hers and hers alone so that the next time he stood in front of her and listed everything he had done for her family she had something to say back.
She swallowed. “I need a job,” she said quietly.
….
A few days later, Lena stood outside Holt Holdings. She had heard they were seeking someone for the role of Executive Liaison Officer to the CEO. It felt like a chance to finally prove herself, no matter where she came from.
The building rose clean and magnificent above everything around it. Imposing in a way that made her pause for a second before walking in. She tightened her grip on her folder and stepped inside.
The lobby moved with too much purpose. People walking fast. Low conversations. Phones ringing. Everything felt like it belonged to a world she hadn’t fully stepped into yet. Lena followed the signs toward the elevators and found herself in a corridor with two sets of elevator banks.
She moved toward the nearest one.
The people around her slowed down.
Someone whispered something to the person beside them. A woman a few feet away looked at Lena and then at the elevator and then back at Lena with an expression that sat somewhere between surprise and mild alarm.
Lena looked down at herself quickly. Her jacket was straight. Her blouse was tucked. Nothing was out of place.
She looked back at the elevator and pressed the button. The doors opened and she stepped in.
The doors were almost closed when they opened again.
The man who stepped in was tall, somewhere in his mid thirties, dark jacket, dark eyes. The kind of presence that filled a space without announcing itself. He glanced at her once as he stepped in and a shift moved through his expression. Gone before she could catch it.
He pressed a floor and settled back as the doors closed. Lena faced forward.
Then the elevator jerked.
Lena grabbed the rail instantly. “Oh my God.” She looked around. “It stopped. Why did it stop?”
“Relax,” the man said.
She waited. Five seconds. Ten.
“Why is it not moving?”
He said nothing.
Then the elevator lurched forward. Her footing went, her hand reached for something that wasn’t there and the next thing she knew she was pressed against him.
She froze. His hand had caught her elbow. He was completely steady. He looked unbothered even.
She straightened up and took a step back. “I’m so sorry. The elevator just—” She cleared her throat. “Thank you.”
He said nothing. But the corner of his mouth moved.
The doors opened.
They stepped out at the same time and Lena looked left and right trying to get her bearings. The floor was all glass offices and quiet corridors and she had no idea where the reception area was.
“That way.”
She turned. He was already walking in the other direction, his hands in his pockets.
She looked after him. “How did you know I was here for an interview?”
He didn’t stop or look back.
She stood there for a second. Then she shook her head and turned in the direction he had pointed.
There was just something about the way he moved. The way he occupied space without seeming to try. She had met confident men before. Shane was confident. But this was different. This was something else entirely.
She shook it off and kept walking.
Roman stepped into his office and reached for his phone before he had even crossed the room.
Miles picked up on the second ring.
“Guess who I just met,” Roman said.
He settled into his chair and leaned back.
“She’s here,” he said. “My wife. She’s in the building. Apparently she’s here for an interview.” He paused. “I suppose we were always going to find each other. I just didn’t expect it to be this soon.”
He picked up a pen and turned it once between his fingers.
“Who’s the interviewer?” He listened for a moment. “Good. Pull them off it.” He set the pen down. “I’ll handle it myself.“
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