Clunk! Thud! The sound of grinding gears, then silence. Even after the elevator stopped, the doors refused to open. Lori Hammond looked at the numbers on the panel. Both "11″ and "12″ were lit. She punched the button for the first floor several times. When nothing happened, she turned to Derek Anderson, her boss and the only other passenger in the car.
"Are we stuck?"
"Sure looks like it. I thought they fixed this thing." Derek grabbed the emergency phone and jiggled the receiver. "What’s wrong with this phone? The darn thing won’t work."
Lori took several deep breaths, thankful that her boss directed his attention to the elevator panel and not to her. Maybe the car would move before he noticed her reaction. If he did notice, he’d probably attribute her behavior to claustrophobia. Her reaction didn’t come just from being closed up in a small space, although heaven knew that was scary enough. No, her reaction came being closed up in a small space with Derek Anderson. She managed to focus on her job and hide her attraction to him in the office. However, she didn’t know if she could maintain her professional attitude stuck in an elevator alone with the only man who inspired her passion.
After jiggling the switch hook on the phone several times, Derek slammed down the receiver and pushed the door of the phone cabinet shut. "Lori, do something. We’ve got to get out of here."
She looked at the ceiling and struggled for calm. What did he expect her to do — perform a miracle?
"Mr. Anderson, we’re probably the last people in the building. It’s after eight." They had worked late — again.
He looked surprised when he checked his watch to confirm the time. "There’s bound to be a security guard or the cleaning crew around."
"The security guard is on duty, but he’ll be at his desk on the first floor now. He probably won’t make rounds for another half hour or more." She hoped her companion didn’t notice the quiver in her voice. "I don’t think he can see the elevator from where he sits."
"What about the cleaning crew?" Derek asked.
Lori turned away and pretended to look at the phone. She took a deep breath and clenched her fists to hide the shaking of her hands. "They don’t start till nine o’clock."
"Well, I don’t intend to stay stuck in here for an hour." Derek banged on the walls and yelled, "Anybody out there? We’re stuck! Get us out of here."
His voice echoed in the small space, but they couldn’t hear any sound from outside.
He took off his coat and tossed it in the corner of the elevator on top of his briefcase. He loosened his tie before he hit the wall and called out again.
Lori tuned out her boss’s voice. She was used to his loud and impatient ways now, but she still remembered how terrified she’d been when she started working at Consolidated Electronics eight months ago. She’d been hired as a clerk in the sales department. Although she didn’t work directly with him, she quickly learned to recognize Mr. Anderson’s voice. Everyone in the department took notice when he bellowed. He didn’t like to use the intercom or the phone. If he wanted to see a salesman or one of the office staff, he simply called out from his office. And when Mr. Anderson called, whoever he called came running.
In the first five months she’d worked in the department, Lori had seen four secretaries come and go. Before they left or transferred to other departments, they all gossiped with the other office workers about their boss. "He’s a perfectionist," they complained. "No one can live up to his standards."
Lori never took part in office gossip. Thrilled and proud to have such a good job, she’d never risk it by complaining. Besides, she had no reason to complain. She liked her job.
She filed and copied and ran errands and tried to make herself useful, but inconspicuous. She’d been surprised when Mr. Anderson called her into his office after the fourth secretary left. Surprised that he’d asked her to come into his office, she was even more surprised that he’d walked over to her desk to speak to her.
"Boy, you must really be in trouble," one of her coworkers whispered. "I’ve been here five years, and I’ve never seen him walk up to an employee and speak normally. If he didn’t yell, something must be really wrong."
Lori took a deep breath and steeled herself to face the boss. She refused to consider the possibility that she would be fired. Whatever was wrong, she hoped he’d give her a chance to correct it.
She quietly followed the manager into his office. He took his seat at the desk and motioned her into a chair across from him.