Erika looked up at the darkening sky and picked up her pace. What a morning for her car not to start. She had hoped the rain would not come until after she’d made the six minute walk to the office but that was looking less and less likely. Was it too much to ask that it wait to rain for a measly two minutes? It wasn’t to be. Her luck had completely vanished for the day as big fat droplets dotted the sidewalk. she was almost resigned to show up at work utterly bedraggled With no umbrella and wearing high heels. Almost.
she pushed through the glass doors of her office building with her drenched head held high. The air conditioned lobby blasted her with far too cold a breeze for such a wet day. Shivers tore up and down her soaked self. With a glance down she took in her once pressed and now wrinkled clothes and hoped that she wasn’t too unsightly. More importantly, she only had two hours till her meeting with the first client she was handling on her own and it wasn’t going to be messed up because of the rain rendering her and her presentation unpresentable.
“Miss Ryan?” One of the security officers called, waving her over to his desk. He looked harried, desperate, and utterly relieved to see her there. “There is a client here for the boss but her secretary isn’t picking up. Can you take him up?”
Feeling like she was still dripping, she put on her best smile, “Of course, Jim. Where is he?”
Jim pointed over to one of the plush chairs by the window. A very well dressed and obviously dry man sat in the one farthest from the security desk. The suit and the man wearing it both looked like they had just come from a fashion photo shoot. It made sense, Ms Mullen was in charge of marketing. It was no surprise that she would have gorgeous clients. Jim moved to greet another client approaching the desk but called back to her, “Thanks. I owe you one.”
Erika nodded as she once again looked over to where Jim had pointed. She eyed the dark haired client facing away from her. Briskly she crossed the tiled lobby floor, trying to not click her shoes too loud and fighting back shivers whenever she crossed under an air vent.
Once she reached the man she moved to stand where she was sure he could see her and cleared her throat. “Excuse me sir. Are you here to see Ms Mullen?”
“Yes.” He answered, turning to face her, his eyes crinkled in a hidden sparkling smile. “Nice morning for a walk.”
Stunned, Erika blushed; he must have seen her running pell-mell through the rain to get inside.
He stood, still smirking, and motioned for her to lead the way. Silently they walked side by side to the elevator. Erika’s mind raced, looking for something to break the silence without having to explain why a so-called professional was running around in the rain.
Thankfully for her, he broke the silence first. “Your boss alright with you being late?”
“I’m normally early. Car troubles.” Even though it sounded like a wad of excuses, she also knew it was true. However, there was no chance she was going to explain any more than that to a stranger, and a client at that.
The elevator dinged and Erika sighed in relief as he stepped off the elevator. The tiny voice in the back of her head urged her to be the proper escort and walk him down to the correct office but she found herself pointing instead. “Ms Mullen’s office is straight down the hall and to the left.”
He turned around in surprise. “You don’t work on the same floor as Ms Mullen? What if I need to make a follow-up appointment?”
Erika rolled her eyes, even though it was an understandable mistake. “That is what her secretary is for. Forgive me for not introducing myself properly, however I guess I should point out that I am not Ms Mullen’s secretary. I am one of the landscape planners on a different floor. Jim asked me to bring you up since I was there. However, as you so kindly pointed out I am late and I have to get to my desk.” He stuck out his hand and stopped the doors from closing.
His smile was back and in full charming force. “And what might your name be then?”
Shaking her head she shot back a smile of her own, the one she reserved for sweet-talking difficult clients. “And risk having you tell my boss about my unprofessional appearance? No.”
“I insist.” He moved back into the elevator, letting the doors close behind him.
“Insist away Mr….?” Erika goaded.
“Shane Walford. Now will you tell me yours?” He kept backing her up until she was cornered. Surprisingly she didn’t feel too overly concerned.
“Ms Mullen is going to be wondering where you are.” She nodded toward the doors.
His answering nod did nothing for her fluttery nerves. Desperately struggling to keep her breathing even, Erika looked him in the eye without flinching. She thought she was doing well at maintaining a cool façade but when his smirk melted into a full megawatt smile she faltered. He pulled back and leaned over to hit the open door button. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure your name out. One way or another.”
The doors reopened and he strode out and straight over to Ms Mullen’s office. Erika gulped in a huge breath once the doors closed again. It took a second for her to remember to press the button to get to her floor. It was only after stepping off the elevator that she realized that if he was watching, she had just told him what floor she worked on.
Maybe being found would be fun.
