and faster as I heard him approach the side of the wall where the cupboard was. Holding my breath, I waited for him to turn around and go back outside. But he didn’t; instead, his steps got louder, telling me he was coming closer.
Oh, God, don’t tell me this was the one guard who took his job so seriously he literally checked every nook and cranny in all of the club…
I waited and waited for his steps to fade because he was making his way back to the glass door to leave finally. My heart pounded with such fervor it felt like it had transformed into a machine gun in my chest. After a few seconds, there was no question the steps were getting louder. He was definitely approaching the cupboard. Fuck. What would I do if he opened the door? Punch him unconscious, hoping that he never got a chance to see what had hit him? No, I couldn’t do that; I couldn’t count on him not getting a glimpse of me before passing out. But I needed to do something . It would be very hard for me to explain what I was doing inside the cupboard. Surely it would result in me being fired from Nikkei. Even so, attacking the guard would be wrong; the man was just doing his job. Frenetically, I grabbed whatever I could feel on the inside of the cupboard’s door. Maybe if I could hold it tightly enough, he would think it was locked and let it be.
The steps stopped right in front of the cupboard. I had managed to find a small edge on the lock that I was grasping from the inside with all my might. If he didn’t pull very hard, he might buy that it was locked. Oh, God, please let him think it’s locked…
But instead of trying the door’s handle, I heard him suddenly walk away from where I was and then exit the studio.
Closing my eyes, I let out the breath I had been holding, feeling how my entire body relaxed. He must have changed his mind at the last minute.
I remained in the locker for another few minutes before I dared pushing it open a little to see what was going on outside. The club was dark and empty according to my current vantage point, just as it should be at nine fifteen on a Sunday night, the time my phone showed. I pushed open the door a little more and confirmed that the coast was clear as I could easily see most of the sixth floor through the studio’s wide glass walls. I slipped out of the cupboard and, stretching my limbs to get the blood moving in my body again, I walked toward the studio’s exit.
At this point, I was pretty convinced that the person behind the texts must be someone who worked at the club like me, as it would be easiest for someone like that to hide the way I had done in order to meet after hours. I supposed it could be a member as well, but my money was on an employee, all of us being much more aware of the closing procedures. I couldn’t imagine how someone else would get into the building unless they had keys to the club.
I peeked in every direction before I snuck out of the studio to be sure the entire sixth floor was indeed empty. It was, so I hurried toward the sundeck that was on the opposite side of the two group exercise studios. It was barely twenty past nine, but I wanted to be the first one on the deck so I could scope out my surroundings, plan what to do in case me and the person I was about to meet got into a scuffle. Chances were we would. I put a hand on my gun that as usual was in my hip holster under a baggy shirt just to reassure myself it was still there. It might come in handy.
The rooftop was as empty and quiet as the rest of the club when I got out there. Since I didn’t see any reason to hide any longer, I stretched out on one of the many sun chairs available, one that enabled me to get a good view of the only entrance to the rooftop’s sundeck. My text stalker would have to enter there.
The minutes ticked by, but no one came. I kept looking around, wondering if there was another way to get out on the sundeck that I wasn’t aware of. I finally got to my feet and walked up to
Oh, God, don’t tell me this was the one guard who took his job so seriously he literally checked every nook and cranny in all of the club…
I waited and waited for his steps to fade because he was making his way back to the glass door to leave finally. My heart pounded with such fervor it felt like it had transformed into a machine gun in my chest. After a few seconds, there was no question the steps were getting louder. He was definitely approaching the cupboard. Fuck. What would I do if he opened the door? Punch him unconscious, hoping that he never got a chance to see what had hit him? No, I couldn’t do that; I couldn’t count on him not getting a glimpse of me before passing out. But I needed to do something . It would be very hard for me to explain what I was doing inside the cupboard. Surely it would result in me being fired from Nikkei. Even so, attacking the guard would be wrong; the man was just doing his job. Frenetically, I grabbed whatever I could feel on the inside of the cupboard’s door. Maybe if I could hold it tightly enough, he would think it was locked and let it be.
The steps stopped right in front of the cupboard. I had managed to find a small edge on the lock that I was grasping from the inside with all my might. If he didn’t pull very hard, he might buy that it was locked. Oh, God, please let him think it’s locked…
But instead of trying the door’s handle, I heard him suddenly walk away from where I was and then exit the studio.
Closing my eyes, I let out the breath I had been holding, feeling how my entire body relaxed. He must have changed his mind at the last minute.
I remained in the locker for another few minutes before I dared pushing it open a little to see what was going on outside. The club was dark and empty according to my current vantage point, just as it should be at nine fifteen on a Sunday night, the time my phone showed. I pushed open the door a little more and confirmed that the coast was clear as I could easily see most of the sixth floor through the studio’s wide glass walls. I slipped out of the cupboard and, stretching my limbs to get the blood moving in my body again, I walked toward the studio’s exit.
At this point, I was pretty convinced that the person behind the texts must be someone who worked at the club like me, as it would be easiest for someone like that to hide the way I had done in order to meet after hours. I supposed it could be a member as well, but my money was on an employee, all of us being much more aware of the closing procedures. I couldn’t imagine how someone else would get into the building unless they had keys to the club.
I peeked in every direction before I snuck out of the studio to be sure the entire sixth floor was indeed empty. It was, so I hurried toward the sundeck that was on the opposite side of the two group exercise studios. It was barely twenty past nine, but I wanted to be the first one on the deck so I could scope out my surroundings, plan what to do in case me and the person I was about to meet got into a scuffle. Chances were we would. I put a hand on my gun that as usual was in my hip holster under a baggy shirt just to reassure myself it was still there. It might come in handy.
The rooftop was as empty and quiet as the rest of the club when I got out there. Since I didn’t see any reason to hide any longer, I stretched out on one of the many sun chairs available, one that enabled me to get a good view of the only entrance to the rooftop’s sundeck. My text stalker would have to enter there.
The minutes ticked by, but no one came. I kept looking around, wondering if there was another way to get out on the sundeck that I wasn’t aware of. I finally got to my feet and walked up to
Similar Books
