ask, because the conference is over in four, but somehow I’m excited now that I might get the opportunity to spend more time with her.
“I’m staying on for a week after, you know, kind of like an extended vacation.” She releases a long, drawn-out sigh. “I haven’t had a vacation in a while, plus I want to try to see my mom.”
“What about your dad?” I question, just as the elevator roars to life and starts moving again. Fran’s eyes grow dim and she frowns, making me think that wasn’t a topic she was too interested in discussing anyway.
“Fuck!” I happen to glance at my watch and notice it’s eleven o’clock, which means I missed my presentation.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, gathering her briefcase from the floor.
“Well, the CEO is probably not going to be pleased that I missed the presentation.” I shake my head, not in the mood to face his wrath when things don’t go according to plan.
“Yeah, well, it couldn’t be helped, Matt. We were stuck. I’m sure he’ll understand that,” she says, before pressing the button for the next floor, and I rub my chin and eye her suspiciously because we’re going in the wrong direction.
“What are you doing? We need to go to the lobby.”
The elevator stops on the twelfth floor and she grabs my hand, dragging me through the doors as they slide open, pushing the up arrow on the car next to it.
“Where are we going?” I furrow my brow, looking to each end of the hallway, trying to make sense of what the hell she’s doing.
“Let’s play hooky,” she says with an excited gleam in her eyes, and for some reason my whole body tingles in anticipation at the thought of doing something spontaneous…with Fran.
“Hooky? What about the conference?” My insides have already begun their internal duel over what I should do in this situation.
“Matt, come on. It’s the first day and it ends at one today. We already missed two hours anyway. Come on, let’s get out of here,” she urges, flashing me that irresistible smile as she waits for me to answer.
I bite the inside of my lip and I’m sure she can literally see the wheels turning as I debate with myself. “Okay, why not?” I agree, just as the elevator opens and we step inside.
“Great!” She claps her hands and looks pointedly at me. “So what should we do?” she asks, with the face of a small child about to embark on a new adventure.
An idea pops in my head and I eye her clothes realizing we’re not appropriately dressed for what I have planned. “Okay, I thought of something we can do but we’re going to have to change.”
She looks down at herself and then back up at me. “Why?”
“Because you’re going to need comfortable clothing. Throw on a pair of jeans and some sneakers and I’ll be down to get you in a few minutes.” When we reach her floor, I hold the doors open and she gets out, stopping just a few inches from me.
She stares at me with those effervescent green eyes and it’s so hypnotic I can barely remember my own name. “Thank you, Matt, for being there and helping calm me down. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been there. I probably would’ve freaked out.” She giggles. “Oh wait, I did.”
“I’m glad I was there to help and I think you did really well,” I tell her with sincerity, “because if it was me, and there had been a clown on there, it might not have ended as well.” I throw her a wink and she strolls off, her carefree laugh echoing through the hallway.
The moment the door closes, I exhale a shaky breath. The whole experience in the elevator comes crashing down on me, relief and something else mixing in my gut. Thank goodness Matt was there or else I don’t know how it would’ve turned out. I smile, thinking about the scary clowns. Matt may hide it well, but behind that composed exterior is someone vulnerable. I inwardly cringe, hoping that during our conversation he didn’t pick up on my uneasiness.
“I’m staying on for a week after, you know, kind of like an extended vacation.” She releases a long, drawn-out sigh. “I haven’t had a vacation in a while, plus I want to try to see my mom.”
“What about your dad?” I question, just as the elevator roars to life and starts moving again. Fran’s eyes grow dim and she frowns, making me think that wasn’t a topic she was too interested in discussing anyway.
“Fuck!” I happen to glance at my watch and notice it’s eleven o’clock, which means I missed my presentation.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, gathering her briefcase from the floor.
“Well, the CEO is probably not going to be pleased that I missed the presentation.” I shake my head, not in the mood to face his wrath when things don’t go according to plan.
“Yeah, well, it couldn’t be helped, Matt. We were stuck. I’m sure he’ll understand that,” she says, before pressing the button for the next floor, and I rub my chin and eye her suspiciously because we’re going in the wrong direction.
“What are you doing? We need to go to the lobby.”
The elevator stops on the twelfth floor and she grabs my hand, dragging me through the doors as they slide open, pushing the up arrow on the car next to it.
“Where are we going?” I furrow my brow, looking to each end of the hallway, trying to make sense of what the hell she’s doing.
“Let’s play hooky,” she says with an excited gleam in her eyes, and for some reason my whole body tingles in anticipation at the thought of doing something spontaneous…with Fran.
“Hooky? What about the conference?” My insides have already begun their internal duel over what I should do in this situation.
“Matt, come on. It’s the first day and it ends at one today. We already missed two hours anyway. Come on, let’s get out of here,” she urges, flashing me that irresistible smile as she waits for me to answer.
I bite the inside of my lip and I’m sure she can literally see the wheels turning as I debate with myself. “Okay, why not?” I agree, just as the elevator opens and we step inside.
“Great!” She claps her hands and looks pointedly at me. “So what should we do?” she asks, with the face of a small child about to embark on a new adventure.
An idea pops in my head and I eye her clothes realizing we’re not appropriately dressed for what I have planned. “Okay, I thought of something we can do but we’re going to have to change.”
She looks down at herself and then back up at me. “Why?”
“Because you’re going to need comfortable clothing. Throw on a pair of jeans and some sneakers and I’ll be down to get you in a few minutes.” When we reach her floor, I hold the doors open and she gets out, stopping just a few inches from me.
She stares at me with those effervescent green eyes and it’s so hypnotic I can barely remember my own name. “Thank you, Matt, for being there and helping calm me down. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been there. I probably would’ve freaked out.” She giggles. “Oh wait, I did.”
“I’m glad I was there to help and I think you did really well,” I tell her with sincerity, “because if it was me, and there had been a clown on there, it might not have ended as well.” I throw her a wink and she strolls off, her carefree laugh echoing through the hallway.
The moment the door closes, I exhale a shaky breath. The whole experience in the elevator comes crashing down on me, relief and something else mixing in my gut. Thank goodness Matt was there or else I don’t know how it would’ve turned out. I smile, thinking about the scary clowns. Matt may hide it well, but behind that composed exterior is someone vulnerable. I inwardly cringe, hoping that during our conversation he didn’t pick up on my uneasiness.
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