Any feedback is welcomed, as well as requests for more to this story.
~~~~~~~~~
Her latest painting along with a brand new program focusing on arts and sciences for children from all backgrounds and levels of understanding was just about ready to unveil. Several months prior she had accepted an opportunity to not only display her work at the Center for Deep Space Exploration, but to implement and run a brand new educational program. The task seemed daunting at the time but she was up for the challenge and after countless days, weeks, and months of hard work the project was almost complete.
It was Friday at 9:15 PM and the unveiling of her work would be taking place on Monday. She was tired and a bit frantic, but was nearly done. Her plan was to have everything done and set up, show up Monday, and knock it out of the park. Everyone and their mothers would be there; the director of the program, the mayor, caterers, photographers, the whole nine yards.
She made a few edits, saved her work, and turned on the projector to go through her speech and PowerPoint presentation one more time before calling it a night. After waiting a few moments, she noticed the display unit was not on. She stood under the projector and looked up at it, pressing the power button on the remote several times; the on/off light on the machine was not even illuminating.
"Ugh! You have to be fucking kidding me!"
She was so close to being done and now another last minute issue was threatening to derail her evening. She scrolled through her phone and found the phone number for IT Support.
"Thank you for calling Deep Space Technical Support. Our service technicians are currently busy assisting other customers. Please leave a message, or visit our office in room B214--"
"Ugh!!" She ended the call and began walking hurriedly towards the elevators.
"B214? That's in the basement."
She got in the elevator, pressed the "B" floor button, and watched the doors close. After a few seconds, the door opened and she exited, scanning her surroundings. She saw a lot of industrial equipment, a room with computer servers in it, and door marked "Maintenance & Engineering." There was a call-box and she pressed the button.
"Hello? Is anyone there? I'm having some projector issues."
No response. She pressed the button again.
"Hello? Is anyone still working? Just looking for a bit of help!"
No one responded, but the door came ajar as she tried the handle. She opened it fully and entered; inside was a dimly lit hallway, with pipes running along the walls and ceiling. At the end of the hallway was a left turn, and a room with a sign on it that said B214.
She walked quickly towards the room and just before getting close, a guy abruptly walked through the adjoining hallway and nearly collided with her.
"Jesus!" He yelled, and--in an attempt to avoid a collision--turned and hit his head on a low-hanging metal pipe.
"Ow, fuck!" He grimaced as he rubbed his head.
"Oh my god!" She explained, as she stepped back almost losing her balance.
Aside from almost crashing into him and hitting his head on the pipe, he was soaking wet and wearing only a towel. He clutched the towel with one hand and rubbed his head with the other. She spun around and looked the other way, covering her face.
"Oh, geez I'm so sorry! I was just looking for someone to---"
"No worries, sorry about that! I didn't think anyone was working this late. I just got done working out and I heard the doorbell, I didn't think anyone was still here! In fact I thought the buzzer was malfunctioning and was on my way to shut it off."
"No no, I'm sorry to bother you! Are you alright?" She replied, still facing the other way. "It's late and I wasn't sure if anyone was here either! I'm trying to finish a big project and was having some issues in my studio, so I was just seeing if any of the technicians were on shift this late. I tried calling the number and... Oh god, is your head OK? Sorry again, I feel terrible!"
"Yes ma'am, that would be me although right now I'm clearly not tending to my duties. I'm good, no worries it's just a scratch I'm sure."
She began to feel slightly at ease by his relaxed demeanor. Despite just bumping his head and being almost naked, he was still focused on trying to help her and she found it sweet and endearing.
"I'll be happy to help you, let me just get changed. Geez, I'm so sorry, this is embarrassing. Come this way, there are some chairs in the office."
He opened the door to B214 and they entered. It was a fairly large office with a waiting area. There was a coat closet with the door open and his work clothes were folded over the top of it. He stepped behind it and she saw the clothes come down and his towel go up.
"We have a gym and locker area down here, but the ventilation sucks and it gets so hot that I change in my office," he began explaining nervously as she heard him fumble with his clothes.
"It's quite alright, I'm the one intruding on your work space!"
The closet door did not fully cover her view of him changing, and she caught herself staring as parts of his body went in and out of view. His hair was cut very short and he had a short, dark beard. As he moved around, she noticed a cut on the top of his head and a light trickle of blood down his neck and back.
"Oh jeez, you're bleeding!" As the words left her mouth, she realized she had outed herself for staring at him. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Am I?"
He stepped out partially from behind the door, holding his pants against his lower body. He patted his head and looked at his hand, seeing a spot of blood. His chest and shoulders were broad and muscular, and his wet body hair stuck to him, outlining his toned stomach muscles.
"Ah, it's just a scratch, really, I'll just throw an adhesive bandage on it."
He tossed his pants back over the top of the door and began attempting to towel off the back of his head and neck. She caught herself staring at him again yet noticed he was seemingly unbothered by her presence and his nakedness. She continued looking at him as he checked the towel and his hand for blood.
"You know, I can't quite see where the cut is, and if I don't dry it the bandage won't stick, would you mind giving me a hand?"
"Of course, it's the least I can do!" She replied, doing her best to sound calm and collected.
She stood up and walked towards him, averting her eyes trying not to be obvious.
"What should I use toβ"