"Hold please!"
Gordon rushed through the elevator doors before they slid shut, almost spilling the four coffees in his tray. His hands were already shaking from the espresso he had knocked back on his brisk walk back to the office building.
It was only when he realized who was on the elevator that he regretted his outburst. His Boss, Steve Warner, didn't press the "door open" button for him, and instead watched Gordon struggle to jam himself between the sliding doors.
Steve was a top-floor executive who cut a sharp, rugged figure in his black designer suits. He was twenty years older than Gordon and occupied the top of the ladder that Gordon was only scrabbling at the bottom of. He struck Gordon as exactly the type to play hard-headed boss at the office, and faceless Grindr torso by night, and couldn't help but feel a rush of attraction whenever the older exec took charge in meetings or disappeared plastic-boxed salads or wrapped sandwiches into his office.
Tèa, one of the other interns, had caught him looking once. Gordon had no choice but to appreciate the slight bulge in Steve's slacks while he spoke inaudibly to Tanya, the firm's senior marketing manager. She nodded at him professionally, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear, before returning to her own office.
"They're fucking, you know," Tèa said with a sly smile. She was perched on Gordon's desk.
Tèa had told Gordon she was only here until she could land something in design, just to keep her parents happy, and refused to surrender her over-lined eyes or thick choker necklace to the powers that be.
Gordon was the opposite. An obvious try-hard, he'd had his navy blue slacks and blazer tailored to his slim frame, leaving just a hint of checkered socks visible above brown oxfords. With his hair coiffed and his face freshly shaven, he'd become the gopher for tasks the office had long since given up on asking Tèa to handle. As she'd advised him on his first day on the job: the less you give, the less they'll expect of you—which was exactly the way she liked it.
And in all the time she spent reclined on her phone browsing online fashion mags, she was actually quite good at picking up on the office undercurrents.
"Where'd you hear that?" He asked.
Tèa shrugged. "Just look at them." Her eyes followed Steve, who was waiting an excusable amount of time while his gaze trailed after Tanya's pencil-skirted behind. With one hand in his pocket, he glanced around the room, completely skimming over the interns.
"No shit," Gordon laughed, incredulous. "How long?"
"Long as I've been here, at least. Longer, I bet. They've got their little routine down to a science. You know how Steve takes his lunch early and goes out the back way instead of taking the main elevator?"
"You don't think they actually..." Gordon grinned devilishly.
"Always time for a quickie. Maybe they like the thrill of almost getting caught."
Steve turned and headed for the glass doors of the conference room.
"Well," Gordon rolled back in his office chair, "guess that's my cue." He stood to his full, gangly six feet.
Tèa inspected her nails. "Go get 'em, busboy. Don't forget to lick 'em clean."
"Some of us actually want to keep our jobs," he teased back.
She pushed herself off of his desk, taking a box of paper clips with her. "Well don't let me keep you from the hamster wheel."
-
Gordon wished he had remembered that conversation when the elevator slid open the next floor up, and Tanya stepped on. Her eyebrows rose, apparently surprised to see that Steve had company. She recovered, giving him a quick smile and turning to face the door.
Steve gave no outward sign of recognition, aside from a slight stiffening of his posture.
Tèa was definitely going to want to hear about this later.
The three of them stood in awkward silence as the elevator continued to rise—Gordon wished they'd at least play some of that shitty elevator music. Tanya took out her phone, looking at the lock screen, before sliding it back into her purse.
The light above the number seven blinked out. Gordon waited for it to reappear over eight, but it was taking longer than usual. Then, with a lurch, the elevator came to a complete stop.
Gordon caught himself against the elevator wall, managing to only spill a splash of coffee onto his oxfords. Behind him, Steve braced against the impact. Tanya teetered to one side, letting slip a sharp, "Jesus!" before regaining balance.
Tanya jammed her finger into the "door open" button, eyes scanning the elevator wildly. Nothing happened. The overhead lights flickered, went out, and came back on again.
Gordon's nostrils flared with panic. This was something that only happened in the movies, right? He shut his eyes, waiting for the floor to drop out from under them, one mechanical malfunction away from plummeting to his death.
Seconds passed and nothing happened. With each passing breath, Gordon felt more confident that they weren't going anywhere.
"We're stuck!" Tanya whirled toward both of them.
"Out of the way." Steve shoved past Gordon, this time actually splashing coffee all over his shirt.
"Hey!" That was definitely going to stain.
Steve ignored him, pressing the button marked with an alarm bell.
Nothing happened.
"Fuck it." Taking his phone from his pocket, Steve punched a few numbers and held it to his ear. "Hello? Yes, this is Warner. Yes. I'm—
still
speaking." His irritation was palpable. "Elevator's stuck on the seventh floor. I
know
because I'm on it. Yes, elevator three." He glanced up at Tanya, pausing for a moment. "Three of us. Yep." He cleared his throat. "When can you get us out of here?" A pause. "And how long is that going to take?"
He shut the phone off. "Motherfucker."
He'd never heard Steve speak like this before, though it was obvious he had a temper. Let's just say that you didn't want to screw up Steve Warner's coffee order. You didn't even want to look at him funny.
In Gordon's mind, Steve was a heavy-handed daddy, one misplaced "yes, sir" from getting out the belt, and that idea was overwhelmingly hot to him. Even when he was tripping over his words and picking up the crumbs of Steve's approval—usually just a nod or a stoic "you're dismissed"—Gordon stumbled out of his office flushed, exhilarated, and undeniably aroused.
Gordon swallowed. "What did they say?"
Steve glared at him, communicating with the clench of his jaw that Gordon would face the brunt of his infraction later. He turned to Tanya, softening a little. "They said it's going to be forty minutes before maintenance can get it figured out."
"Forty minutes?" Tanya's voice was shrill with panic. "And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?"
"I don't
know,
Tanya." Steve spat the words.
She huffed. She looked at Gordon like she might say something to him, like someone might for once consider that he was an autonomous being with thoughts of his own.
"Well," she said stiffly. "This. Just. Blows."
-
Forty minutes came and went. Steve passed the time growling over the phone, canceling appointments and trying to goad someone in the office into action. It was clear that he hated having so little power over his situation.