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Ty picked up his pace when he heard the elevator ding just around the corner. The lifts in this building were notoriously slow and he was already running late. Not that he cared all that much about being late-but if he missed the elevator this time, he’d be waiting a long time for the next one. He rounded the corner just in time to see a dark-haired man step into the elevator.
“Hey, could you hold the door please?”
The man glanced his way briefly before he reached out and…pushed the button to close the fucking door!?
That asshole! Ty wasn’t about to let him get away with that. Breaking into a sprint, he managed to slip his hand into the elevator door just in time to shove it open and step inside. After an irritated huff to the only other occupant, he turned and pushed the button for the 39th floor, where his offices were located. Noticing that Mr. Impatient behind him had selected the 40th floor, a wicked idea occurred to Ty. With a grin and a wink over his shoulder, he reached towards the panel once more.
The low growl and muttered “don’t you dare” from behind him only egged him on as he proceeded to push the button for every single floor. If the asshole was too impatient to hold the door for him for two seconds, lets see how he dealt with having to stop on all 40 floors of the building.
It was at about the thirteenth floor that he realized his mistake: he was now stuck in the elevator with Mr. Impatient for way longer than was completely necessary. A low chuckle came from behind him and he turned slightly, throwing a glare over his shoulder.
His annoyance only grew when he saw how relaxed the guy looked as he cocked an eyebrow at him and asked, “You just realized that you’re stuck with me, didn’t you?”
Ty whirled around and pointed his finger in Mr. Impatient’s face. “You! You started this! I asked you,politely even, to hold the fucking door and you closed it instead!”
The guy just shrugged and said, “Oops.”
Feeling his anger rising, Ty threw his hands up in frustration.
“Oops? Oops? Who the hell does that? You are an asshole.”
“You wouldn’t be the first person to say that.”
Ty rolled his eyes. “I’m so shocked.”
Mr. Impatient didn’t say anything in reply-he just laughed, crossed his arms over his chest casually, and leaned against the back of the elevator. He didn’t know why, but the guy’s casual attitude was just pissing Ty off more.
“What exactly is your problem, man?”
“Me? Nothing. I’m just sitting here.” Mr. Impatient’s gaze turned thoughtful for a moment and then he said probably the last thing Ty would have expected.
“Did you know that your eyes flash a brilliant green when you’re angry? It’s stunning.”
Ty stared at him. After starting and then stopping several times, he finally spit out, “Are you flirtingwith me?”
“Just observing.”
“Well observe something else, hotshot,” Ty muttered before once again turning his back on the guy, trying very hard to pretend that he hadn’t suddenly noticed how attractive the guy was.
Around floor twenty-two, he could feel eyes on him and he turned to catch the guy looking down.
“Are you staring at my ass?”
Mr. Impatient looked entirely too amused as he said, “You did tell me to observe something else. Not a whole lot of options in the elevator. That we’re stuck in. Because of you.”
“Oh my god!” Ty shook his head. “There is something seriously wrong with you, you know that?”
The other man just laughed and, despite what he said, Ty found his anger slowly disappearing. He would not go so far as to admit that he was amused, however.
Several floors later, Ty heard, “So do you really want to know why I pushed the button?”
He turned around and crossed his arms, before answering, “I don’t know. Do I?”
Mr. Impatient suddenly stepped forward, coming so fast and so far into Ty’s personal space that he was forced to take a step backwards. He saw the other man’s arm reach around him and then felt the elevator come to a stop.
“What the hell?”
Mr. Impatient’s voice was low as he said, “I’ve seen you around the building before. We’ve even shared the elevator before, a few times. But those times there were other people, too. This time, it would have only been us. And even without stopping at every floor, forty floors is a long ride in this elevator.”
“Ooookay…what? You were afraid of being alone with me?”
Ty was very confused.
“Something like that. I wasn’t lying when I complimented your eyes. But today wasn’t the first time I noticed.”
Things were starting to click into place in Ty’s mind. “So…what exactly are you saying?”
Mr. Impatient ignored Ty’s question and instead kept going.
“Your reaction to my compliment was a surprise, however. You weren’t offended. In fact, the way that your pupils dilated, I would almost say that you liked it.”
Ty hadn’t even realized that they’d both been moving until his back hit the panel behind him.
“Uh…”
He swallowed hard as the other man reached out and grabbed the lapel of Ty’s suit jacket, pulling it back and then slipping something into the pocket of Ty’s dress shirt. Then he winked, reached around to push the button to start the elevator again, and stepped back, once again moving to the back of the elevator.
Ty just stared at him, not even realizing that the door behind him had opened again until Mr. Impatient drawled, “I think this is your stop.”
Ty blinked. “Right.”
He stepped off the elevator and then turned back to look as Mr. Impatient slowly tapped a hand against his own chest, indicating for Ty to look at whatever he’d slipped into his pocket. A slow grin spread across his face as Ty, still in shock, continued to stare until the doors were closed and the elevator was gone. Finally snapping out of it, Ty reached into pocket and pulled out a business card.
Well then. It seemed that Mr. Impatient had a name: Zane Garrett.
Several hours later, after picking up and setting down the business card on his desk several times, Ty finally picked up his phone and dialed the number that was on it.
“Zane Garrett.”
“Uh, hi. It’s Ty.”
“Ty who?”
Crap. Ty forgot that he’d never given Zane his name.
“Uh, from the elevator?”
“Oh, right. That Ty.” The way he said implied that he’d known who it was and had just been messing with him. “I was starting to think I’d been wrong, and you weren’t going to call.”
“Mr. Impatient, indeed.”
Ty had spit it out before he’d even realized what he was doing.
But Zane apparently thought it was funny, as he laughed and said, “So is that what you were calling me in your head?”
Ty felt himself relax when he heard the amusement in the other man’s voice.
“Yeah. Seemed appropriate. Kinda still does.”
“Only when it comes to you, Ty.”
Well, fuck.
Ty didn’t reply and Zane chuckled. “So, on that note, I won’t waste any more time. Would you like to have a drink with me after work? Tonight?”
Ty felt himself grinning as he pretended to think about it. “I don’t know. I still think you’re kind of an asshole.”
“Admit it. It only adds to my charm.”
Ty let out a long, dramatic sigh. “Fine. One drink.”
“We can start with one. So. Meet you in the elevator at five?”
“If you don’t hold the door, the date’s off.”