The doors opened and her stomach sank. Evidently, the odds were good . . . or bad. Whatever.
Her breath caught in her throat as Garrett took a step inside and then came to an abrupt halt, looking at her for the space of a second before his features became emblazoned with an emotion that she couldn’t make out. He was obviously surprised to see her, and a small flurry of butterflies tried to take off in her stomach but she took a deep breath and refused to give in to them.
“Hello,” she said as nonchalantly as possible. Feeling as if she suddenly had no strength, she dropped her gym bag down to the floor and stepped all the way to the back of the car, finding the corner where she held onto the railings with both hands.
He gave her nothing more than a chin-lift in answer, turning to the control panel. When he didn’t press a button for another floor, and immediately noticing the way he was dressed, it became obvious to her that he was probably going down to the gym earlier than he usually did. Damn it!
The doors slid closed and they began to move, and just as her mind was going crazy trying to figure a way out of having to use the gym with him in attendance, he lifted his hand and slammed a button on the control panel with a force that made her jump. The lift slid to a jarring halt between floors.
Chapter Three
Every other concern flew from Maria’s head as Garrett silently turned to face her, the muscles of his neck cording and a tic appearing in his cheek.
Her tongue slid out and she licked her dry lips. “Why’d you do that?” Panic began to infiltrate as his eyes ran up and down her form.
“It’s my elevator.” His words held both ownership and threat . . . and they seemed to be claiming more than the elevator.
Immediate tension mounted as she realized that it could be a long, long while before another employee tried to use this particular elevator. Attempting to quell her nerves, she said in a smooth voice that she would have been proud of if she hadn’t been scared shitless, “And I’d like out of it, please.”
“All right, no problem.” Even as he answered agreeably, he didn’t try to fulfill her request in any other way. All he did was lean against the wall not two feet away from her, crossing his arms over his chest and his feet at the ankles, as if they were going to be there for a while.
He made no move to do her bidding, and Maria tried to breathe evenly as she took in his jacked-up physique. He was wearing basketball shorts and a tight-fitting, sleeveless t-shirt, and tennis shoes that probably cost ten times what hers had. His biceps were massive, his calves held definition that was more than impressive, and he was no less intimidating dressed as he was now than when he wore a tailored suit and was sitting behind a desk. In fact, with his muscles on full display, she felt her heart skip a beat. Adding to her already stretched nerves was the fear she tried every day of her life to overcome. Claustrophobia.
She’d gotten stuck in a small tool shed at a house belonging to one of her mother’s friends when she’d been about six years old. The women had been catching up and hadn’t noticed she’d wandered off. She’d been missing for probably a good half hour when they eventually found her, dazed, dehydrated and traumatized at finding herself in a dark, locked shed that smelt musty, as if it didn’t contain enough oxygen. A frisson ran through her at the memory, still so vivid in her mind. Her life hadn’t been the same since, and even now, confined spaces were enough to make her heart skip a beat and perspiration break out all over. It was a minor miracle that she rode the elevator alone in the first place, it took everything she had, and she always made sure she carried her phone.
Now, with the conveyance at a complete standstill and Garrett Rule standing over her as if he had no intention of letting her out of the enclosed compartment any time soon, her insides were enduring a double dose of apprehension.
As she stayed in the back corner, resolutely refusing to tell him of her fear, he turned and put a shoulder to the wall, facing her completely. Her blood began pumping triple time, as he did nothing but lean against the wall and continue to stare at her.
She didn’t know what she was scared of, exactly. She was usually less afraid inside an elevator when another person was with her.
And she certainly wasn’t afraid of Garrett.