Read Online Going Down: The Elevator Series by Katherine Stevens - Free Book Online

between Barry and me.
    Where’s a good sinkhole when you need one?
    I attempted speech again, but only a sound akin to a dying moose came out.
    Barry, who was still valiantly offering his oral services, noticed Cole for the first time. “Who are you?”
    “Who am I ? Who are you ?” Cole stood taller while Barry picked something out of his teeth. Cole’s jaw was set in a way I could only assume meant he was furious. His hands flexed and balled into fists.
    This is going so well.
    The two started talking over each other, their voices escalating. Unable to elicit a coherent answer from Barry, Cole turned his attention to me.
    Not good. Not good. Not good.
    “Is there anything you would like to tell me, Cici? Or should I say, Ms. Carrington ?”
    After an interminable absence, my sense of self-preservation kicked in and my voice returned. Jumping up, I snapped, “Barry! Out!” I pointed to the door like I was sending an errant child to bed without dinner.
    “Cici, honey—”
    “Barry, if you value your life you will leave without another word.” He hesitated so I added, “Now!”
    He slinked out, pouting and mumbling to himself, and closed the door behind him.
    I had been waiting for a lightning bolt from the sky to tell me how to fix this. I would’ve even accepted a burning bush or a voice telling me to build and they will come, but it appeared I was on my own here. I stared at Cole staring at me. The tension in the room was so thick it felt like a third person. If one of us didn’t speak soon I’d have to name it and claim it as a dependent on my 1040.
    “Um, hi.” I tried to will moisture into my mouth with no success. My IQ having dropped one hundred points in the last hour, I added a tiny wave to my greeting.
    “ Hi ? Is this a joke to you, Cici?” His jaw was still tense and I could almost read his elevated heart rate from the vein in his forehead. He started pacing across the length of my office.
    “Huh?” was the best response I could muster.
    Oh good. I’m monosyllabic again. This really rounds out my morning.
    “Am I the butt of some kind of sick office joke?” He ran his hands through his perfect hair as he started to pace. “Did you know who I was all along? I thought we had a real connection, but maybe that was just part of the new hire orientation. Tell me, does everyone get the Cici Carrington treatment?”
    The last statement jarred me out of my muteness so fast I fell back in the chair. Briskly recovering, I lunged out of my seat and rounded my desk. If I couldn’t kick Karma in the nut sac I might as well settle for the next best thing.
    “How dare you?” My enunciation was off the charts. “How dare you imply that I would put out for just anyone, particularly for someone as revolting as Barry! I didn’t know who you were until after I knew you in the biblical sense.” I descended upon him like a lioness on a gazelle. At least he had the decency to look afraid. “Furthermore,” I continued, “you were the first foreign invader of my castle in an embarrassingly long time. That was the best date I’ve ever had, and you had to go and ruin it by being my subordinate! Damn you and damn the way you wear a suit!”
    I was getting extra irate because my body clearly missed the memo about how we hate Cole now. The man really could wear a suit. I’d like to rip off his pork sword and throw it out the window, but I think my lady bits would swan dive after it.
    Ignoring the tingling sensation his proximity caused, I jabbed him in the chest with my index finger. “If you think for one minute—”
    “Best date?” He grabbed my hand before I could finish my sentence. A smile spread across his face, making me want to slap him. Then bang him. My body might be more confused than my brain.
    “What are you talking about?” I tried to maintain my angry demeanor. His change in tone had me off balance. He had insulted me, but I wasn’t exactly above reproach as I stood in my disguise after