Page 37 of The Shake Off

Luck had different plans.

I jolted back slightly as the elevator ground to a halt with a judder. The numbers stuck on twenty-three.

“Um…” I reached and pressed the lobby floor again. And again. Nothing happened.

I looked over to Nathalie who seemed indifferent to the entire situation, so I opened the wall panel and picked up the phone.

“Maintenance,” said a voice at the other end before it even rang. Or maybe elevator phones didn’t ring.

“Hello? This is…” I scanned down the instructions fixed to the panel door, “the north bank elevator three.”

“Yeah, we got you. We’re just fixing a fault; we’re getting to you as soon as possible. Sit tight.”

I blinked. “Sit tight?”

“Yeah, sit tight. We won’t be long.”

I took the deepest breath I could muster, but it didn’t seem to help. I wasn’t usually claustrophobic, but I’d seen enough episodes of Chicago Fire to know this might not end well. “Are we going to plummet to our death?”

“I hope not.”

I assumed that was some kind of elevator maintenance humor, though I didn’t find it particularly humorous.

“Sit tight, sweetheart. You’re going to be fine. It’s not the cables, it’s the electronics.”

It was hard not to panic about dying, but also remain calm and collected in front of Nathalie Cheung. I dug deep into the acting classes I’d taken in ninth grade, and attempted to channel my best ‘unruffled elevator passenger’.

“Well, please hurry. Thank you,” I added, and hung up.

I slumped down to the floor, and looked over at Nathalie, still standing against the railings and appearing far calmer than I felt. She would though, she was Nathalie Cheung.

“He said it’s an electronics issue, they’re fixing it. Won’t be long.”

She nodded. “It’s this whole building. The express elevator was broken for the same reason yesterday. They’re working on it now.”

“Oh,” I replied, unsure of what else to say, especially as she went back to her phone.

I pulled out mine and sent off a text to Kit.

Payton:I’m stuck in an elevator. How’s your day going?

Payton:It’s with Nathalie Cheung though, so if we’re stuck in here long enough, I might be able to build the courage to ask her for a job. Ha ha.

I watched the screen for a reply but nothing came, she was likely giving a lecture on the influence of Shakespeare in our daily lives, or something along those lines.

I was just about to openTinderwhen Nathalie sat down opposite me. “Which floor do you work on?”

“The fortieth. I’m in children’s editing.”

“You look familiar, what’s your name?”

“Payton. Payton Lopez.”

She frowned, her red lips pursing slightly. “Did you edit a book last year…Flash the Wonder Dog? Was that yours?”

Holy shit. Nathalie Cheung knew my name. She’d heard of me.

My eyes popped wider with each nod I gave. “Yeah, that was mine.”

---