Page 6 of My CEO Neighbor
Chapter Two
Ted
Thursday
Ted stepped into the elevator behind Monica, checking his watch out of habit.Two hours until the rescheduled meeting with Dexter Capital.Plenty of time to review his notes one more time, maybe grab lunch that didn't come from a vending machine.
The elevator doors slid shut with their usual whisper, and Ted pressed the button for the parking garage.Monica stood on the opposite side of the small space, her yoga mat bag slung over one shoulder, radiating the kind of calm that made him a little nervous.
And other things.In the confined space, Ted was acutely aware of her presence—the way she moved.The subtle scent of her made him want to move closer instead of maintaining his distance.She was wearing fitted leggings that hugged every curve and a loose top that somehow managed to be both modest and distracting.
Focus,Ted told himself.He had more important things to think about than his neighbor's yoga clothes.
The elevator descended smoothly for exactly three floors.
Then everything went dark.
The car jerked to a stop with a mechanical groan that sounded expensive to fix.Emergency lighting flickered on, casting everything in sickly yellow shadows that made Monica's serene expression look almost ghostly—and oddly more beautiful.
"No."Ted jabbed the elevator buttons with more force than necessary."No, no, no."
Nothing happened.He pressed them again, harder, as if the force of his desperation could resurrect the building's electrical system.This couldn't be happening.Not today.
"This cannot be happening right now."
Monica shifted her weight, settling against the back wall like she was preparing for a long wait.The movement drew Ted's attention to the graceful line of her spine, the way she seemed to flow into positions that looked effortlessly comfortable.
"The power's probably out for the whole building.These things happen."
"These things do not happen."Ted pulled out his phone, relief flooding through him when the screen lit up.Three bars of service.Thank God."I have the most important meeting of my career in two hours."
"Had," Monica said, her voice carrying that same irritating calm.
Ted's fingers froze over his phone."What?"
"You had the most important meeting.Past tense."She gestured at her own cell phone with an elegant wave of her hand that Ted found himself tracking despite his panic."Unless you're planning to tunnel out of here, that meeting isn't happening today."
The casual way she delivered this prediction made Ted's chest tighten with more than just anxiety.Who was she to tell him what was or wasn't going to happen?He was Theodore Corwin.He made things happen.
"Watch me," Ted said, already speed-dialing Jennifer as he began pacing the small space."I don't accept defeat that easily."
"Ted?Where are you?"Jennifer answered before Monica could respond to his challenge.
