Page 16 of One Small Secret

I glance at the control pad and sure enough, my floor is no longer lit up.

“You can do that?”

He waves his card in the air. “Some of the executives would prefer not to chat with brown-nosers in the elevator.”

“And yet you’re okay riding with me?”

“You literally just snorted at me when I tried to make a joke. That’s not how brown-nosing works.”

“Yeah, but why are you holding me hostage? It can’t be because you want to talk to me.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Of course not. I simply enjoy taking all the pretty girls who refuse to acknowledge my magnetism on rides in the elevator.” He loosens his tie and looks at me like I’m his next meal. “Animal. Magnetism.” He says it slowly, and I want to laugh with him like I did when we were in high school. Because this side of Ruben is so fake.

Or…I could call his bluff.

What would that be like? For a split second I consider letting this one play out. But if Ruben’s Time Magazine photo on the wall was inappropriate for the elevator, acting out the photo shoot would be far worse. Besides, I would be on the losing end of this joke the second I acted interested.

He takes a step toward me. Ruben’s eyes land on my forehead. My bruise is finally gone. Is that why he’s doing this? Did he take over the elevator to make sure I was okay?

Ruben pulls on his tie again and then raises an eyebrow like he’s waiting for me to respond. I don’t think I was supposed to notice that quick glance to my forehead. I wave my hand at him like I’m not affected. “Don’t use your playboy charm on me. It won’t work. Just because I have a baby doesn’t mean I’m easy.”

Ruben swipes his card again and hits the button for the sixth floor. We keep going up so I’m not sure what he’s done. But the elevator stops a second later on floor 14, and without opening the doors, starts back down.

Where do I get one of those cards?

His eye catches mine, but only for a second before looking down at his hands. “Trust me.” His voice is low and quiet, like he's worried someone on the other side of the door will hear us. “I've never once thought you were easy.” When his eyes return to mine, he isn’t faking some smoldering look or looking through me like I’m not there. His look is something else altogether. It's open and honest, and something deep inside me cracks. He hasn’t looked at me like that for so long, I forgot he could. “I know exactly what you having a baby means.”

Does he? His bold statement takes me out of the place where I’m trying to decipher that look in his eye. I’m still trying to figure out what having Axley means to me, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t come close to guessing correctly.

I push myself off the wall near the panel. I’m not even sure when my back hit it. Probably when Ruben stepped closer. “What does it mean?”

He takes a deep breath, and this time his eyes don’t glance away. “Someone finally got to you.”

Got to me? What the heck does he mean by that? “You think I would let a man take advantage of me?”

His jaw clenches like he's ready to rush into battle over that comment. “No,” he says through gritted teeth. He swipes the card again and pushes 15. “That’s not at all what I meant. Geez, Cadence.” He shakes his head like I said something horrendous, but he still hasn’t answered my question.

“What did you mean, then?”

He rests his shoulder on the wall of the elevator. His deep navy suit is the kind that makes his arms and chest look like a marble statue women would rub their hands down for good luck. I have no idea how much a suit like that costs, but I’m guessing people don’t typically lean against walls while wearing them.

He crosses his arms over his chest, accentuating the power of the suit. The briefest hint of a smile crosses his lips, but I barely catch it before it’s gone. “You fell in love and you fell hard. You do everything one hundred and twelve percent, and as much as I’ve wanted to see that happen for you, I’m glad we were on different continents when it did.” He pushes back off the wall. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

I close my eyes for a second because he's way too close, and my immunity to Ruben Palmer might not be as potent when he's six inches from me in a confined space. He smells like those Christmas cinnamon pinecones I can’t help but buy every year. They didn’t have them in Vietnam, so lack of exposure must have made me especially vulnerable. The minute I get off work, I want to find some to take home with me. I open my eyes and I swear he's even closer. “You’re wrong.” My voice comes out quieter and shakier than it should have.

A wry smile spreads on Ruben’s mouth and I can tell he thinks I’m lying. “I don’t think less of you for falling in love.”

His body sways toward me and I can’t tell if he’s going to hassle me for lying to my superior or...Holy Moses, is Ruben going to kiss me? Right here in the elevator? During company time? Like, would we be paid for kissing in the elevator? Technically, I guess we would, but how dishonest is that? I shouldn’t get paid for kissing Ruben. I don’t even want to kiss him, and I’m fairly certain he doesn’t want to kiss me. His head dips lower and one arm is reaching down, to what? Grab my waist? My heart pumps faster and I’m breathing in his cinnamon scent like this is my last Christmas. I’m crazy. He can’t be thinking of kissing me. Not only is it unethical and a completely inappropriate use of company time, but he has a freaking girlfriend. Daphne VanPelt, as in VanPelt handbags.

I stiffen at the thought of her name, and Ruben immediately steps to the side. He’s still leaning down though, and he bends lower to pick up my purse. He hands it to me from two feet away with his arm outstretched. “You dropped this.” I think I’m ready for the elevator to just snap its cables and send me crashing into the ground floor.

Of course, Ruben wasn’t going to kiss me. And the second he saw the way my brain was working he couldn’t get away fast enough. We ride in silence, passing floors 12 and 13. I guess we’re done talking. He’ll get off at 15 and then I’ll ride down to my floor alone.

I’m not sure when I’ll get another chance to speak to him and it feels like a loss. He’d always been the closest thing I had to a brother or a cousin, and it sucks that he ruined that. I risk a glance at him. His jaw is clenched, and he’s looking at the crack between the doors, no doubt wishing that little magic card could make the elevator move to the 15th floor even faster.

I shouldn’t be the one to extend an olive leaf, not when he was the one to do everything wrong, but I can’t help it. “I’ve missed you.” His head jerks toward me like maybe he misheard me. “Ever since the Redwoods project…” I pause, because I don’t think pointing out all the ways he has hurt me is going to help the situation. I sigh, and just tell him the truth. “I hate that we never talk, and I’m tired of being angry at you.”

His foot slides toward me and then goes back to where it had been. Like he wants to step closer but doesn’t dare. “I can talk.” He shakes his head like he’s said something stupid, and I can’t help but agree with him. Our problem has never had anything to do with capability. “I didn’t think you missed me. I can…of course I can…” Ruben is stumbling on his words. I guess I hit a nerve. Finally, he forces a full sentence out of his mouth. “If that’s what you want, I’ll see what I can do.”

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