The Elevator

My Louboutin carried me across the Woolworth Lobby where my office was. The click and clank of my heels echoed across the marble floor. The same prestigious faces graced the lobby. They were always the same. Men in tailored suits, crisp white shirts, polished shoes. Women were in dresses and blazers while their skyscraper heels tapped across the floor.

As I walked across the lobby, I could see the men's eyes fill with lust and the women's seep with jealously. I smirked, feeling the need for blood this morning. My small display of humanity in the car made me feel angry and weak. The need to be dominant becomes apparent in my blood. I make my way past security to the elevator. Each morning is the same as I lightly tap my foot, waiting for the elevator to come. No one dares to share an elevator with me, their fear for the ice queen of New York apparent.

The ding of the elevator hums in the lobby. The doors swing open as I make my way into the elevator. I check my watch and see that I have fifteen minutes until my 8 am meeting. Benjamin did not call to advise there were any problems, so I was expecting the CEO to be there on time. As much as I don't show emotion to Benjamin, he has become a very treasured acquaintance. He has proved himself as a brilliant assistant.

The many years in business, I have fired countless assistants due to them being incompetent. They would either be pompous and rude or flirt with every client I had. I remember feeling irritated at being unable to have a consistent and reliable employee. It wasn't until I came across young Benjamin, when he was just out of college, when I realised what a diamond he was.

Benjamin came from a wealthy family who had disowned him after college when they found out he was gay. He was a server, and he was barely scraping the barrel when I witnessed two men abusing him and taunting him with homophobic slurs. My anger was forefront when I waltzed up to them and told them to fuck off. They tried to tell me to mind my own business when I punched one of them in the nuts and the other on the nose. I think I broke more than the nose when they threatened me. It was then that I bent down and whispered my name along with a threat of suing them for everything they had. They soon scampered off like the little rats that they were.

I remember gently grabbing Benjamin by the arm and asking if he was okay. The tears in his hazel eyes were brewing, and he told me the horrid story of his parents. They had not only disowned him, but black-listed him from every office in the country because of their influence. It was then that I offered him a job as my assistant. He thought I was joking, but I raised my eyebrow and said, "try me." I turned around and walked out of the restaurant and reminded him to be at my office at 7am. That was two years ago and since then he has showed nothing but unwavering loyalty.

I smiled, reminiscing on the memories of Benjamin's growth over the years. He was my best investment and in the future when I find a replacement assistant he will become the Vice President of my company. He does not know what I have planned for him. As the elevator doors closed, a large body slipped in between the doors, pushing me back against the elevator wall.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" I shouted as I caught the air in my lungs.

The tall body of the man who knocked into me was facing away from me. As the words left my mouth, I could see his large shoulders tense. The man was wearing a tailored navy suit. Although I despised the man who bumped into me, I couldn't help but admire the excellent tailoring of his suit. It fitted his rugged body well. They styled perfectly his dark raven hair from behind. The longer he spent in the elevator, the more his sensual scent filled the space. It was masculine and spicy. His scent was spectacular. The warmth of it caressed my body seductively as I felt myself become highly aroused.

There was this overwhelming feeling in my body that I hadn't felt in years. The sensation was extremely uncomfortable, but still familiar. I looked at the man, waiting for him to turn around and apologise for his rude behaviour, but he didn't. His shoulders were still tense, but heaving up and down deeply.

"Well?" I asked, my foot tapping impatiently, waiting for him to saying anything, but all I could hear were his laboured breaths. Slowly, he twisted his body. He faced me and his eyes were this dark amber colour. The man's jaw was chiselled, as if the gods carved it, only to be left with a high cheekbone.

His eyebrows were thick and black, but they did not hide his beautiful eyes. The man's nose was long, but in the right way. I hadn't since this type of beautiful since -

No, it's can't be him. It just can't be. There's no way he could have found me. I've stayed well hidden after his and my family's betrayal. I took a small gasp, quiet enough that he could not hear. I slowed my heartbeat as quickly as I could before I looked him in those amber eyes. The eyes that once looked at me with such hate and venom were now looking at me with lust, as if I was a feast.

He still didn't speak, he just continued to stare at me. The slight tilt of his head as if I was some unknown foreign object. My senses after eight years were becoming clearer. I could hear the increase in his heartbeat. His calm breaths were now becoming erratic. He can't recognise me, for I am not the same woman that he knew years ago. My heart pounded heavily in my chest. I didn't know if it was butterflies or sickness. I tightly clenched my eyes, squeezing them close. For the first time in eight years I said my first prayer to the moon goddess that he did not know who I was. That he thought I was someone else.

It was then that the slight smell of his arousal filled the elevator. The smell tickled my nostrils as I tried to force myself not to react. It was then, for the first time in years, I heard the one voice in head I tried to forget as she spoke the forbidden but truthful words.

"Mate."

Edited 05/08/2023