Falling For You

Bumper Cars

"Did your dad really build this?" I tentatively asked, not sure if I was going to trigger more spontaneous laughter in the inky blackness.

She snorted. Not a laugh, a snort! "Oh yeah, this is his baby. His favorite kid. I'm shocked he isn't here today, even with the snow. Actually, what are you doing here?"

Now it was my turn to chuckle. "Today was my first day. Last Friday I completed the temp to hire process, and I didn't want to be late today."

Okay, now she was laughing again. Like, deep belly laughing. Yep, I'm sure she isn't laughing at me though, right? "I guess you missed the governor declaring a state of emergency and the company wide text that told people to not come in?" she finally choked out.

Yep, that is what happens when you have a dead phone overnight. Damnit. "My power went out last night. Phone never got charged so I missed all that," I admitted glumly.

"If it makes you feel better, I am only here because I screwed up on Friday and forgot to notarize three contracts that are very important for the company. Pretty sure that isn't happening now," she pointed out.

I nodded in agreement, then realized she couldn't see that. "You're probably right. We might be stuck here for a bit.

"And we obviously have no power," she agreed. The car was suddenly illuminated by her phone screen, and it took me by surprise. She was laying on her back, the phone overhead and pointed down at her face. I could see her nose scrunched up in thought and the tip of her tongue sticking out like she was concentrating.

It was shocking. Even in the little light we had, it completely changed her look. No longer was she the terrifying businesswoman, now she was, dare I say it, adorable. No, not adorable, but at least approachable. She'd still scare me, but only a little less. I have a feeling that was why she dressed that way. Did nobody take her seriously? Or is that just how she thought she needed to look?

"Then I guess we're here for a bit." I lay down too, I might as well get comfortable. "Oh, I'm Tyler by the way. Tyler Morgan"

"And I'm Eliška Pechová, my father Emil owns the company. But please, call me Eli." She let out a low groan. "Well, we may be here a lot longer than we hoped. I have zero bars, and the building Wi-Fi is out," she stated.

I quickly slipped my phone out of my pocket and saw that she was right I had no bars as well. I also only had an 18% charge, so the car ride to the office didn't do a lot. "I normally have 3-4 bars here in the office. Even in the elevator I have one or two. Its like the whole network is down."

"With the state of emergency and the storm, people won't even come here to look," she whispered softly. "Unless the security guard does something, we could be here for a while."

"What do you think caused the shaking and the blackout?" I had to ask, I'd never experienced something like that, and I was just proud that I hadn't wet my pants.

"Normally I'd say mechanical failure," she replied. "But there was way too much shaking for that. The elevator would have come off the tracks unless everything was moving."

"Are you suggesting an earthquake?" That couldn't be right, we're not out in California!

I heard a gusty sigh from the darkness. "I am. I know it sounds silly, but there have been east coast quakes too. This one seemed pretty big though."

"Then if we just sit here, we could be here for days," I pointed out.

"Correct."