50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Torn: Chapter Eleven

    Brian pulled Destiny down to the floor with him and held on tight to her while the elevator car dropped in a freefall. She continued holding onto the handrail, but that didn't stop them from being pulled up towards the top of the elevator car. Loud screeching from outside of the elevator car assailed their ears.

    Destiny screamed and clung to Brian, and it seemed that time slowed down. Her hair shot upwards and floated around her face in a halo. This is it, she thought, closing her eyes and keeping a tight hold on Brian. This is when I die. My life is going to end, and I haven't yet lived a full life. I haven't married...I haven't had children...I haven't gotten to watch my children grow up. I'm going to die before I get to do any of that.

    The elevator car slowed down, and the screeching outside of the elevator walls was nearly intolerable. She wanted to cover her ears, but didn't want to let go of Brian. She tilted her head back and looked up at the ceiling. She could just barely see through the grate in the ceiling; sparks crackled near the grate.

    "Don't let go!" Brian shouted at her.

    She looked at him and nodded.

    Holding onto her with one arm, he raised his other arm and jammed the Emergency button several times. The elevator car continued to slow down.

    Destiny and Brian collapsed to the floor when the elevator came to an abrupt halt, swinging on its cables. With tears frozen in her eyes, she remained on the floor, frightened to lift her head...frightened to move at all. Her heart hammered in her chest.

    "Are you okay?" he asked her.

    She nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. A little banged up, but I'm okay."

    "What the fuck was that?" Brian demanded, remaining just as still as she was. He flexed one of his arms and winced in pain. "I've never seen an issue with these elevators. They've had to be serviced before, but...I've never seen or heard of it doing anything like this."

    "I just want to get off of this damned thing," Destiny muttered. "Do you think we're on a floor now? If we push a button, will the doors open?"

    "I don't know," he responded breathlessly. "Stay still. I'm going to see if I can push one of the buttons."

    "No, wait," she cautioned, reaching out and grabbing his arm. "What if pushing a button makes it fall again?"

    He lifted his head and peered up at the buttons. "We fell for so long, we have to be close to the ground floor by now. It shouldn't be a far fall, if we were to fall further."

    "We were falling for a long time," she agreed, but that didn't ease her fears of the elevator car taking another dive.

    "It will be okay," he told her, rubbing her shoulder. He slowly sat up and kept his back against the wall. His brows furrowed. "What is that?"

    "What is what?" she asked, wanting to sit up but too afraid to.

    "That sound? Shh." He cupped a hand around his ear. "People talking. I can hear people talking. We must be close to one of the floors." He craned his neck, trying to peer up at the lights at the top of the elevator. "Shit. The power shut down the screen that lets us know what floor we're on."

    "You were right...we were falling for a long time, so...just choose one of the lower level floors, like the second floor or the first floor."

    "Shit, now I'm scared to touch a button," he muttered.

    "Maybe we should just...sit here and wait for someone to get us," she said. "The elevator has a camera installed in it. They probably already know there's a problem with the elevators. All they have to do is look at the footage to see that we're on the elevators."

    He nodded. "All right...all right, we can just wait for a bit."

    "I wish I'd brought my purse with me," she fretted.

    He snapped his fingers. "Phone. Right." He shifted his hips to grant himself access to the pocket of his dress pants. In response, the elevator car swayed.

    "When it swings like that, it freaks me out," she said worriedly, raising her eyes.

    "If it's swinging, it's possible that one of the cables snapped," he said as he scrolled through his cell phone contacts. "The phone number ending in 6454 was Aubrey's old number, right? I keep confusing the two."

    "6454 is old," she said, starting to slowly sit up. "2050 is new." She slowly crawled towards where he was sitting, and only breathed easily once she was seated beside him.

    He slid his fingers across the screen and lifted the phone to his ear.

    "Is it ringing?"

    He nodded. "Yeah." After a few moments, he groaned in frustration. "That's all it's doing, though. He's not answering."

    "Keep trying him," she urged. "He's going to pick up sooner or later."

    Brian nodded. "Roger that."

~~~~~~

    "Thank you so much for the bonus, Aubrey!"

    "Thanks, Mr. Graham!"

    "I will be Team Graham Enterprises until I die, Mr. Graham."

    The praise and accolades that Aubrey received after the meeting were endless. His employees were over the moon that their hard work was not only acknowledged, but rewarded. He slung the strap of his briefcase over his shoulder when the conference room was nearly emptied.

    Wayne Macht, an older gentleman with dark, graying hair, approached him and clapped him on the back. "Whatever little birdie is advising you, keep her close," he said. "Employee morale is going to skyrocket after this. With everything that has happened, this was sorely needed."

    "Agreed," Aubrey said as he started to walk to the conference room door. "I appreciate you and Gabriel for taking the time to make an appearance today. The more the employees get to see your faces, the better."

    "You were definitely missed," Wayne said as Aubrey locked up the conference room. "As always, it has been great seeing you."

    "I'm headed your way, actually," Aubrey told him. "There are a few other meetings I have set up, so I won't be seeing my office any time soon. I can walk you to the elevators, since I'm headed there myself."

    Wayne made small talk as they walked through the thirty-fifth floor offices, but Aubrey glanced around the office with the corners of his mouth turned downward. Many of the desks and cubicles flanking the main aisle were empty.

    Where is everyone? he wondered. He didn't have to wait long for an answer to that question. Once he and Wayne stepped out into the hall, they were greeted with nearly one hundred employees crowded around one of the elevators. He gave Wayne's shoulder a pat and worked his way through the crowd. "What's going on?" he asked employees as he passed them. "What's happening? Is something wrong with the elevator?"

    "No matter how many times we press the button, the elevator doors won't open," an employee informed him. "And Tanisha said that she heard a weird noise and screaming coming from the inside."