Hold The Door, Please | ONC 2022

9. Floor: 70.2

Haylie

"Oh god, I'm so sorry for laughing, Haylie," Will scrambles to apologize. "You just caught me off guard."

I manage to plaster a weak smile onto my face. "It's alright, I understand." I turn to him and give his hand a light pat. To be fair, I'd be shocked if I were in his position too. "It definitely wasn't planned. We're not together anymore."

Will visibly relaxes a little. "I'm sure your daughter is great." Even in the washed out lighting, there's still an intriguing gleam in his eyes.

"Fortunately, she hasn't shown any Randall-like tendencies," I laugh, though I'm being completely sincere.

He chuckles quietly but doesn't respond, I assume to give me the option to drop the awkward conversation. I release a quiet and shallow breath of relief.

"I apologize for being so rude earlier," I say softly. "My life has been a mess lately, and I knew I would inevitably snap. I can't say that I was expecting getting trapped in an elevator to be the trigger, but, I'm really sorry you were here to be hit with the collateral damage."

He gives me a warm, understanding smile and gently pats my shoulder. "It's alright. I've definitely had my fair share of mental breakdowns over the years."

I can't help but feel sorry for him, even though between the two of us, I'm clearly the one who people would be more likely to feel bad for. I may be struggling to make ends meet, but I can't imagine how much pressure he carries on his shoulders.

At the same time, he's probably wealthy enough to pay people to worry for him.

We stay silent for a while, taking turns every couple of minutes to take a stab at the emergency call button. I'm still flabbergasted at the fact that an emergency button isn't functioning.

I can feel the growing sense of dread and hopelessness with each attempt, and I'm sure he does too. My phone says it's nearly been an hour.

"Well," Will is the first to speak up again. "I know I'm going to regret it if I don't take this chance now."

I look at him curiously and try to read his expression. He somehow looks hesitant and confident at the same time.

"What are you talking about?"

"Would you care to go out once we get out of here?" He gives me a charming smile. "Maybe grab a drink?"

I feel my heart skip a beat until I almost immediately remember what I spotted earlier. I stare at him blankly, waiting for the just kidding. "What?" I gesture towards the ring he's wearing. "You're married."

Confused, he looks at his hand before laughing sheepishly. "Oh this?" He examines his hand and lets out a small chuckle. "I'm sort of going through a divorce right now."

I may not know a ton about divorces, but something seems off. "Why are you still wearing the ring?" I ask suspiciously.

He rubs the back of his neck and sighs. "I was married to Becca Rivers, and things got a little complicated when we decided to separate."

The name definitely isn't unfamiliar to me. The supermodel notorious for showing up in tabloids – getting involved in controversy after controversy. I certainly was never interested enough in her to find out who she was married to.

"With her amount of fame and my association with the Maywin's, Kayla knew how out of control the story would become in the media," he sighs and shakes his head. "She insisted that I couldn't bring negative attention to myself because it would bring negative attention to the company."