Hold The Door, Please | ONC 2022

10. Floor: 70.3

Will

I sit quietly in the elevator with Haylie slumped against my side. She fell asleep half an hour or so ago after calming down. I wish I had chosen a different position to sit in, however. My body is growing incredibly stiff and sore from my awkwardly bent legs, but I can't do anything besides tolerate it while sitting as still as possible. Haylie obviously has had an exhausting morning, I'm sure letting her get some rest will do her good.

I find myself absentmindedly observing her. There's this unexpected serene aura she gives off, completely contrasting with her strong headed attitude while awake. She smells faintly like citrus and vanilla. Her breathing is soft and steady, and she mumbles in her sleep every once in a while.

I realize she never gave me a straightforward response to my invitation to go out. Am I supposed to just let it go? I carefully take out my phone to look at my calendar and find my next free evening.

Unfortunately, I'm right handed. The lack of dexterity in my left hand causes me to fumble and almost immediately drop my phone. It hits the floor with an unpleasant thunk. I curse under my breath as Haylie stirs and begins to wake up. She blinks slowly a couple of times before her eyes snap open and she immediately sits back up.

"S-sorry for falling asleep on you." Her eyes dart away from mine as a pink flush creeps onto her cheeks.

"No worries, you're quite light," I chuckle. 

At least she's better than Sienna at using me as a pillow. Sienna likes to sleep with her body sprawled out across me. Even while asleep, her grip on my clothing is stronger than an alligator's jaw and it's nearly impossible to get her off of me.

It takes her a moment to notice my jacket wrapped around her. "Oh... thank you," she whispers before shrugging it off her shoulders and handing it back to me.

"You alright?" I ask, looking at her carefully.

She quickly nods. "So um, anyways..." I amusedly watch her as she scrambles to change the subject. "Why um, why were you going to be a part of my interview?"

It's a long and tedious story that I'm not exactly in the mood to get into too deeply. "Ashley decided to help me out."

She looks at me curiously. "Ashley?"

"Oh right, you probably know her as Ms. Stone, the CFO," I explain. "We've been close friends since middle school." I can't help but smile a little every time I talk about her. We've always been each other's ride or die, even after all these years. "I've gotten a bit restless here, my job isn't the most interesting – I've even been considering stepping down."

It's not exactly the full truth, but it's as close as I'm willing to get right now.

"She could tell how I was feeling though," I continue, "and invited me on board to help her with hiring as something new to do."

Hey eyebrows knit together in concern. "You're unhappy here? Why bother staying?"

I sigh and rest my head against the wall behind us. "Most of my aunts and uncles have retired, leaving the next generation of Maywin's responsible for keeping the company going," I say, tiredly rubbing the back of my neck. "Despite being our grandfather's youngest grandchild, my family decided that I was most suited for this position because of my experience."

There's absolutely no logical reason why we can't hire more people outside the family to take on executive positions. To put it bluntly, the family is full of elitists.

Currently, Ashley is the only non-Maywin – and that's admittedly through her connection with me. Kayla may be great when it comes to innovation and growth, but this is one of the very few traditions she still holds so tightly onto. I don't dare bring it up with her these days, but it's likely due to the trust issues she developed after the incident.